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Haley Blue Jamie Nelson POLS 1100-012 2/27/14 The Executive Branch The founding fathers never could have foreseen the impact our nation would have on the rest of the world. With that being said it was an extremely astute decision to create a chief executive in the Articles of Confederation for the then newly found republic, and for our world leading country we live in today. The Executive Branch consists of the president who is responsible for carrying out several different roles, the vice president who is there to assume presidency if it is ever needed and also several different cabinets that all help carry out the many duties that help run our country. The President is the Head of State, Chief Executive, Commander in Chief, Chief Diplomat and Chief Legislator. Not only does the president have to find and maintain a balance between the roles constitutionally delegated to him but there are others such as the Chief of Party, and inherent powers that have been established over the growth of our nation. In short he is the leader, face and backbone of our country. The first power constituted to the president is Head of State. What is Head of State? Well in simplest terms it means master of ceremonies. The president is the face of our country, thus meaning he has mass exposure and impact on the public eye. He is acting out his role as Head of State in speeches such as State of the Union and also his inauguration speech. The exposure he attains can be both negative and positive. With positive exposure the president can have a more promising relationship with Congress and help carry out proposed legislation and also have the

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upper hand resulting in better chances for reelection. However, a negative exposure can mean a halt when it comes to his presidential agenda. The Constitution of the United States asserts, The president has the power to carry out laws made by Congress, called the executive power. (352). As stated in the Constitution being Chief Executive means making sure that the acts of Congress, federal courts and also treaties are efficiently executed and carried out as they should be. The power to carry out acts of Congress is not solely conducted by the president alone but with the help of the fifteen executive departments led by the presidents cabinet (federal bureaucracy). He is also responsible for the appointment and removal of those government positions including but not limited to the cabinet, subcabinet and federal judgeships. Not only does the president have the power of appointing the judgeships but he also can grant reprieves and pardons (excluding cases of impeachment), meaning that he may postpone execution and grant a release from punishment. He may do this at any time before, during and even after trial. Commander in Chief is an important role and responsibility of the president. He is the leader of our countries military forces and state National Guard units when called to duty. When it comes to military affairs the president has had extreme power in decision making in our countries history and continues to today. Although he does not have the power to declare war, a power constitutionally granted to Congress, he does hold the power to send armed forces into warlike situations. This power was gained in 1973 when Congress passed the War Powers Resolution (227). We have seen this power taken into action by several past Presidents like Harry Truman in Korea and also Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon in Southeast Asia, both situations where Congress had not declared war (226). But, even though the president can send armed forces, Congress can make the decision to remove troops from any given area. This works the

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other way as well, meaning even if Congress were to declare war the president is not obligated to send troops. The president also is the Chief Diplomat where he is responsible for recognizing foreign governments, making treaties, making executive agreements and nominating ambassadors. He plays the dominate role in overseeing American foreign policy. Recognizing foreign governments is the United States decision to whom we respect as a government entity. Once we receive a foreign diplomat we can then build relations and make treaties. When it comes to making treaties with other nations the president must work hand in hand with Congress. A treaty must be presented to the Senate where they may make modifications, and it must pass with a two-thirds vote, ratification, to approve it. After ratification the senatorial version of the treaty must be approved by the president to pass. If the senatorial alterations are too much and the president does no longer approve he may withdraw the treaty. However, the Senate isnt always needed to approve presidential decisions regarding foreign affairs. When it comes to executive agreements with other heads of state it does not require any Senate approval, although Congress may choose to not give them the funds needed to implement the agreements. As Chief Legislator presidents must present to Congress legislation which they feel is necessary. They do this at the Constitution required, annual State of the Union message. During this message the president presents his legislative agenda giving an overview of those things the president aspires to accomplish during his session. This is a message not only for Congress, it is also for the American people and also the world. The president will typically make several announcements to try and steer the public opinion to try and match his own legislative goals. He must also hold leadership over members in Congress, meaning he will have far more success in getting bills passed if his same party holds majority of seats in Congress. Although the president

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has a program that he wants to put into action, Congress is not required to pass any of these bills. All bills including those of presidential legislation can go back and forth for some time, because once Congress passes legislation it then goes to the President who can veto the bill if he does not agree with whats being proposed. Every bill must be sent to the president before it is able to become law. Therefore the president can send it back with a veto message expressing the objections he has to that particular bill, sign the bill, or can choose to line-item veto, meaning only veto specific parts of that legislation. If the president does not send back the bill to Congress after ten congressional working days, it then becomes law without requiring the presidents signature. When it boils down to it the president has the final yes or no. The president is the leader of their political party, therefore another role he has to carry out is Chief of Party. Some benefits of being Chief of Party is the ability to choose the national committee chairperson and also strengthen his own party through patronage, or appointing government jobs to supporting party members. Along with appointing jobs he can also run fundraisers for his party. Fund-raisers can be through appearances, speeches, and in todays technologically advanced world they can even be via the internet. The president, as stated before, has a major influence not only over the public but over Congress as well. He is able to reward members of Congress in exchange of more support for his own legislation. As the party chief the president also seeks public approval of his constituencies, which happen to be the public of the United States including those who did or did not vote for him, or even vote at all. Amongst the constitutional powers the president also has an array of privileges or what are known as special powers that are only to be used by the Executive branch. These powers include emergency powers, executive orders and executive privilege. Emergency power is an inherent power (derived from Constitutional statements) that is to be used only during a national

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crisis. In the past it has been used particularly in foreign affairs. Executive orders illustrate the presidents legislative power, meaning these orders have the same force as law. Executive orders can enforce legislative status as well as the Constitution and treaties with foreign diplomats, and also make or change rules and practices of administrative agencies. The last inherent power executive privilege, is the power for presidents and presidents executive officials to hold information as well as refuse to appear before Congress or the courts. Our country is a major influence when it comes the world around us, making the president as leader of the Executive Branch vital to the structure of our government. He not only provides us with security and enforces law but also provides guidance for our nations future. All of our countrys forty-four presidents have juggled the many powers that come with being head of the Executive Branch and served as a validation to the Constitution of the United States. Without the creation and existence of the Executive Branch our country may have fallen towards either extreme, whether that be anarchy or totalitarianism.

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Work Cited Schmidt Steffen, Mack Shelley, and Barbara Bardes. American Government and Politics Today. 2012-2013 ed. Boston: Wadsworth, 2013. 1-362. Print.