Examples of formal powers of the president
� Constitutional Enumerated Powers
- Commander-in-chief
? Can commit military forces to protect the U.S
- Veto power
- Issue executive pardons
- Make treaties
- "Take Care" that laws are faithfully executed
? Oversees the bureaucracy and makes sure it's f
How are presidents constrained in their formal powers?
- Separate institutions sharing powers
? President proposes laws
? Congress passes them
? Bureaucracy implements them
? Nominate justices to the Supreme Court or Cabinet
? Senate must confirm with majority vote
? Veto laws
? Congress can override veto wit
Examples of informal/inherent powers of the president
- Executive Privilege
? President can withhold information if it affects national security of official duties
- Executive Orders
? Authorize bureaucracy to take an action (take-care clause)
? Presidential legislation
? Usually mundane, such as designating
Informal/inherent powers of the president
� Presidential powers not originally stated or intended for the President by the Founding Fathers/Constitution
How/why did informal/inherent powers of the pres. evolve?
Individual leadership and vague wording of the constitution allowed skillful occupants to take advantage. They claimed that the "silences of the constitution" allowed them to redefine presidential power.
Different views of presidential leadership
-restrictive view of presidential power
-stewardship doctrine
-prerogative view of presidential power
How have presidents construed their broad constitutional provisions differently?
- Restrictive view of presidential power
? A view of presidential power that argues that the president can exercise only those powers listed in the constitution
? Taft took this view
- Stewardship Doctrine
? A view of presidential power that states that t
19th century vs 20th century presidents
� 19th century presidents
- Ceremonial head of state
? Tried to build unity and bipartisanship
- Avoided public addresses
? Addressed Congress, not the public
- Avoided interaction with foreign nations (isolationist stance)
- Exception to these rules was
Constitutional powers of the VP
Although the constitution establishes the office of vice president and sets the same qualifications for the office as for the presidency, it lists no formal executive powers or responsibilities.
Ex. contradictions of the president
� Paradoxes of the president
- High expectations, but few formal resources
- Ordinary, but extraordinary
- Listen, but lead
- Nonpartisan but want him to reflect the party
� Some scholars of the presidency think that the paradoxes associated with the offi
Why has presidential power grown?
� 3 Reasons
- Individual Leadership
- Public Expectations
- Congressional delegation of authority
- (Vague constitutional provisions that assertive presidents have used to broadly interpret their powers)
individual leadership
- Skillful occupants claim the "silences of the constitution" allow them to redefine presidential power
- 2 most ambiguous clauses regarding presidential power
? Commander in Chief Clause
? Take-care clause
- Particularly, catastrophic events cause the pu
Public Expectations
- Unitary office
? Resources arent' divided among 535 members of Congress
? Unlike Congress, presidents are held accountable for large, diffuse outcomes
- National Constituency
- Great Depression marked a turning point
? Before 1929, government's proper r
Congressional Delegation of Authority
- Whenever congress delegates authority to the executive branch, they are increasing the president's power beyond what is prescribed in the constitution
? Because agencies are run by presidential nominees, he can influence what the agency does.
Imperial presidency
The president is too strong when we dislike him and too weak when we believe in him.
Take-care clause of the Constitution
� "Take Care" that laws are faithfully executed
- Oversees the bureaucracy and makes sure it's fulfilling its responsibilities
- Authorizes bureaucracy to take an action
What powers have arisen from the Take-care clause?
� Powers that have arisen from this clause (Washington's precedents)
- Executive Privilege
- Executive Orders
- Executive Agreements
Commander-in-chief clause of the Constitution
Skillful presidents can use the rally effect to create enhanced powers
What does the commander-in-chief clause enable the president to do?
� Commander in chief clause evolved into/enabled the president to send troops without the need of congress declaring war
- None of the wars since WWII have been declared
What tried to limit the commander-in-chief clause power?
� War powers Act (1973) tried to curtail presidential power, but it was largely unsuccessful
- States that the president must notify Congress within 48 hours of sending troops and must get a congressional authorization if the mission lasts for 60+ days.
�
Why would congress ever give up some of its power to the executive branch?
- Controversial issue-
? Congress hates making unpopular decisions
- Technical issue
? Congress lacks policy expertise (for that subject)
- Diffuse policy/benefits to constituents are low
? Congress likes passing bills that please their constituents
� The
Big examples of why congress would ever delegate authority to the executive branch
- Financial crisis
? Troubled asset Relief Program (2008)
? Authorizes Treasury Secretary to purchase toxic assets
- Line item veto
? Allowed the president to strike out provisions in law that he didn't like without vetoing the entire legislation
? Subseq
Persuasion techniques
- Inside the Beltway Bargaining
- Presidential approval ratings
- Going public
examples of persuasion techniques
-Inside the beltway bargaining
-presidential approval ratings
-going public
-Strongest determinant of presidential success in Congress is whether Congress is controlled by the president's party.
Inside the beltway bargaining
- Bargaining with Washington DC insiders
- Negotiating and Compromise
- Mutual accommodation and reciprocity
- Don't Use force
- Common among presidents in 19th century and early 20th century
- Good Inside the Beltway Bargainers
? The Johnson "Treatment
Presidential Approval Ratings
- Members of Congress want to be seen cooperating with a popular president and rebelling against an unpopular one.
- High approval ratings make it easier for the president to rally support for his initiatives
? George W. Bush's approval ratings after 9/11
Going Public
- Actively Cultivate the Publics support
? Foreign trips
? Press conferences
? Rose Garden ceremonies
- Addresses the public, rather than members of congress directly
- How does going public differ from Inside the Beltway Bargaining?
? Isn't negotiating w
Why is it important for a president to be persuasive?
� All presidents have the same constitutional and statutory powers, so why are some presidents more effective than others?
� Presidential power is the power to persuade.
- Presidents have little formal power to achieve anything on their own
- Have to rely
who is part of the executive office of the president?
- National Security Council
? Vice president, Secretary of State, secretary of treasury, secretary of defense, chief of staff
- Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
? A director
- Council of Economic Advisers (CEA)
? 3 members
- White House Office
duties of the executive office of the president
- National Security Council
? Information and policy recommendations on national security
? NSA
? Honest broker to president
- Office of Management and Budget
? Reviews budget requests of cabinet-level departments and make sure they "fit in" with presiden
how are executive office of the pres. selected?
- National security Council
? Does not require Senate Confirmation
- Office of Management and Budget
? Director must be confirmed by the Senate
- Council of Economic advisors
? Must be confirmed by the Senate
white house staff
key aids the president sees daily
Who is a part of the white house staff?
- Chief of staff
- Congressional liaisons
- Press secretary
- National security assistant
- (Also the White House legal counsel, presidential speechwriters, assistants for domestic/foreign/economic policy, first lady staff)
duties of white house staff
- Chief of staff
? Gatekeeper to the president
? Controls the president's schedule, staffers' access
? Potential to isolate the president
? Understands centers of power
? Close advisor
- Press secretary
? Holds press conferences, field questions, runs dam
how are white house staff selected?
� None are confirmed by the Senate
- No way for Congress to Interpose
What are some problems of white house staff?
� Problems
- Insulated from political control
? Do not have to be confirmed by the senate
? Loyal to the president
? Homogeneous stream of information
? May be slow to criticize president's policies
- Lack Washington experience
? Many come from the campai
Rally-around-the-flag effect
� Catastrophic events cause the public to expect presidential responsiveness, and the public often reflexively draws together and backs the president in times of crisis.
examples of rally-around-the-flag effect
- Victory during the Gulf War- George HW Bush
- 9/11- George Bush
Four main bureaucratic "types
� 4 main types
- Cabinet Departments
- Independent executive agencies
- Independent Regulatory Commissions
- Government Corporations
How are four main bureaucratic "types" similar/different from one another?
-cabinet depts.
-independent executive agencies
-independent regulatory commissions
-gov't corporations
cabinet depts.
? Biggest units of the executive branch
? 15 broad areas of government responsibility, including state, treasury, defense, interior, justice, agriculture, energy, etc
? Broken down into subsidiary agencies
? FBI -> Justice department
? National Park Servi
independent executive agencies
? Outside of cabinet department because the president demands swift and effective action
? Created to be closer to the president
? Ex:
? NASA
? CIA
? EPA
? Selective Service
? Report directly to the president
? Nominated by the president, confirmed by the
independent regulatory commissions
? Maintain independence from president and politicians
? Deal with complex economic or technical issues
? Congress wants to keep these decisions out of the hands of politicians, who may be inclined to write the rules for partisan advantage.
? Federal Elec
gov't corporations
? Semi-independent agencies
? Deigned to serve public interest
? Private sector could produce these goods/services but would be under produced.
? Goods/services that are not profitable:
? U.S postal service (USPS)
? Corporation for Public Broadcasting (PB
characteristics of idea-type bureaucracy
� Characteristics
- Hierarchal control
- Division of labor and specialization
- Consistent set of abstract rules
- Meritocracy (People not doing job get fired)
Why does the bureaucracy fail to conform to idea-type bureaucracy?
� Divergence from Ideal
- Rarely fit the Ideal-type
- Rigid set of rules and procedures means they make decisions that are inappropriate to your personal situation.
? Inconvenient, unnecessary regulations
? Ex: license to catch a fish, searches by TSA, pe
merit system
- A system of governing in which jobs are given based on relevant technical expertise and the ability to perform
- Skills and knowledge vs. connections
- Greatly reduces the potential for incompetence, corruption, and naked partisanship.
- Formally introd
spoils system
- A system of governing in which political positions and benefits are given to the friends of the winner
- Under such a system, a change of administration (when a politician/party loses) results in an immediate large-scale turnover in the bureaucracy
- Pr
marrying the natives
- When a person starts to work for the goals of the bureaucracy instead of the goals of the people (president) that put them there.
bureaucratic rulemaking
- Rule- a statement of the bureaucracy that interprets the law or prescribes a specific action. Rules have the force of law.
- Rulemaking- the process in which the bureaucracy decides what the laws passed by Congress mean and how they should be carried ou
bureaucratic adjudication
- The process of determining whether a law or rule established by the bureaucracy has been broken.
? In judging rules, bureaucracies act like courts.
? Ex: If the NHTSA believes a car violates safety rules, it holds a hearing in which the manufacturer can
Theories of bureaucratic behavior
� William Niskanen- "The Budget-maximizing Bureaucrat"
- Bureaucrats are trying to maximize budget. The bureaucrat's personal utility, or satisfaction, is tied to the budget of the agency he/she works for.
- Agencies with bigger budgets mean bigger and mo
politics of agency creation
- Groups are involved in policy and the creation of bureaucratic structures
- Bureaucracy is not designed to be efficient
how are bureaucracies created
- It's the creation of political actors who have interests that antagonize each other
? Members of Congress, president, interest groups, and bureaucracies.
- Because they care about policy, they care about the structure of the bureaucracy
- Choices about
How does democratic politics contribute to bureaucratic problems?
- Pieces of the agency are jerry-rigged and inconsistent
- Explains why they are inefficient and pursue contradictory goals.
- Ex: NHTSA- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
? Lapdog, not a watchdog.
? Revolving door: Former NHTSA employees wor
agency capture
- A term used to describe when an agency seems to operate for the benefit of those whom it is supposed to regulate.
why is agency capture problematic
- Like hiring foxes to guard the henhouse.
- Agency capture upsets any notions of overhead democracy and raises questions about the bureaucracy's ability to uphold the core principles.
- Not widespread!
- The real problem is not that interest groups captu
legislative veto
� Legislative veto-
- Definition: Measure that gives Congress the ability to reject an action or decision of the bureaucracy
- A way in which Congress controls the bureaucracy. (Also controls bureaucracy through its power of the purse or the ability to cr
how to limit bureaucratic drift
- President nomination power
? But, the president only nominates less than 1% of bureaucrats and appointees may "marry the natives"
- Building in appropriate structures and engaging in police patrol oversight is the solution
? Reporting requirements
? Con
what is federal register
- A daily publication of the US federal government that issues proposed and final administrative regulations of federal agencies.
- Rules and regulations must be published in the Federal Register before being implemented.
why is federal register significant
- Interest groups can monitor the register and see what's coming up, so they can pull "fire alarms" when something comes up that they are against.
fire-alarm oversight
-Oversight that becomes active only where there is evidence of bureaucratic wrongdoing
- Fire alarm oversight is reactive
how does fire-alarm oversight differ from police patrol oversight
- Fire alarm oversight is reactive
? Police patrol oversight is proactive (think of their names)
- Rules/regulations must be published in the federal register before being implemented
- Interest groups pull "fire alarms" alerting their member of congress
red tape
-originates from the red ribbons used to bind official documents in the 19th century
- The ribbon is gone, but "red tape" remains as a term describing excessive bureaucratic formality.
examples of red-tape
- Waiting in line, filling out forms
- Getting a driver's license
- Getting a fishing license
- Getting a license to set up a lighting fixture.
iron triangles
mutually beneficial relationships between members of congress, interest groups, and bureaucrats.
what do iron triangles consist of
- Relationships between agencies and members of congress are often interdependent
? Bureaucrats give members of congress information and help with constituent claims/requests
? Members of congress give bureaucrats bigger budgets and favorable legislation,
How they affect bureaucracies (are these problematic?)
? Enable interest groups to dominate policy
? May contribute to inflated budgets for the bureaucracy
? Encourage policies that benefit narrow special interests.
Are iron triangles the most common form?
NO
- Bureaucracies are more likely to operate in policy subsystems than in iron triangles.
- Policy subsystem- Networks of groups with an interest in a specific policy issue or area.
structure of federal judiciary
� Dual Structure
- Federal
? Federal Law and U.S Constitution
- State
? State law and state constitution
characteristics of fed. cours
- 3 levels- District Courts, Courts of appeals, Supreme Court
? 94 district courts
? Criminal and civil cases involving Federal Law
? Criminal cases: murder, theft, assault (punishment)
? Civil cases: wrongful death, personal injury, breach of contract, d
How are the justices appointed/fired?
Length of term
- Federal judges are appointed for life
? Because the Supreme Court is unelected and tenured for life, they can make politically unpopular decisions.
- They are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate.
? Since each state has at least 1 fede
Federal judges have ignored supreme Court rulings before
- Brown vs. Board of Education (1954)
? Overturned the Hessy decision
? Separate schools are inherently unequal
? However, the ruling was vague: desegregate with "all deliberate speed"
? Allowed racists to stall on integration (not enforce the Brown Decis
Powers of the Supreme Court
- Judicial power- the authority of courts to interpret and apply the law in particular cases
- Most frequently used power: deny certiorari
? Means that the SC agrees with the lower court
? Status quo will remain in effect
? Lower court's decision is affir
Limitations of the Supreme Court
- Although the Supreme Court is viewed as powerful, it is limited in its enforcement power.
- Dependent upon other actors to enforce its decisions
? Hamilton: "Court has neither force nor will, but merely judgement"
? Relies upon executive, legislative, s
Fails to exercise judicial review: what does it mean?
- Supreme Court agrees with the lower court
- Status quo will remain in effect
- Lower court's decision is affirmed.
Judicial review
- The power to review decisions of the lower courts and to determine the constitutionality of laws and actions of public officials
- Originalism- the idea that SC justices should interpret the Constitution in terms of the original intentions of the framer
how was judicial review established
- The Supreme Court asserted this power in the case of Marbury vs. Madison.
? Having lost control of both the executive and legislative branches of government, the lame-duck Federalist president, John Adams, and the federal Congress rapidly began creating
How are appointments made to the federal judiciary and Supreme Court?
- All federal judges (and Supreme Court Justices) are nominated by the president with advice and consent of the Senate.
- Because the federal court of appeals and Supreme Court don't coincide with state boundaries and are most important, appointments are
Qualifications to serve as a Supreme Court Justice
- None but typically they are educated and old?
How the SC decides what cases to hear
- Only choose 100 cases out of 7,000 per year (less than 1% of cases)
- Generally, the Court picks cases that raise important constitutional issues or questions of substantial political importance, on on which different appellate circuits have issued conf
� What happens after the case is granted certiorari?
- Oral arguments
? Each side has � an hour
? Tuesday-Thursday, October-June (summer is used to write stuff and study and stuff)
- Justices meet to discuss week's cases
? Secret
? No notes, clerks, staffers
? Take preliminary vote, which is nonbinding
? Ma
amicus curiae beliefs
- A legal brief filed by someone or some organization who holds an interest in a case but is not an actual party.
- "Friend of the court", not a litigant.
significance of amicus curiae beliefs
- Makes an argument for why the court should hear the case
? Often persuasive, as the SC sometimes quotes from these briefs in their written opinions.
How do SC judges decide?
- Precedent ("stare decisis"- let the decision stand)
? Not always clear-cut
? New and unusual circumstances
? Facts of the case bring 2 precedents in conflict with each other
? Litigants always say that precedent is in their favor
- Ideological preferenc
theories of judicial decision making
- Legal model
? A view of judicial decision making that argues that judges set aside their own values and make decisions based solely on legal criteria.
- Slot machine theory
? A version of the legal model articulated by Justice Owen Roberts
? The view of
Precedent/Stare Decisis
- "Stare decisis"- let the decision stand
What are some problems with precedent?
- Not always clear-cut
- New and unusual circumstances
- Facts of the case bring 2 precedents in conflict with each other
- Litigants always say that precedent is in their favor.
Majority/Concurring/Dissenting opinions
- What's the difference between these three?
� Majority opinion-
- A decision of the SC in which 5 or more of the justices are in agreement on the ruling on which party to the dispute should win a case and the reason that party should win
� Concurring opinion
- An opinion written by a SC justice who
� Plurality opinion
- A decision of the SC in which a majority of the SC agrees on a decision, but there is no majority agreement on the reason for the decision.
� What can be done if the SC rules in a way that upsets the public?
- Constitutional amendment
? Proposal
? 2/3 vote of House and Senate
? Application from 2/3 states
? Ratification
? � vote of state legislature
? � vote of ratifying conventions
? Has only happened a few times
? 14th amendment- civil rights for African Am
Current composition of the Supreme Court
� Sitting members of the Supreme court; the party of the president that nominated them
- Most liberal
? Kagan; Democrat
? Sotomayor; Democrat
? Ginsburg; Democrat
? Breyer; Democrat
- Most Conservative
? Alito; Republican
? Roberts; Republican
? Thomas; R