Executive US
Q Role of president created to have little power
"A ruler commands; a leader influences. A ruler wields power; a leader persuades. Students of the US presidency need to understand that *the office is often a limited and, for its main occupant, a frustrating one*" Thomas Cronin and Michael Genovese (1998)
Q president is head of state and cheif executive
"I am both king and prime minister" President Roosevelt
Is imperial an accurate description of the American presidency
"The imperial presidency is not a useful idea ... Presidents are, in sum, leaders not rulers - which means, of course, they are not imperial at all" Sam Tannenhaus 2002
Presidential persuasion through the vice president
- All of the last 7 vice presidents have been former members of Congress - Barack Obama's vice president, Joe Biden, had served in the Senate for 36 years -longer than any other vice president - Often become the connection between the president and congress and as established congressmen have a large influence
Supreme Court's checks on the president EXAMPLES
- Declaring Nixons actions in Watergate unconstitutional 1974 - Declaring Clintons claim of immunity from prosecution by Paula Jones to be unconstitional - Declaring the military commissions in Guantanamo bay unconstitutonal - Declaring Obama recess appointments unconstitional - Declaring Obamas use of executive order to implement his immigration programme unconstitional
Vice presidents have the power to break a tie in the Senate EXAMPLES
- Dick Cheney cast a tie-breaking vote in April 2001 to protect President Bush's $1.6 trillion tax cut - four by Al Gore (1993-2001) - eight by Dick Cheney (2001-09) - Joe Biden (2009-17) never used this power, thus becoming the first vice president to serve two full terms and never cast a tie-breaking vote - In contrast, Mike Pence cast his first tie-breaking vote within a month of taking office
Other checks (not Congress or Court) on the president
- Interest groups such as the NRA who used public opinion to oppose gun control - The media - Federal bureaucracy, e.g. States refused to implement ObamaCare
Reaction to the watergate preisdency by Congress
- The Case Act 1972 forced presidents to inform Congress of all executive arguements made with foreign states - The War Power Act 1973 attempted to limit presidents' use of troops unless Congress declared war
The Budget Process and the role of the OMB
- The formulation of the budget begins in the executive branch with a set of structured discussions and negotiations between the president, the OMB and the executive departments. - It is the responsibility of the OMB to present the president with an analysis of the state of the economy and projections for economic performance in the coming year. - Once the president has laid out his budget guidelines, the OMB formulates guidelines for the departments - After further feedback from the president via the OMB, the departments then submit their formal budget proposals. - The OMB reviews these requests makes recommendations to the president, who then sets each department's budget allocation.
Presidential persuasion through perks
- The president may make a personal phone call to certain members of Congress. In an important budget vote President Clinton phoned Democrat House member *Marjorie Margolies Mezvinsky* in a hallway just off the chamber. She cast the crucial 218th vote to ensure passage of his budget - president might offer help with legislation that benefits that member's state or district. - might invite members of Congress for an Oval Office meeting - He might even go to Capitol Hill to meet with a selected group of members of Congress there - He might offer to look more favourably on a judicial or executive branch appointment of interest to the member - the president might offer to campaign for them in the next congressional elections
The constitution and the presidents control of foreign policy
- To act as commander-in-chief and to negotiate treaties However these are checked by Congress - It also grants the power to make appointments to the executive branch, some of which have foreign policy inplications such as secretary of state, secretary of defense, secretary of homeland security, director of the Central Intelligence Agency However they are also subject to Senate confirmation
Waxing and Waining EXAMPLE BUSH
90% approval rating after 9/11 25% approval rating in 2008 (financial crash and bailouts)
Congress's checks on the president ( not just constitutional)
- reject the legisaltive proposals - Override veto - amend his budgetary requests - Power to declare war - refuse to ratify treaties - reject nominations made by the president - investiaget the presidents actions and policies - Impeach and try the president (these show that it is more important for the president to have the Senate on side as they ratify, reject and try)
The 3 features of the president that the Founding Fathers created
1. *Singular executive* - President Truman had on his Oval Office desk a sign that read simply: 'The buck stops here.' 2. *Indirectly elected president* - to be chosen by the Electors, in an Electoral College. 3. *A limited president* - The Founding Fathers feared tyranny, and especially they feared tyranny by the executive branch
Why is now more difficullt for presidents to build a good relationship with Congress
1. Members of Congress are now more aware of constituents' wishes -through the effects of such factors as C-SPAN and e-mail 2. Changes in the methods of selecting presidential candidates have resulted in Washington outsiders becoming president 3. Increased levels of partisanship have made it much more difficult for a president to gain the support of members of the opposition party in Congress
4 powers given to the vice president in the constitution
1. Presiding officer of the Senate 2. Break a tie in the Senate 3. Counting and then announcing the result of the Electoral College votes 4. Becoming president upon death, resignation or removal of President
Congresses checks on the role of Commande in chief
1. The constitution gives Congress the power to declare war, but that power has not been used since 1941. The president now asks Congress to 'authorise' his use of troops 2. Congress passed the *' Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in 1964*, giving President Johnson the Power 'to take all necessary measures' in Vietnam. Congress passed authorising resolutions in 1991 and 2002 before US troops were used in Kuwait and Iraq respectively 3. Congress does have the 'power of the purse' with which to check presidential war-making, but this has not always proved effective
What is the role of the White House Office
1. a liaison between the White House and the vast federal bureaucracy 2. a liaison between the White House and Congress 3. responsible for drawing up the president's daily schedule. for the day-to-day running of the White House and for personnel management
Role of the Office of Management and Budget
1. advise the president on the allocation of federal funds in the annual budget 2. to oversee the spending of all federal departments and agencies 3. all proposed legislation and regulations coming from the executive branch must go through the OMB so that they can be analysed both for their budgetary implications and for their compatibility with the president's overall policy programme
How many executive departments are there?
15
executive agreement
A formal agreement between the U.S. president and the leaders of other nations that does not require Senate approval, instead of a treaty When in 1994, Clinton made a deal with North Korea after the Nuclear Crisis, many republican senators were very angry as they believed it should have gone in front of Congress
Presidential persuasion through Party leadership in Congress
A gregarious president like Ronald Reagan or Bill Clinton can more easily develop good relations with members of Congress than a more private and solitary president such as Barack Obama, who uses Biden to cosy up to Congressmen
The imperilled presidency
A term coined by President Gerald Ford to refer to a presidency characterised by ineffectiveness and weakness, resulting from congressional over-assertiveness.
Members of Cabinet may come from Academia EXAMPLES
America's top universities are another potential pool of recruitment for the president's cabinet *Steven Chu*, appointed by President Obama as secretary of energy in 2009. was the professor of physics at the University of California. When he departed in 2013, another physics professor, *Ernest Moniz* of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), replaced him.
Bush's chief of staff
Andrew Card - seen as a very good chief of staff
President propose legislation EXAMPLE
Article II of the Constitution states "The president shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient" The president can propose legislation at any time by, for example, calling a press conference or making an announcement at a public event At the start of his second term in 2013, President Obama used his State of the Union Address to promote his policy proposals on job creation, deficit reduction, immigration reform, gun control and increasing the federal minimum wage
What is the problem with cabinet meetings?
As Reagan's labour secretary Bill Brock put it: The problem with the cabinet is that it has become too large. We keep adding new departments, so there are too many issues that come up where people have neither jurisdiction nor competence.
Is the cabinet important
As individuals, cabinet members were important: some, like first-term Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, were very important. On the other hand, cabinet meetings were hardly ever held, so, as a group, the cabinet was unimportant
Who was at Obamas obamacare legislation signing
At the bill-signing ceremony at the White House for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in March 2010, President Obama invited not only the Democratic Party leadership in Congress but also the *widow of the late Senator Edward Kennedy*, who had made healthcare reform one of his life's ambitions. Also present was 11-year-old *Marcelas Owens* of Seattle, who became an advocate for reform after his mother died without health insurance
Waxing and Waining united/divded governments
Average presidential support score with united gov is 83% with divided gov is 53%
Waxing and Waining over presidential 1st and 2nd terms
Avergae first year support score is 83% and avergae last year support score is 48%
Presidents have the power of pardon EXAMPLES
Clinton on his last day of Office 2001, pardoned 140 people Obama pardoned 212 people in his presidency, over half in the last month
Controversial Presidential pardon
Democrats and civil liberties groups were extremely critical of Trump's decision to pardon Joe Arpaio, a former sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona, who was long accused of violating the legal and constitutional rights of Hispanic citizens
Congress and foreign policy
Despite posessing many powers (given in the constitution and the post Watergate legisaltion) they have become largley ineffective and Congress has seen to be relegated to authorising the use of troops abroad The Democratic Congress tried to stop Bush's iraq war efforts through the power of the purse, but he vetoed their efforts and they did not have enough votes to override the veto
The frequency of cabinet meetings varies from one president to another EXAMPLE
During his first year in office, Ronald Reagan held 36 cabinet meetings, while in his first year Bill Clinton held only six. Barack Obama held 16 cabinet meetings in his first term and just 12 in his second term.
President Obamas vetos
During his two terms, Barack Obama used 12 regular vetoes. Congress failed to override the first 11 but succeeded on the twelfth. This was in September 2016 when President Obama vetoed the *Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act* which would have allowed families of victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks to sue the government of Saudi Arabia for any role they played in the plot.
there are limits to what the president can achieve through prosecutorial discretion
Even though Obama used prosecutorial discretion to help immigrants gain work permits President Obama could not rewrite the nation's laws to grant people citizenship, and, as with executive orders, there was always the possibility that his successor could immediately scrap his instructions
EXOP
Executive Office of the President
Cabinet meetings are used to Exchange information EXAMPLE
President Carter's cabinet meetings usually took the form of the president going clockwise the next time, anticlockwise ' round the cabinet table, asking each member to give a brief report on current departmental issues and activity
Growth of Imperial presidency
From the growth of foreign policy, beginning with Peral Harbour - a crisis that allowed FDR to break the checks of Congress It grew to domestic policy with Nixon's policies to clamp down on anti-Vietnam War protests However the forced resignation of Nixon could show that imperial presidency did not exist
The Bush Doctrine in foreign policy
George W Bush set the tone of foreign policy when talking about an axis of evil in his 2002 State of the Union Address The Bush doctrine decided that American would be taking the offensive rather then playing defensive
Presidential persuasion through Cabinet Officers EXAMPLE
George W. Bush used Education Secretary Rod Paige to sell his education reform package to Congress in 2001
EXAMPLE of Imperial presidency
In 1970, Nixon bombed Cambodia without even telling Congress let alone asking for their authorisation
Executive orders can easily be changed EXAMPLE
In 1984 Reagan sign an executive order banning family planning clinics from informing their clients about abortions. Clinton then removed this order within days of taking office. George W. Bush then reinstated Reagans order, but Obama revoked it in the first month of his presidency
Presidents try to appoint policy specialists to cabinet EXAMPLES
In 2017, Trump appointed a retired Marine Corps General. *John Kelly*, as secretary of homeland security; a former partner at investment bank Goldman Sachs, *Steven Mnuchin*, as secretary of the treasury; and a former state attorney general, *Jeff Sessions*, to head up the Department of Justice all policy specialists However, one was left wondering what retired *neurosurgeon Ben Carson* knew about housing as he was appointed to head up the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Cabinet meetings are used to prompt action EXAMPLE
Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel had it appeared to President Obama, been dragging his feet over the release of prisoners from Guantanamo Bay. After the cabinet meeting on 1 July Obama confronted Hagel, seated in the chair next to him around the table. 'l don't think you're moving fast enough, Chuck,' said Obama. The President then instructed White House chief of staff Denis McDonough to "get together with [Hagel] and fix this'
The Obama's soft power foreign policy
In his inaugral address on 20 January 2009, Barrack set a very different tone to Bush in foreign policy America would return to a reliance on soft power, the ability to get what you want by attraction rather than coercion However, this wasn't an accurate description of the eventual actions in the foreign field. Guantanamo Bay detention camp never materialised. And offensive coalition force in Afghanisation in 2010 Yet the troops from Iraq were withdrawn and a date set for the withdrawal from Afghanistan
Signing statement EXAMPLE
In his signing statement for the National Defence Authorization Act (2014), Obama challenged 20 different provisions. One of the objections was to the requirement to inform Congress 30 days before moving prisoners from Guantanamo Bay prison, which the President warned would be impractical. Later in the year, several terrorists were moved from the prison as part of a prisoner exchange, and, as the President forewarned, Congress was not informed.
H. Clinton VP
Kaine
Afirmative action executive order
Kennedy Exec Order 10925, introduced the term afirmative action to federal policy
The Court has also upheld some questionable uses of presidential power
Korematsu v. United States (1944) - the Supreme Court upheld President Roosevelt's Executive Order 9066, which required all Japanese-Americans to be held in internment camps, after war broke out with Japan during WWII
Race balance in Cabinet EXAMPLES
Lyndon Johnson had appointed the first African-American to the cabinet in 1966 In 2001, Bush's incoming cabinet included five members who were from ethnic minorities, at the time the most ethnically diverse cabinet ever appointed. Barack Obama's 2009 cabinet included six members of ethnic minorities, such as Eric Holder at the department of justice But Trump's 2017 cabinet had the 'white male' look about it with just three heads of departments being members of ethnic minorities, in far less important roles than Bush putting Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice both as secretary of state
How are cabinet meeting viewed?
Meetings of the president with the full cabinet tend to get a bad press. Zbigniew Brzezinski, who served in the cabinet of President Carter, commented that: Carter cabinet meetings were almost useless.
The NSC
National Security Council, help preisdnet coordinate foreign, secuirty and defence policy Headed by the NSA, National security Advisor e.g. Susan Rice for Obama
President's more recently use signing statements
Obama issued 37 George W Bush issued 162
Executive orders can be declared unconsitutional
Obama issued DAPA to allow illegal immigrants deferred action status The federal decided that it was unconstitutional
Executive orders under Obama
Obama was sceptical of executive orders until he lost control of Congress, he used them to get things done that Congress refused to go along with He used executive orders to advance gay rights, saying that where Congress wont act I will
Regular veto
Occurs when the President refuses to sign a bill and returns the bill complete with objections to Congress within 10 days
Cabinet meeting are used to monitor Congress EXAMPLE
On 3 February 2015, President Obama used a cabinet meeting to discuss his policy agenda in Congress for that year
Executive orders can be limited by Congress EXAMPLE
President Obama signed an executive order to close Guantanamo Bay prison within the year. However, the prison remains open to this day - largely because Congress passed bills that blocked the funding needed to transfer the prisoners
Cabinet meetings are used to present big picture items EXAMPLE
President Obama used his cabinet meeting on 30 September 2013 to discuss the likely implications of the upcoming partial shutdown of the federal government
recess appointments
Presidential appointment made without Senate confirmation during Senate recess In January 2012, Obama appointed 3 people National Labour Relations Board NLRB during the christmas recess However the supreme court ruled in NLRB v Noel Canning, that the president had exceeded his powers
Examples of imperilled presidency
Presidents Ford and Carter - the immediate post Watergate presidents - found their hands tied In 1975, Presidents Ford found he was impotent when the North Vietnamese communists finally overran the South Vietnamese capital
Signing statement
Presidents have used these statements to argue that certain provisions infringe on their executive power, and that they do not intend to execute them
EXOP- cabinet rivalries
Presidents must guard against the development of unhealthy rivalries and distrust between those who work in the EXOP, and the heads of the executive departments in the cabinet - Physical distance Those who work in the EXOP have the advantage of proximity, "Never underestimate the power of proximity" Daniel Moynihan, served under Nixon - Divided Loyalities cabinet members seen as disloyal as have to gain votes from Congress for their budgets "Bush relied on the White House Staff, rather than his Cabinet" Jean Smith - Policy 'czars' Obama used many EXOP members to be unofficially incharge of areas of policy, showed that policy making was going to take place at the White House and not in the cabinet
The president can do very little without the agreement of Congress EXAMPLES
Professor S.E. Finer (1970) has likened the president and Congress to 'two halves of a bank note, each useless without the other'. "I sit here all day trying to persuade people to do the thinsg they ought to gave the sense to do ... Thats all the powers of the president amount to" Truman
Electoral mandate affects a presidents success EXAMPLE
Reagan had a far higher electoral mandate in 1984, who won every state bar 2 Than George Bush who lost the popular vote
number of cabinet meetings changes over time as president
Reagan's 36 meetings in his first year became 21 in the second year and just 12 in each of the third and fourth years
Cabinet meetings are used for policy debate EXAMPLE
Reagan's defence secretary, Frank Carlucci, remembered that 'cabinet meetings were often vigorous, such as the one on the pros and cons of building the Russian oil pipeline it was quite a shouting match'
Presidents negotiate treaties EXAMPLE
Strategic Arms Reducation Treaty (Reagan), the Chemical Weapons Ban (Bush), Nuclear arms treaty with Russia (Obama) The senate must past by 2/3 maj Senate rejected the 1920 Treaty of Versailles and the 1999 Clinton Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty
Imperial Presidency
Term used to describe a president as an "emperor" who acts without consulting Congress or acts in secrecy to evade or deceive congress, Created by Proffesor Arthur Schlesinger
How is the annual federal budget submitted
The *Office of Management and Budget (OMB)* draws up the annual federal budget for the president. The president then submits the budget to Congress. This is followed by a lengthy bargaining process between the president and Congress, especially lengthy if the presidency and Congress are controlled by different parties
Who runs the OMB
The Office of Management and Budget director E.g. Leon Panetta was a very good OMB director for Clinton
Why was the EXOP needed
There had been a huge increase in the size and scale of the federal government, caused mainly by the westward expansion and industrialisation of the nineteenth century In 1939, the Brownlow Committee reported to President Franklin Roosevelt that 'the president needs help'.
What is the White House Office?
The White House Office includes the president's most trusted and closest aides and advisers. Although the White House Office is only one of the dozen or so offices which make up the EXOP, it is itself made up of over 30 different offices, such as the Office of Cabinet Affairs and the Office of Legislative Affairs
Power to persuade EXAMPLES
The late Professor Richard Neustadt famously remarked that 'the president's power is the power to persuade' David Mervin (1993) described the US president as 'bargainer-in-chief'
Presidential persuasion through Members of the Office of Legisaltive Affairs
These are members of the White House Office who work as full-time lobbyists for the president on Capitol Hill. The congressional liaison staff are usually organised in such a way that some work on the House side and others on the Senate side, hoping to build up good relationships with people whom they will get to know well
How are senior members of the White House Office meant to act EXAMPLE
They are meant to be impartial mediators (*honest broker*) not policy makers In President George H.W. Bush's administration. *Chief of Staff John Sununu* was thought by many to be pursuing his own conservative policy agenda rather than what the President wanted. Bush eventually had to fire him
The vice president becomes president upon the death, resignation or removal of the president from office EXAMPLES
This has occurred on nine occasions: four times following the assassination of the president; four times following the natural death of the president; and once following the resignation of the president (President Nixon in August 1974)
President nominates executive branch officials EXAMPLES
The most important of these are the heads of the 15 executive departments, such as the Treasury, State and Agriculture In addition, there are lower-level officials in all these departments, as well as ambassadors, agency heads and members of regulatory commissions The Senate must confirm all these appointments with a simple majority vote
executive privilege
The power to keep executive communications confidential, especially if they relate to national security. In January 2018, former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon reportedly told the House Intelligence Committee that he had been instructed to invoke executive privilege on the President's behalf, and refused to answer questions relating to the Russia investigation However in the Watergate scandel the Supreme court said that it is not an unlimited privilege
Members of Cabinet many come from Congress EXAMPLES
The president may try to recruit from Congress, but asking serving members of Congress to give up their seats to join the cabinet where both prestige and job security are often in short supply -is usually a hard sell. It is therefore more likely that presidents will try to recruit retiring or former members of Congress. That said, Donald Trump persuaded three incumbent members of *Congress Senator Jeff Sessions and representatives Tom Price and Ryan Zinke* to join his cabinet in 2017.
President nominates all federal judges
The president must fill vacancies not only on the federal Supreme Court but also on the federal trial (district) and appeal (circuit) courts. All judicial appointments are for life and therefore assume a special importance. They must be confirmed by a simple majority vote in the Senate
Why does the President need to use the power of persuasion
The problem is that almost every power that the president possesses is checked by Congress. The president. therefore, heeds Congress's agreement. He needs his persuasion to succeed. The president and the majority of Congress may well be of different parties, from 1993 to 2018, the president and both houses of Congress will have been controlled by the same party for only 10% of those 26 years.
Age balance in Cabinet EXAMPLE
The youngest ever cabinet was appointed by the youngest elected president -John F. Kennedy. Their average age was just 47. However. this rule was broken when George W. Bush appointed one of the oldest cabinets in modern times. Its average age was 58. The average age of Obama's first cabinet was also surprisingly old at just over 55. But neither Bush nor Obama could match the 'senior' look of the first Trump cabinet with an average of 63. Indeed, only four members were under 60 upon taking office, with three in their 70s
Presidents role as head of state EXAMPLE
This is most clearly seen at times of national tragedy when the president takes on the role of comforter-in-chief, sometimes of mourner-in-chief President George W. Bush played this role in the weeks following the attacks on the United States on 11 September 2001. It was the President who addressed the nation that night from the Oval Office, and he did so again at the prayer service in the Washington National Cathedral three days later Obama played this role following the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy in October 2012, as well as in the aftermath of the killing of 20 children and 6 adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, in December of the same year.
Gender balance in cabinet EXAMPLES
This is now an important factor in appointing cabinet members. Gone are the days when Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan could appoint all male cabinets. in 2001, George W. Bush appointed three women as heads of executive departments. For Obama in 2009, that number increased to four, but the total was back to just two for the incoming Trump cabinet in 2017
Members of Cabinet may be Serving or former state governors and City Mayors EXAMPLES
Two former governors joined the Trump cabinet in 2017 -*Sonny Perdue of Georgia as secretary of agriculture*. and *Rick Perry of Texas as secretary of energy*. City mayors bring executive experience. Obama's second-term cabinet included two former mayors *Anthony Foxx* of Charlotte. North Carolina. as secretary of transportation, and *Julian Castro* of San Antonio. Texas, as secretary of housing and urban development
Senate comfirms presidential appointments for cabinet EXAMPLES TRUMP
Vice President M' Pence had to cast a vote In order to break a 50-50 tie when the Senate voted to confirm Betsy DeVos as secretary of education the first time this had occurred. Fifty Republicans had voted yes, but two had joined the 46 Democrats and two independents in voting no hence the tie. A week later, Trump's nominee to be secretary of labour, Andrew Puzder, withdrew his name from consideration after it became clear that he lacked the necessary votes to be confirmed
prosecutorial discretion
Where federal officials choose which crimes to prosecute and which to leave due to limited resources Obama particually used it surrounding immigration
executive order
a rule or order issued by the president to an executive branch of the government and having the force of law
Who runs the White House office?
chief of staff
Ideology balance in cabinet
different ideological wings of their party represented It is also not unusual for a president to pick someone from the other party In his second term, Democrat President Obama appointed former Republican senator *Chuck Hagel* as his secretary of defence. In 2017, President Trump appointed a member of Obamas cabinet juniors Department of Veterans' Affairs, *David Shulkin*, to be its new boss
The last time Senate rejected a Presidents cabinet Nominnee
in 1989 when the Senate rejected President George H.W. Bush's nomination of *John Tower* as secretary of defence following public allegations of womanizing and heavy drinking
Presidents have to pass laws when they know that their veto will be overturned
in 2017 Trump had little choice but to sign the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act after it passed with almost unanimous support in Congress. Trump opposed the law, but it was clear that a veto would be easily overturned
The vice president is given the task of counting and then announcing the result of the Electoral College votes EXAMPLES
in January 2001, outgoing Vice President Gore had to announce his own defeat in the previous November's election, and in January 2013 Vice President Biden announced his own successful re-election along with that of President Obama
Number of stff in EXOP
over 2000
pocket veto
president's power to kill a bill, if Congress is not in session, by not signing it for 10 days President George H.W. Bush used 15 pocket vetoes. while both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush used just one each
New power given to the Vice President
to become acting president if the president is declared disabled 13 July 1985, President Reagan was breifly hospitalised and George HW. Bush was breifly president
