The President of the United States of AmericaTHE EXECUTIVE BRANCH

Presidential Qualifications That MUST be Met • Age – at least 35 years old• Presidential Trivia• Youngest ever to hold office – Theodore Roosevelt• Youngest ever to be elected – John F. Kennedy• Oldest ever to be elected – Ronald Reagan

• Citizenship• Natural-born• Jus Soli - Law of the Soil – born on U.S. soil• Jus Sanguinas – Law of the Blood – at leas one parent is a U.S. citizen

• Residency• Must have lived in the U.S. for at least 14 years (prior to the election)

UNWRITTEN, but Understood Qualifications• Good record in public office• Most presidents have been• Governors• Senators

• Protestant or Christian-based Affiliation• Come from larger states• Pleasant and healthy-looking• Happily married & family oriented• Good public speaker

The Path to the Presidency• Most candidates simply announce they want to run• Then they try to win their party’s nomination

• A candidate who does not want to represent one of the political parties must run as a third party candidate• In MOST states, third party candidates don’t have the money or

number of party members in each state to qualify to get their name on the ballot so they have to…• Petition to get their name on the ballot• They have to get a certain number of registered voter signatures on a petition

to have their name placed on the ballot

On the Campaign Trail• The use of money, a needed campaign resource that poses a

variety of problems, is regulated in today’s elections.• Political Campaign Money

Political Campaign Money

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Regulates federal elections

Does not regulate soft money

Does regulate hard money

Campaign money comes from both public and private sources and is regulated by the Federal Election Commission

• Once a candidate from one of the two main parties announces their intention to try to win their party’s nomination, they have to• Campaign from state to state to try to win that nomination via• Direct Primaries• This is held between the end of January through April or May in Presidential

election years.• A specified day in that state where registered voters• Go to the polls• Request the ballot from their chosen party• Then vote for their favorite candidate

OR…STATES THAT DON’T HAVE PRIMARIES, HOLD…• Caucuses• These are also held between the end of January through April or May in

Presidential election years.• A specified day in that state where voters go the local meeting of the political

party they are a member of• They listen to speeches about each candidate who wants to represent their

party• After the speeches, they cast their vote for the candidate they like the most

• After the Primaries and Caucuses have tallied their results…• Each party in the state sends delegates with their state’s results

to the National Convention• The National Conventions• These are held by each political party in the late summer or

early fall of Presidential Election years• Each state casts their votes• The candidate with the most votes overall receives his/her

party’s nomination

Elections• The detailed procedures that govern the casting of votes

for elected officials help ensure a democratic way of life.• Election Procedures

The Basics of Election Procedure• Elections are largely governed by State law• Aspects of national elections such as dates are governed by federal law• Voting takes place in voting districts called precincts• Within the precincts, voters cast their votes at polling places• A ballot is used to register a person’s votes• Most States use a form of the Australian ballot – either an office-group ballot or a party-column ballot

Election procedures are clearly established by State law and, in some regards, federal law as well.

Presidential Election• The candidates for each party campaign up until the

election in November.• Once the popular vote is counted, it is time for the

Electoral College to get into gear.• The Electoral College has electors from each state who

are sent to vote by their political party• The number of electoral votes a state has is determined

by adding the number of representatives for that state to the number of senators.

• In all but two states (ME and NE) the winning political party sends all of their electors to the capitol building in their state to cast their votes• That is because the Electoral College is a winner-take-all

system• Once the Electoral votes are cast in the month of

December after the election, these votes are sealed and sent to the U.S. Congress in Washington, D.C. where they will be opened and counted on January 6th.

• Our Founding Fathers set up the Electoral college because most people in the late 1700s were illiterate • With the winner-take-all system, it is possible for the

winner of the popular vote to lose the election in the Electoral College. Therefore, some reforms of the Electoral College have been suggested• Direct Popular Election – would totally abolish the Electoral

College• Proportional Plan – gives each candidate the proportion of

electoral votes they earned in each state• District Plan – would allow the candidate to obtain electoral votes

based on each district he/she wins. The overall winning candidate would receive the two votes representing the senate.

• National Bonus Plan – gives the popular vote winner 100 bonus points just for winning the popular vote.

Roles of the President• Commander in Chief – leader of the U.S. Armed Forces• Chief of State – sets and negotiates U.S. foreign policy• Chief Executive – sees that all laws are enforced• Chief Administrator – is the head of the Federal Employees• Chief Diplomat – negotiates peace or agreements between other

countries• Chief Legislator – signs or vetoes bills and can introduce legislation• Chief of Party – the leader of his political party• Chief Citizen – the representative of all the citizens in the U.S.

The President’s Executive Powers• The Executive Powers come from• The Constitution• The Oath of Office

• The Ordinance Power• He can issue executive orders which are directives, rules, or

regulations that have the effect of law• The Constitution doesn’t expressly give this power to the president but

Congress backs up this implied power

• Appointment power• The president can appoint• Ambassadors and other diplomats• Cabinet members and their top aids• Heads of independent agencies• All federal judges, U.S. marshals, and attorneys• All officers in the armed forces

• These appointments must be approved by the Senate• The president can fire only those he has appointed• He cannot fire the federal judges he has appointed

Diplomatic and Military Powers• The President is in charge of foreign affairs for the U.S.• He can make treaties which must be approved by the Senate• To avoid Senate approval, the President can make an executive

agreement• The President has the power to recognize countries by receiving

their ambassadors and/or diplomats• To show disapproval of a country the President can send

ambassadors and diplomat home. Doing this labels these people as persona non grata, or unwelcomed

• The President can wage war even though he cannot declare war• The Vietnam War brought on the War Powers Resolution of 1973

which the President must meet the following requirements if he sends troops into combat:• The President must notify Congress within 48 hours of sending troops

into combat• He must withdraw the troops within 60 days• He can ask for a 30 day extension to withdraw the troops safely

Legislative and Judicial Powers• Legislative Powers• The president can propose laws• In the annual State of the Union Address• In the annual Budget Plan• In the economic report

• Once Congress passes a bill, the President has 10 days to act on it. He can• Sign it into law• Veto it and kill it• Pocket Veto it and kill it if there are less than 10 days left in the

Congressional session• Ignore it and let it become law without his signature if there are more

than 10 days left in the Congressional session

• Judicial Powers• The President has the power of clemency which means he can

grant certain things to those accused of federal crimes• Pardon is a formal forgiveness of the crime• Reprieve is a postponement of the criminal’s sentence• Commutation is a reduction of a criminal’s sentence• Amnesty is formally forgiving a group of people of a crime

What happens if the President dies or is disabled?• The 25th Amendment lists the order of succession as

follows:• Vice President• Speaker of the House• President Pro Tempore of the Senate• Secretary of State• The rest of the Cabinet members in the order that their position

was created by Congress• Last one in line is Secretary of Homeland Security

Departments and Agencies of the Federal BureaucracyEXTENSIONS OF THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH

The Federal Bureaucracy• The federal bureaucracy, part of the executive branch,

carries out most of the day-to-day work of the Federal Government• The Executive branch is composed of three groups of

agencies:• The Executive Office of the President• The 15 Cabinet Departments• Many Independent Agencies

White House Office

Department of State

Securities &

Exchange Commissi

onU.S.

Postal Servic

e

CIA

The Executive Office of the PresidentThe Executive Office of the President includes both advisors and agencies that work closely with the President

The Executive Office of the President is an umbrella agency, some of the units are shown here.

White House Office

Council of Economic Advisors

Office of National

Drug Control Policy

Office of Management and Budget

National

Security

Council

Executive Departments

Independent Agencies• A number of independent agencies work outside the

framework of the executive branch• There are three types of independent agencies that

carry out specific duties

Foreign Affairs and National Security

Both the State Department and the Defense Department assist the President in carrying out foreign policyIn the U.S., the President makes and carries out foreign policy with the help of key departments

Other Foreign & Defense Agencies

Several government agencies are closely involved with foreign and defense policy

Foreign & Defense Alliances