Quote of the Day
“There were so many candidates on the platform that
there were not enough promises to go around.”
-- Ronald Reagan, referring to a debate among the 1984
Democratic presidential candidates
The perceived and actual powers of presidents
High expectations, high perceived powers
Why are expectations so high?
• News media, Hollywood
• Public receptiveness
• Presidents and candidates themselves
contribute
Presidents’ actual powers are strongest
in foreign policy
• Constitutional powers:
commander-in-chief; the authority to
negotiate treaties (but need consent of 2/3
of the Senate)
• Extra-constitutional powers:
the ability to initiate wars and to commit U.S. troops;
executive agreements
• War Powers Act (1973). Attempt by Congress to
reassert authority. Limits and notification requirements
on presidential war powers. Controversial since its
passage.
Presidents have weaker but still important
powers in domestic policy
• Appointments to executive branch and the courts
(but need Senate approval)
• Executive orders and presidential memoranda, which
use existing presidential authority to manage executive
departments and agencies.
• Signing statements. The most important of them give the
president’s interpretation of a law and instruct executive
departments and agencies to follow that interpretation.
• To pass laws, presidents need the cooperation of Congress
-- Only formal power is the veto
-- Informal powers: can set agenda,
terms of debate
-- First year in office crucial
Sources of conflict:
• Different electoral cycles
• Different constituencies
• Partisanship, especially divided government
Presidential success in
Congress depends upon:
• Composition of Congress, especially partisanship
-- President can’t control composition
• Party members support the president’s proposals on
their own volition
-- Every seat counts. Gaining a party majority
counts even more, especially in the House.
• President’s political skills
The issue of immigration as an illustration
of presidential powers
• 2007: Immigration reform bill. Stronger border security,
legal status and path to citizenship for undocumented
immigrants, and revised visa criteria for high-skilled
workers. No formal vote in Congress.
• Obama entered office supporting immigration reform.
Little action in Congress. In 2012, Obama created a
program (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or
“DACA”) allowing people who entered the country illegally
as children to receive a two-year work permit and
temporary exemption from deportation.
• 2013: Senate passed a bipartisan immigration reform bill
68-32. No action in House of Representatives.
• 2014: Obama created another program (Deferred Action
for Parents of Americans, or “DAPA”) giving temporary
protections to the parents of children who are American
citizens or permanent residents.
• 2015: 26 states, led by Texas, sued to block
implementation of DAPA. Prevailed in the lower courts.
• 2016: United States v. Texas. Supreme Court split 4-4,
thus upholding the lower court judgment against DAPA.
Many complicated legal issues. Smith’s take:
• Parts of the Obama programs merely formalized the
prosecutorial discretion of any executive branch. For
example, the Seattle Police Department prioritizes some
crimes over others.
• Other parts of the Obama programs (giving work permits,
a type of legal status) overstepped prosecutorial discretion
and veered into lawmaking.
Presidential powers and immigration in the Trump
administration
• Build the wall: Trump needs Congress to fund it.
• Repeal DACA: Trump can do this with an executive order.
• Greatly increase deportations: Trump can take important
steps administratively, but he might need Congress to
allocate money to hire new enforcement agents.
• Reject all Syrian refugees: Trump can do this
administratively.
• Ban all Muslims from entering the country: this would
almost surely be declared unconstitutional, but Trump
could use existing authority to ban the entry of people
from certain countries.