Unit five- The executive Branch and the Bureaucracy

Executive Departments

15 different departments that do much of the work for the Federal government under the President's direction and leadership. They are responsible for carrying out laws created by Congress as well.

Chief Legislator

Although the President is not in the legislature, he has the ability to influence our legislature by recommending new laws and holding meetings with Congressional leaders to achieve his/her agenda.

Diplomatic privileges and immunity

Ambassadors are granted immunity within the sovereign country that they reside, meaning they cannot be arrested, sued, or taxed. If a diplomat is behaving inappropriately, they can be declared "persona non grata" and be expelled from the nation.

foreign affairs

The United States relationship with other nations and how they deal with issues involving foreign nations. (Key Foreign Policy issues/events in American history are the Monroe Doctrine, the Open Door Policy, Isolationism, the Pearl Harbor Attack, the Cold War policies of containment and détente, and dealings with the Middle East involving terrorism.)

Commander in Chief

The President is the head of all the armed forces of the United States.

Chief Diplomat

The President is the head of foreign policy for the United States and the chief spokesperson to the world.

Order of Succession

he plan for a presidential vacancy is that the Vice President would assume the duties of the President. The Vice President may also assume the duties if the President writes a letter saying he cannot exercise his duties or if the VP and Cabinet deem the president incapable of carrying out his duties (25th amendment).

The executive office of the president

his is an "umbrella" term which is organized of several different agencies with more than 1800 employees; their main job is to advise and assist the President.

Foreign policy

many different policies on matters of international diplomacy, military operations, commercial interests, etc.... Basically, anything the government says or does in world affairs.

Department of Homeland Security

ob is to protect the United States against terrorism. This includes training in implementing plans with local police and fire departments as well as border security, protecting our infrastructure, preparing for emergencies, and information analysis.

The Term of Office

4 yr. term; originally no limit. 2 Terms was a tradition began by Washington. •22nd Amendment 1951: no more than 2 full terms or no more than 10 yrs. Every president until FDR only served 2 terms at most (voluntarily) - FDR was elected 4 times.

executive agreements

A pact between a president and the head of a foreign state, or their subordinates. Unlike treaties, these do not have to be approved by the Senate.

Qualifications for the President

Age = 35 years, Natural Born U.S. citizen Jus Sanguinis, Lived in U.S. at least 14 yrs.

War powers resolution of 1973

Allows the President to commit military forces if Congress has declared war, if Congress has authorized that action, or when an attack on the nation or its armed forces has occurred. The president must notify Congress within 48 hours of the military

The Whig Theory

Assumption that the executive would be restrained and that Congress would lead the policy process while the President should only do constitutional duties.

The Transformation of the Vice President

Began to change after Truman took over for FDR. President's realized they were one breath away from dying, and the VP needed to be informed on major policies and ideas so they could take over if necessary.

Framers debate

Debates over the executive at the Constitutional Convention were 1) should there even be a president? 2) Should the President be able to check the legislature? 3) How much influence should the President have over the Military?

The structure of the cabinet

Each department is headed by a secretary (except for the DOJ headed by the Attorney General) who serve in the cabinet. Each department is made up of subunits such as OSHA in the Department of Labor. Each department varies greatly in size and scope as well.

Foreign Aid

Economic and military aid given to foreign countries. This began with the Lend-Lease policy during WWII and the Marshall Plan afterwards; however it is primarily used now for humanitarian efforts or to prevent nations from attaining nuclear capabilities.

Director of National Intelligence

Established in 2005, the office was created because of pre-9/11 failures to gather intelligence on espionage. The DNI's job is to integrate military, foreign, and domestic intelligence for the defense of the U.S. Currently Dan Coats, former Senator & 3rd District Representative from Indiana

independent agencies

Government agencies still in the executive branch, but they do not get placed within any of the cabinet departments. Congress creates these agencies for specific purposes (Social Security Administration, Federal Elections Commission, etc...).

Expanding presidential power

Having men that assumed more responsibility expanded the role of the President (Lincoln, Roosevelt's). •Presidents have expanded their role in policy making; and if a president tries to sit out on these issues they are seen as weak .•Expansion of the executive branch has expanded their power. •An ever expanding and complex society and economy require a larger role from the government. •Immediate action (think of having to launch nuclear weapons, take out Osama Bin-Laden) •Congress is to blame, the executive branch has expanded because of offices and laws passed by Congress and the lack of checks being exercised by the Congress.

Commander-in-Chief

Head of the armed forces (Article II, Section 2, Clause 1). This power has caused much conflict between the President and Congress. Congress has the power to declare war and fund the military, but the President has pressed them into making difficult decisions several times.

Three Fundamental Principles of a Bureaucratic Organization

Hierarchical Authority •Job Specialization •Formalized Rules

diplomacy

Interacting peacefully with foreign nations to solve a problem or ease tensions between nations.

National Security

Involves protecting the United States against outside threats such as terrorism, disease, and cyber crimes.

Domestic affairs

Issues within our own borders (prior to WWI, we were isolationists primarily concerned with domestic affairs)

Office of Management and Budget

Job is to prepare a federal budget that the President must submit to Congress every year for approval.

power of recognition

Leaders of foreign nations and diplomatic representatives being hosted by the president. Recognition does not mean one government approves of another ones actions.

Department of Defense

Led by the Secretary of Defense, they have to be the President's chief advisor in making and carrying out defense policy and at the same time operate as the head of the Defense Department. The Joint Chiefs of Staff are also a six member group that are comprised of the top ranking official from all the armed services to advise the President.

Balance the Ticket

Many VP's are chosen based on their ability to get votes or "balance the ticket". Therefore they may choose the VP based on their race, gender, ideologies, geography or other characteristics.

Evolving role of the first lady

Many first ladies since Eleonora Roosevelt have taken an active role in American society. •Eleanor Roosevelt- traveled extensively and spoke on behalf of her husbands policies as well as rights for women and children• Jacqueline Kennedy- took on a major restoration of the White House• Lady Bird Johnson- has an awesome name• Betty Ford- fought for equal rights for women• Barbara Bush- national effort to end illiteracy and fight the war on drugs• Hillary Clinton- spearheaded efforts to overhaul healthcare• Laura Bush- helped support military personnel and their families during wars in Iraq and Afghanistan •Michelle Obama- outspoken on healthy eating and lifestyles.

NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organization was formed to promote the collective defense of Western Europe against Soviet threats; now it is considered the most crucial mutual defense treaty the United States is in.

power of clemency

Power to postpone an execution or sentence or to completely pardon an individual of their crime.

veto power

Presidential power to deny a bill from becoming a law. A veto can be overridden by a 2/3rd vote from both houses of Congress.

Executive privilege

Sometimes the Presidents insist that the Constitution gives them the inherent power to refuse disclosure of certain information to Congress or the SC. •Congress has never recognized this privilege, US v. Nixon said privilege does exist in regards to matters of national security.

The cabinet

Term given for the leaders of each department appointed by the President, Congress may create new Cabinet positions or eliminate them.

The role of the cabinet

The Cabinet leaders run their departments at the pleasure of the president. They are to administer their department, while reporting back to the President any progress, struggles, and new directions

Congressional oversight

The Congress has the ability to investigate potential abuses of power in the executive branch. This is a powerful check over the executive.

Branches of the Military

The Defense Department consolidated the armed forces under one leadership in 1947; however the different branches still operate and train individually. The Army, Navy, and Air Force are the 3 major departments (the Marines operate inside the Naval department, the National Guard operate inside the United States Army).

Chief Administrator

The President administers the largest government in the history of the world (head of bureaucracy).

Power of appointment and removal

The President appoints top officials in the government such as cabinet members, the head of the Federal Reserve, Ambassadors, and all federal judges. •The president also has the power to remove people from federal agencies that are "unfit"; however most of those officials resign.

power to recommend legislation

The President has a strong role in recommending legislation to Congress, many times these are introduced at the State of the Union address. (Affordable Care Act)

Chief Citizen

The President is seen as the pinnacle of American citizenship and therefore is held to a high moral and ethical standard.

Early Vice Presidents

The constitutional only states that the Vice President will preside over the Senate (vote in the event of a tie) and help determine presidential disability. That meant many early VP's had very little responsibility.

Bureaucrat

The individuals that do bureaucratic work, these involve workers at the IRS, EPA, FBI, historians at the Smithsonian and so many more government employees. (Think if someone was not elected, that usually makes them a bureaucrat)

Bureaucracy

The large and complex administrative structure that manages our governments day to day operations.

Chief Economist

The president has a role in shaping the economy with the inflation rate, unemployment, and taxes (although some argue the president does not influence the economy as much as free market influences).

Treaty Making power

The president has the ability to negotiate treaties; however the president has been making "agreements" and "deals" that have legal standing; however do not have to be approved by the Senate.

Chief Executive

The president is in charge of executing the laws to the best of his ability in a constitutional manner.

Chief of Party

The president is recognized as the leader of his or her political party, and other party members follow their leadership

Chief of State

The president is the ceremonial head of the government; the symbol of all the people of the nation.

The Stewardship Theory

Theodore Roosevelt changed to this theory, believing that the president should lead the nation and build public support for particular policies.

Limits on presidential power

There are obvious checks on the president such as judicial review from the SC (Youngstown Sheet & Tube v. Sawyer), Congressional override (recently with Obama and ability to file suit against Saudi Arabia), and impeachment power (Johnson and Clinton)

Embassies and Ambassadors

These are official United States territories in over 180 countries worldwide used for diplomatic means. The Ambassadors are chosen by the president to work at embassies across the globe to help increase communications between the countries.

National security council

Top advisers to the president on matters of national security, they meet at the presidents request and they help shape foreign, domestic, and military policy.

Secretary of State

Top member in the cabinet, deals with foreign policy, diplomacy, and is a major advisor to the President.•The Current Secretary of State is Mike Pompeo.

signing statements

a statement from the president on how a law should be enforced.

12th Amendment

created the president/VP ticket system.

Executive orders

directive, rule or regulation having effect of law over executive departments, commissions, and other agencies•Example: Closure of GITMO

Presidential Succession Act of 1947

established Speaker of the House, then President Pro Temp (Senate), follow V.P. in succession; remaining 15 cabinet members in order based off the departments creation.

UN

the United Nations was created after WWII and is ran based on a charter written by the Allied Forces. Today there are 193 member countries that primarily operate in peace keeping missions or humanitarian missions.