Chapter 6 The Executive Branch. #41 Qualifications Be a native born US citizen At least 35 years old Resident of the US for at least 14 years Historically:

Chapter 6

The Executive Branch

#41 Qualifications

• Be a native born US citizen

• At least 35 years old

• Resident of the US for at least 14 years

• Historically: all have been white men, all have been Christians, many have been lawyers

The Presidency

• What types of changes are we starting to see regarding the types of people running for President?

Term of Office

• 4 year term– Can serve 2 terms = 8 years total– George Washington set this precedent– Franklin D. Roosevelt served 4 terms – Term limits established by the 23rd

Amendment passed in 1951

Salary

• Congress sets the salary but cannot change it during the Presidents term of office

• President gets paid $400,000 per year plus $50,000 non-taxable allowance

• Also gets an annual allowance for travel

Benefits

• Lives in the White House

• Camp David

• Fleet of cars, helicopters, and planes– Air Force One

• Continues to get paid once not in office

The Vice President

• Takes over if the President dies, resigns, or is removed from office

• Presides over the Senate• Have been given more responsibilities• Must meet same qualifications as Pres.• Paid $186,300 per yr.• $10,000 taxable expense allowance• 9 VP’s have become President!

Succession

• So if VP becomes Pres, who becomes VP?• 1967 25th Amendment says that new Pres

nominates a new VP• Nomination must be approved by Congress

– First used in 1973 – Gerald Ford replaced resigning VP Spiro Agnew– Used again in 1974 when Ford replace Pres.

Nixon. Nelson Rockefeller became VP– Only time in history that US had a VP and Pres

that the people did not elect!

25th Amendment

• Also says: VP will serve as acting Pres until the Pres is able to perform his duties

• If that can’t happen, then 2/3 vote in Congress

• Presidential Succession: The order in which the office of President is to be filled

Order of Succession

• If President dies, then who takes office?– Vice President

• If Vice President dies, who takes office?– Speaker of the House

• If the Speaker dies, who takes office?– President Pro Tempore

• And who takes over if none of these individuals are able to?– The members of the Cabinet, in order of when the

departments were created.

Cabinet Succession

• Secretary of State– Condoleezza Rice

• Secretary of the Treasury – Henry Paulson

• Secretary of Defense – Robert Gates

• Attorney General – Michael Mukasey

• Secretary of the Interior– Dirk Kempthorne

• Secretary of Agriculture– Ed Schafer

• Secretary of Commerce – Carlos Gutierrez (non-natural)

• Secretary of Labor – Elaine Chao (non-natural)

• Secretary of Health and Human Services

– Michael Leavitt

• Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

– Alphonso Jackson *resigned

• Secretary of Transportation– Mary Peters

• Secretary of Energy – Samuel Bodman

• Secretary of Education– Margaret Spellings

• Secretary of Veterans Affairs– James Peake

• Secretary of Homeland Security– Michael Chertoff

#42 Powers and Roles of the President

• Legislative Leader– Recommends/suggests

needed laws to Congress– Does this by giving a

speech each year• State of the Union

• Televised

• Tells Congress what programs and policies that the President wants to put into effect

– Veto power


• Commander in Chief– Head of the US Armed

Forces– Final say in planning how a

war is fought– Can’t declare war, only

Congress can– BUT….– Can send troops into action– War Powers Act 1973:

President has to recall troops within 60 days unless Congress approves. Can extend to 90 days


• Foreign-Policy leader

• Foreign Policy: the government’s plan for interacting with the other countries of the world

• President seeks to secure friendly relations with foreign gov’ts while preserving national security


• President will appoint people to represent the US in foreign countries

• President will meet with foreign dignitaries• Important for the President to be diplomatic -- he is

our Chief Diplomat– Diplomacy: the art of interacting with foreign

governments– Diplomatic notes: Written communication among

diplomats– Treaties: written agreements with other countries

• All treaties must be made with the advice of the Senate and approved by a 2/3 vote!


• Judicial Powers– President has the power to appoint Supreme

Court Justices and other federal judges• Appointments must be approved by a majority vote in the

Senate

– President can grant reprieves and pardons to people convicted of federal crimes

• Reprieve: postpones the carrying out of a person’s sentence

• Pardon: forgives a person convicted of a crime and sets them free

• Commutation: making a sentence less severe


• Other Roles not mentioned in the Constitution:– Chief of State: President is the symbol of

the United States and its people.• Duties include greeting foreign heads of state

and traveling to other countries• Ceremonial duties include awarding medals,

lighting the nation’s Christmas Tree, and throwing out the first baseball to open the season


– Political Party Leader:• Members of the same party work hard to elect

and re-elect the President• In return, the President gives speeches in favor

of other party members running for office.• Also assists with party fund raising for

campaigns, candidates, and programs


• Daily life:

– Day to day activities are planned out and kept on a time line

– Must be able to be in touch with key gov’t officials at all times

• Means he’s never far from a phone!


• Daily Life cont…– Activities:

• Meetings• Speeches• Addresses to the nation

– FDR “Fireside Chats”

• Press conferences• Sign/veto bills• Deal with matters

regarding foreign policy, national defense issues

• Read the paper and study reports

#44 How should a president be selected?

• ELECTORAL COLLEGE– Each state selects

members called ELECTORS.

– Each state has the same number of electors as it had senators and representatives in Congress.

Electoral College

• Each electoral would vote for TWO PEOPLE, one of whom had to be a resident of another state.

• The person who received the highest number of votes would become the president.

• 2nd place became vice president.

Electoral College

• IF two people tied OR there was no majority – the the House of Representatives would select the president by majority vote. – Each state had only 1 vote!

• ONLY USED IN 1824

– Tie in vice president would be broken by a Senate vote.

Electoral College Today

• Changes in 1828 and 1961.• Whoever gets the majority of

votes in the state – gets ALL the electoral votes.

• EXCEPTION! Nebraska and Maine.– Electoral votes can split.

• Never has happened.

Electoral College Today

• No two votes for electoral representatives.

• 2nd place does not become vice president.

#45 Executive Departments and the Cabinet

• President’s closets advisers and aides make up the Executive Office of the President– Established in 1939– Each President has reorganized the office– Agencies and departments advise the

President on current issues• Domestic and international affairs


• Executive Office– Council of Economic Advisers– Office of Management and Budget

• Budget: plan of income and spending

– National Security Council (NSC)• Top ranking group of advisers concerning defense and

security.

– Office of National Drug Control Policy– Council on Environmental Quality

• Personal & political advisers, researchers, clerical staff, social secretaries, and doctor


• Executive Departments:– Not designated by the Constitution– 14 separate departments– Congress has the power to establish,

reorganize, combine, and eliminate departments


• Department of State– Conducts foreign relations, protects US

citizens abroad, issues passports and visas• Ambassadors: hisghest-ranking US

representatives in foreign countries• Embassy: official residence and offices of the

ambassador• Ministers: in smaller countries, rank lower than

ambassadors


• Department of State– Consul: represents US commercial interest

in foreign countries– Consulate: consul’s office, found in large

foreign cities– Passports: formal documents that allow US

citizens to travel abroad.– Visas: allow foreigners to come to the US


• Department of the Treasury– Mints, coins and prints money, collects

taxes and pays bills, manages government funds

– Division include IRS, Customs Service, and Secret Service

• Counterfeiting: making or distribution fake money


• Department of Defense– Maintains US armed forces, conducts military

studies, operates military bases– Secretary of Defense is ALWAYS a civilian (non-

military person)– 3 major divisions:

• Department of the Army• Department of the Navy• Department of the Air Force

– Highest ranking officers form the Joint Chiefs of Staff


• Department of Justice– Investigates violations of federal laws,

prosecutes cases before courts, administers naturalization laws, enforces immigration laws

– Led by Attorney General– Divisions include FBI, INS, and Federal

Bureau of Prisons


• Department of the Interior– Controls public lands, maintains public

parks, supervises American Indian reservations, controls water resources

– Divisions:• Bureau of Indian Affairs• Bureau of Reclamation• National Park Service and a few others


• Department of Agriculture– Helps farmers raise and manage crops,

directs soil conservation programs, manages food stamps and school lunch programs

– Divisions:• Farm Service Agency• Food and Nutrition Service


• Department of Commerce– Encourages and regulates foreign trade,

publishes reports on business and trade, sets standards for eights and measures

– Patent and Trademark Office • Protects the rights of inventors


• Department of labor– Determines standards of labor, publishes

employment information, directs public employment services

#46 Independent Agencies and Regulatory Commissions

• Independent agencies: agencies that help the president carry out the duties of office.

• More than 65 independent agencies– Each created by congress

• EXAMPLE: US Commission on Civil Rights, Farm Credit Administration, Small Business Administration, NASA


• Regulatory Commissions: independent agencies that have the power to make rules and bring violators to court

• Decisions have the force of law

• Ran by individuals appointed by the President and approved by the Senate– Serve long terms


• Federal Bureaucracy– Bureaucracy: the departments and

agencies in the executive branch

• 3 million people– Administrators, lawyers, scientists, doctors,

engineers, secretaries, and clerks

• Rules and Regulations– “Red Tape”

Documents

Chapter 6 The Executive Branch. #41 Qualifications Be a native born US citizen At least 35 years old Resident of the US for at least 14 years Historically: