Unit 3 – The Executive Branch Study Guide
Executive Branch
-The President President means, Latin - primus inter pares – first among equals
 Constitution - Article II created a branch that carries out the laws
 Must be a least 35 years old
 A natural born citizen
 Must live 14 years in the United States
 Elected by the Electoral college(An indirect election) after the people suggest a president
 Allowed two 4year terms - The 22nd Amendment placed limits on presidential terms. (10 years total
allowed though).
 Congress determines the President’s salary, and this salary cannot be changed during a presidential
term- around $450,000.
 Congress has also approved an allowance for the President, currently around $50,000 a year.
 The President is also granted other benefits, including a large suite of offices, a staff, the use of Air
Force One, and the use of the 132-room Whitehouse.
-Presidential Succession The 25th Amendment, ratified in 1967- Vice President will
become President if the President is removed from office.
 The Presidential Succession Act of 1947 set the order of
succession following the Vice President.
-The Vice President The Constitution only gives the Vice President two duties
besides becoming President if the President is removed
from office:
1) To preside over the Senate, and has vote in a tie
2) To help decide the question of presidential disability.
 If the office of Vice President becomes vacant, the President
nominates a new Vice President subject to the approval of
Congress.
-The President’s Roles1. Chief of State
• They are the ceremonial head of the government, the
symbol of all the people of the nation.
2. Chief Executive
• The nation’s chief executive must make sure laws, policies and programs are carried out
3. Chief Administrator
• They are in charge of most gov’t employees and manage the money used to run the gov’t.
4. Chief Diplomat
• Is the main architect of American foreign policy and chief spokesperson to the rest of the world?
5. Commander and Chief
• In charge of the Military
6. Chief Legislator
• They Suggest laws to Congress
7. Chief of Party
• Unofficial leader of their political party
8. Chief of Citizen
• The moral leader for the nation
The President’s Executive Powers
The Growth of Presidential Power
 The oath of office instructs the President to carry out the laws of the land.
 The nation’s increasingly complex social and economic life has influenced the growth of presidential
power.
 By passing laws and expanding the role of the Federal Government, Congress has increased
presidential power as well.
 An executive order is a directive{Rule} that acts like a law. As head of federal agencies these orders
are generally used to direct federal agencies and officials in their execution of congressionally
established laws or policies.
 The power to issue these orders, the ordinance power (Implied Powers), arises from two sources: the
Constitution and acts of Congress.
Judicial Powers
- Grant pardons{legal
forgiveness}
- Grant reprieves{legal
postponement
- Grants amnesty
{unconditional pardon}
- Commutes sentences
Or fine {To reduce}
Executive Power
- Execute laws
- Direct the administration
- Appoint and remove officials
- Federal Budget
Legislative Powers
- Recommends laws
- Veto legislation
- call special session
Diplomatic and Military Powers
- Makes treaties or executive agreements
- Acts as commander in chief
- Recognize other sovereign nations
-War Powers Making Undeclared War - Many Presidents have used the armed forces abroad without a declaration
of war. Example: Korean and Vietnam wars
 Wartime Powers - The President’s powers as commander in chief are far greater during a war than
they are in normal times. Examples: Civil war Lincoln suspends habeas corpus
 The War Powers Resolution - The War Powers Resolution of 1973 limits the President’s war-making
powers. Examples: can only send troops for 60 days, extended to 90 for withdrawal
-Bureaucracy As chief administrator the president has become the leader of a bureaucracy with more than 2.7 million
employees of the Executive branch.
 A bureaucracy is:
a) A large organization that works like a pyramid( top, middle and bottom employees)
b) Each employee has a specific job
c) Organization has rules to follow
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Only cabinets can be called departments.
Just below cabinets are called Agencies or
Administrations.
Commissions regulate businesses.
The President
The Executive office
- White house staff
- Economic advisers
Cabinets Departments
- Dept of Justice
- Dept of home land security
Independent Agencies
- CIA
- Federal election commission
- National labor board
Road to the White House
-Electoral College According to the Constitution, the President and Vice President are chosen by a special body of
presidential electors.
 The Electoral College votes directly for a president. The people{Populist} vote indirectly, they
suggest who should be President.
 The Electoral College is the group of people (electors) chosen from each State(Founding fathers
didn’t feel the people could make a wise decision).
 All States, except two (Maine and Nebraska), select electors based on the winner of the popular vote
in that State.
 The Electors come from the number of Senators and Representatives combined from each state.
 Because of political parties, flaws began to be seen in the system.
a) Originally, these electors each cast two electoral votes, for a different candidate,
b) Problems: In 1796 different party member were elected pres and vice and then 1800 the pres
and vice tied in the election.
c) The 12th Amendment was added to the Constitution because of the election of 1800.
d) Now each elector would distinctly cast one electoral vote for President and one for Vice
President.
 If no candidate wins a majority of electoral votes (270), the election is thrown into the House of
Representatives (Happened twice 1800 and 1824).
 It is possible to win the popular vote in the presidential election, but lose the Electoral College vote.
This has happened four times in U.S. history, 1824, 1876, 1888, and 2000.
-Presidential Nominations The Constitution doesn’t talk about how to choose a President.
 Primaries are state elections to pick party candidates.
 National Conventions are the meetings at which delegates vote to pick their presidential and vicepresidential candidates. There are few laws that deal with how money is raised to pay for the
convention, but mostly it’s up to the parties to run them as they see fit.
 Delegates are party members who vote at the Conventions for a candidate.
 Delegates can be selected through the local- district - state caucus-convention process.
 If an incumbent President Wants to seek reelection, his or her nomination is almost guaranteed.
 The Populist Vote is the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November every 4years.
 The Electoral Vote is the Monday following the second Wednesday in December every 4years.
 Then on January 6, the electoral votes casted are counted by the president of the Senate, and the
President and Vice President are formally elected.
 The President is sworn in January 20th.
The Presidents little helpers
-Vice President- The Constitution gives the “President in waiting” Vice-President two duties:
1. To preside over the Senate
2. To help decide the question of presidential disability
- Vice-Presidents are usually picket to balance the ticket, meaning they fit something the President
lacks.
- Nine times a Vice replaced a sitting president; John Tyler, Millard Fillmore, Andrew Jackson,
Chester A. Arthur, Teddy Roosevelt, Calvin Coolidge, Harry Truman, Lyndon B Johnson and
Gerald Ford.
- Most early President did not trust their Vice Presidents and gave them little to do, Modern day
Presidents have expanded their daily duties, give advice and Sit in on Cabinet meets.
- Today, the Vice President often performs diplomatic and political chores for the President.
Executive office of the President (EOC) – is an organization of agencies staffed by the president’s
advisers and assistants.
-Cabinet- The executive departments, often called the Cabinet departments, are traditional units of federal
administration.
- The Cabinet is an informal advisory body brought together by the President to serve his needs.
- The President appoints the head of each of the executive departments, which are then subject to
Senate approval, only 12 people have ever been rejected.
- Each department is headed by a secretary, except for the Department of Justice, whose work is
directed by the attorney general.
- There are 15 Cabinet departments today: Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce,
Department of Defense, Department of Education, Department of Energy, Department of Health
and Human Services, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Housing and Urban
Development ,Department of the Interior, Department of Justice, Department of Labor, Department
of State, Department of Transportation, Department of the Treasury, Department of Veterans Affairs.
-Agencies- Independent executive agencies and independent regulatory agencies are created by
Congress and located outside the executive departments to protect the agency’s purposes from the
influence of both partisan and pressure politics.
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Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
• The OMB’s major task is the preparation of the federal budget, which the President must submit
to Congress.
Office of National Drug Control Policy
• Established in 1989, this agency’s existence dramatizes the nation’s concern over drugs.
Council of Economic Advisers
• The Council of Economic Advisers consists of three of the country’s leading economists, and
acts as the President’s major source of information and advice on the nation’s economy.
The National Security Council
• The National Security Council (NSC) acts to advise the President on all domestic, foreign, and
military matters that relate to the nation’s security
Federal Reserve System
• Supervises banking system, regulates money supply and use of credit.
Other Examples: NASA, the General Services Administration, and the EPA.
Executive Office Operations
-Steps to Creating a Federal Budget1st- Federal agencies send their budget request to the Executive office of Management and
Budget(OMB).
2nd – OMB reviews requests and creates a budget. In January or February the President sends the
budget to Congress.
3rd – Congress reviews budget, enacts several appropriations measures
4th - Presidents either signs the new budget or Veto’s it. Congress can override, if not then both
Branches have to find a way to compromise
-Foreign Affairs• A nation’s foreign policy is made up of all its military, economic and diplomatic connections.
• Isolationism, the purposeful refusal to become generally involved in the affairs of the rest of the
world, was American policy for many years.
• Since World War II, however, U.S. policy has featured a broadening of American involvement in
global affairs.
• The President, the nation’s chief diplomat and commander in chief of its armed forces, has
traditionally carried the major responsibility for both the making and conduct of foreign policy.
-The State Department• The State Department is headed by the secretary of state, who ranks first among the members of the
President’s Cabinet.
• An ambassador is a personal representative appointed by the President to represent the nation in
matters of diplomacy.
• The State Department issues passports, certificates issued to citizens who travel or live abroad.
• Diplomatic immunity is usually applied to ambassadors and means that they are not subject to the
laws of state to which they are accredited.
-National DefenseSecretary of Defense
• Secretary of Defense advises the president
about national defense.
Joint Chiefs of Staff
• Joint Chiefs – top military officers from each
military dept. also advises the president.
Army
Navy
Air Force
• The army consists of standing troops, or
the Regular Army, and its reserve units—
Marine Corp
the Army National Guard and Army Reserve.
• The navy’s major responsibilities are for sea warfare and defense.
• The U.S. Marine Corps, a combat-ready land force, are under the auspices of navy command.
• The air force’s main responsibility is to serve as the nation’s first line of air defense.
-The CIA, INS and Selective Service• The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is a key part of the foreign policy establishment.
• The CIA is responsible for collecting, analyzing, and reporting information for the President
and the NSC.
• A full range of espionage, or spying, activities are undertaken by the CIA.
• The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) deals with persons who come to the United States
from abroad to live and work, and who may become naturalized citizens.
• The INS enforces immigration laws and requirements and administers benefits to immigrants The
Selective Service System handles, when necessary, the conscription—or draft—of citizens for
service in the armed forces.