Chapter Six

The Federal Government

The Executive Branch

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The Presidency

The Executive BranchArticle II of the Constitution• executive branch of the federal government

constitutional responsibility• carrying out the country's laws

(enforcing, executing, administering, implementing)

President of the United States• head of executive branch• country's most powerful elected official

• 1789 - George Washington became the first U.S. president• only 43 others have served as president

President1. be a native-born U.S. citizen2. be at least 35 years of age3. have been a resident of the U.S. for at least 14 years

common characteristics• until 2009 all had been white men• all have been Christian

• only one Catholic• most presidents have attended college• many have been lawyers• most have held other political offices at the state or national

level before becoming president• many served in the military

title• Mr. President (informal)• The Honorable (formal)• His Excellency (diplomatic outside U.S.)

Qualifications

term• four years• 2 terms or 10 years maximum (part of another president’s term)

• set by George Washington broken by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1940• Twenty-second Amendment - 1951

• set a two-term limit to the presidency

salary• set by Congress

• cannot change the salary during a president's term of office• prevents Congress from punishing or rewarding a president

• $400,000 a year plus a $50,000 non-taxable allowance• additional annual allowance for travel costs

benefits• family lives in the White House

• home of all U.S. presidents since John Adams• site of the president's office and the offices of his closest assistants

• Camp David• retreat for special meetings and for relaxation time• part of a military base located in the hills of nearby Maryland

• transportation• large fleet of cars, helicopters, and planes

• limo – “The Beast”, special jet - Air Force One, helicopter – Marine One

Term, Salary and Benefits

constitutional responsibilities1. vice president becomes president

• if the president dies, resigns, or is removed from office• eight U.S. presidents have died while in office• one president resigned

2. preside over the Senatemore responsibilities

• presidents have given their vice presidents more things to do• must be fully informed and prepared to take over the important job that could

become theirs

constitutional requirements• must meet the same qualifications as the president

term• four years• no limit

salary• $186,300 a year plus a $10,000 taxable expense allowance

residence• Number One Observatory Circle

selection• often chosen to help the presidential candidates win the election

Vice President

SuccessionTwenty-fifth Amendment - 1967

• fills vice-presidential vacancy• the new president nominates a new vice president• nomination of the vice president must then be approved by a majority vote of

both houses of Congress• Gerald Ford

• only vice president and president whom the people did not elect

• vice president will serve as acting president until the president is able to perform his duties

• if VP and cabinet don’t believe the president is fit for duty Congress must decide by a two-thirds vote who will serve as president

Presidential Succession Act of 1947 and the Twentieth Amendment• if both the president and the vice president died or left office

1. Speaker of the House of Representatives becomes president• if the Speaker dies or is removed from office

2. president pro tempore of the Senate becomes president• if the president pro tempore dies or is removed from office

3. members of the president's cabinet, in the order in which their departments were created become president

• Secretary of State, Treasury, Defense, Attorney General, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Energy, Education, Veterans Affairs, Homeland Security