US President Power

Introduction
- Spawned imitiations across the world
- Exec power in pres created an ‘elective kingship’
- To avoid power abuse, intrictae sep of powers:
- Legislative
- Executive
- Judiciary
- Pres: chief exec, HoS, C-i-C, chief diplomat, wide ranging powers including vetoing
legislation
- However, congress: strong counterbalancing powers
- Declare war
- Overrid pres veto
- Senate: also powers: approve appointments, ratify treaties

Powers
- President is chief executive
- All executive order are of president
- President can appoint any official in Govt. it is called spoil system.
- President choose his cabinet but no member will be from legislator.
- Diplomatic and military powers.
- president can pardon anyone

Election of President
https://www.usa.gov/election
- 538 electoral college members which are directly selected vote for president.
- Absolute majority is required to appoint president

Qualifications
- President must be born citizen of USA
- Age 40 years
- He must not hold any other govt. office
- He must be resident in USA from last 14 yrs
- He/she will not be from legislatures
- President term is 04 years

General features of presidentialism

Greater centralization
- More heirarchical
- Centralization around a single leader
- Montesquieu: this form of govt better admin ‘by one than by many’
- Head of govt, head of state both pres, chief executive → directly elected
Overlap greater in pres
- Pres only elected in executive, rest are appointed
 - Bureauc politically partisan and temp
Centralization
- Centralizes power in the hands of a single leader
- May or may not be elitist
- Since pres directly elected, directly accountable to the public and to the Congress ass
well

Limited presidentialism
Presidentialism may be limitied or unlim
- Limited: constrained by constt, powers counterbalanced by an assembly
- Eg the US: Limited presidentialism where US constt + congress limit pres powers
- Unlim: unchecked powers, effectively a dictatorship eg Kazakhstan

Checks and balances

Development of US Pres sys

Early 20th C
- Presidency secondary instt mainly
- Pol leadership from congress
Transformation through two key dev
1. Greater interventionaism
2. Abondment of isolationism
a. After FDR’s New Deal 1930s, US pres as chief legislator and world leader post
WW2
b. ‘Imperial presidency’ → the ease w/ which Nixon escalated Vietnam w/o Congress
declaration
‘Power to persuade’
- Pres power fragile, insubstantial
- Ability to bargain, encourage, cajole but not dictate
- Ability to get their way depends on rel w/
1. Congress → most crucial
a. After vietnam and watergate esp → congress more assertive
b. Eg Wars Powers Act 1974 → congressional support req for sending US troops
abroad
2. Federal bureauc
3. Supreme court
4. Media
Limits to presidential powers:
- Pres can be rebuffed by both houses even if dominated by their party
 - Even weaker if not majority eg when Obama’s influence in Cong restricted when Dems
lost seats in 2010 mid-term elec
- Congress right to impeach pres eg against Bill Clinton 1998 (however passed by
Senate)
- Can be impeached by ⅔ majority in Senate → gross misconduct
- Can veto a bill to become a law but senate can still pass w/ ⅔ maj
‘Two presidencies’
1. Domestic pres
a. Characterized by policy failure, gridlock
b. Most pres retreat from this
2. Foreign pres
a. Gravitate towards it to demons leadership
b. Stronger after 9/11