PRESIDENTIAL DUTIESRyan D. Williamson

26 February 2015

Agenda• Attendance• Quiz 2• Lecture on the Executive• Reading for next week

Questions?

Objective• Outline the president’s major duties.

The Framers’ Wishes• Respond decisively to crises (collective action)• Coordination issues:

• Enforce laws uniformly and fairly• Coerce conflicting groups to cooperate

Constitutional Bases of Presidential Power

• Election of the president would not be direct• Electoral college

• Part of the checks and balances system• Executor of the laws• Appointments to the Supreme Court

• Primary role in the military and foreign policy

In Comparison: Executive Forms• Founders purposely chose a system different than

Britain’s• Great Britain today is parliamentary democracy

• U.S. is a presidential system• France is a mixed presidential system

• Different veto and proposal powers• State governors

Individual Presidents and Scope of the Executive• George Washington started the cabinet system and

emphasized implied powers.• Nineteenth century presidents made the office more

partisan, populist, and powerful• Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Franklin

Roosevelt all expanded the office• Increased national power relative to the states in economy and the

welfare state• Increased presidential power relative to Congress in world affairs• Increased the size of bureaucracy

The Partisan Presidency• The president today is seen as the head of the party in

election and in policy making• The president’s popularity shapes the party’s success in

congressional and state elections• The president’s initiatives shape the policy agenda for

government

The Populist Presidency• Presidents can “go public” and communicate directly with

the American people• Used to mobilize voters and put pressure on Congress• Polling to measure public opinion

Questions?

PRESIDENTIAL-CONGRESSIONAL RELATIONSRyan D. Williamson

26 February 2015

Objective • Demonstrate why gridlock may occur between an

executive and a legislature.

Presidential Vetoes• What explains the variation in the number of vetoes a

president issues?• Veto threats• Partisan control of congress

• Gridlock: arises when the two chambers of Congress and the president cannot agree on new legislation• The status quo is key to whether new laws will pass

Appointments• With the “advice and consent” of the Senate• Position in executive agencies, ambassadorships and

courts• Looks for people who share philosophy

Order, Agreements, and Signing Statements

• Executive orders can be used for major policy changes• Avoid waiting for legislation

• Executive agreements to avoid the Senate• Signing statements explain how the president interprets

the law

Administrative Resources• White House staff• Executive Office of the President

• An intermediate layer between the White House staff and federal bureaucracy

• Advises the president on policy• Implements policy and provides Congress with information• OMB is part of the EOP

The Vice President• The Constitution and the Vice President

• The 12th and 25th Amendments

• Duties and responsibilities today• Assumption of the presidency if needed• Key advisor• Break ties in the Senate

Investigations, Impeachments, and Electoral Pressures

• Checks on the president• Courts can declare actions of the president unconstitutional• Veto override• Presidents can be impeached• Elections and public opinion

Questions?

For next time…• Read Chapter 6 of Bullock and Gaddie