The Executive Branch

Chapters 7 and 8

Duties of the President

Chief Executive – “the executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.” – Carry out laws

Chief Agenda Setter – State of the Union Address – sets the tone for the Congress

Representative of the Nation – Represents all of the people – the “Face of America”

Chief of State – Establishes the diplomacy style for

nation to follow – negotiates treaties – makes plans

for dealing with other nations

Party Leader – the head of their political party

Duties of the President

Commander-in-Chief Has command of military (all 4 major units)

Defense budget = $400 billion

Appointment Power – Appoint heads of executive departments, federal court judges, & other top officials

Chief Ambassador – Meet with foreign heads-of-state – Appoint ambassadors

Presidential Qualifications

Must be at least 35 years old

A natural-born citizen

A resident of the U.S. for at least 14 years before taking office.

President’s Term and Salary

Term= 4 years term limit = 2 terms not to exceed 10 years per

the 22 Amendment

Salary (compensation) = $400,000/yr. Travel allowance = $100,000

And other expenses necessary for security reasons

Air Force One (airplane), helicopters, limousines, close assistants

Free medical, dental, and health care

The White House 132-room mansion, with a swimming pool, bowling

alley, private movie theater, and tennis courts

Lifetime pension of $148,400/yr. upon retirement plus lifetime Secret Service protection

The Role of the Vice President -- Presidential Succession

The Vice President’s Role

14 Vice Presidents have become president

9 V.P.s succeeded to the office upon the death or resignation of the president

The V.P. has only 2 duties To be president of the Senate

To help decide whether the president is disabled and acts as president should that happen.

The V.P. does whatever tasks the president assigns to him.

Presidential Succession

8 presidents have died in office Four died after being shot

Four died of natural causes

Which amendment determines presidential succession? The 25th!

Order of succession

1. V.P.

2. Speaker of the House

3. President Pro Tempore

4. Secretary of State

the following 14 cabinet members

# inoffice

PresidentYear(s) elected[a]

Length of term(days)

Date of death

Cause of death

Age Successor

9 William Henry Harrison

1840 31April 4, 1841

Pneumonia and pleurisy

68 John Tyler

12 Zachary Taylor

1848 491July 9, 1850

Acute gastroenteritis

65 Millard Fillmore

16 Abraham Lincoln

1860, 1864 1,503April 15, 1865

Assassinated by John Wilkes Booth

56 Andrew Johnson

20 James A. Garfield

1880 199September 19, 1881

Assassinated by Charles Julius Guiteau

49 Chester A. Arthur

25 William McKinley

1896, 1900 1,654September 14, 1901

Assassinated by Leon Frank Czolgosz

58 Theodore Roosevelt

29 Warren G. Harding

1920 881August 2, 1923

Heart attack

57 Calvin Coolidge

32 Franklin D. Roosevelt

1932, 1936, 1940,

19444,422

April 12, 1945

Cerebral hemorrhage

63 Harry S. Truman

35 John F. Kennedy

1960 1,036November 22, 1963

Assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald

46 Lyndon B. Johnson

United States Presidents who died in office              

Departmental Lines of Succession

1. Secretary of State – John Kerry (D)

2. Secretary of the Treasury - Jacob Lew (D)

3. Secretary of Defense – Ashton Carter (D)

4. Attorney General – Eric Holder (D)

5. Secretary of the Interior – Sally Jewell (D) – ineligible

6. Secretary of Agriculture – Tom Vilsack (D)

7. Secretary of Commerce – Penny Pritzker (D)

8. Secretary of Labor – Thomas Perez (D)

9. Secretary of Health and Human Services – Sylvia Mathews Burwell (D)

10.Secretary of Housing and Urban Development – Julian Castro (D)

11.Secretary of Transportation – Anthony Foxx (D)

12.Secretary of Energy – Ernest Moniz (D)

13.Secretary of Education – Arne Duncan (D)

14.Secretary of Veterans Affairs – Robert McDonald (R)

15.Sectary of Homeland Security – Jeh Johnson (D)

Presidential Powers and the Presidential Establishment

Presidential Powers

Executive Powers

Executing Laws – issuing Executive orders

Appointing Officials – must be approved by the Senate (Advise and Consent)

Executive Privilege – president’s power to protect National Security

Diplomatic Powers

Treaties – must be approved by the Senate

Establishing Alliances

Executive Agreements

Diplomatic Recognition

Presidential Powers (cont.)

Military Powers

Troop Commitment – subject to the War Powers Act (1974)

Limited Time – 60 to 90 days – subject to Congressional extension

Limited Money – subject to Congressional allocations

Limited Troops – subject to Congressional expansion

Must inform Congress within 48 hours of going in

Judicial Powers

Reprieve

Pardon/Amnesty

Commutation

Legislative Powers

Recommendation

Vetoing

Pocket Veto

Line-item Veto

Lobbying

Presidential Nomination and Election

Nomination – parties’ members choice of candidates Chosen through Primaries

and Caucuses

Conventions – parties officially chose the President and Vice President candidates Party platform

established – planks voted on

General Election – popular vote for the president/vice president Plurality of voters in

the states decide the winner for the state

Electoral College – Constitutionally sanctioned election that choses the president/vice president State electors

Final vote tallied in mid-December

Executive Office of the President

White House Staff Chief of Staff

Press Secretary

White House Counsel

Speechwriters

National Security Council (NSC) CIA

Joint Chiefs of Staff

Office of Management and Budget

Council of Economic Advisors Coordinates

economic policy

National Economic Council Coordinates

economic policy

Vice President

The President’s Cabinet This is a 15 member

advisory board created to help the president.

Top members include: The Secretary of State

The Secretary of Defense

The Secretary of Treasury

The Attorney General

These are experts in their fields, appointed by the president and called into action when he deems fit.

The Bureaucracy Government Agencies

Sub-departments handling specific areas of policy

Advisory groups

Ruling making powers for implementation of legislation

Independent Agencies Not under the auspices of a Cabinet department

EEOC, Social Security Admin., EPA, FCC, NASA

Regulatory Commissions Power to establish and enforce regulations – SEC, Federal

Trade Commission, NLRB

Regulating the Regulators – the Pendleton Act Ended the Spoils System