What main parts make up the Executive Branch?

The President and Vice President The Cabinet The Bureaucracy

Vocabulary Concepts Cabinet: President’s closest advisors- group of 15

“Secretaries”, each of whom leads an executive department that reports to the President

Bureaucracy: The system of departments and regulatory agencies that assists the President in executing the laws made by the legislative branch

Vocabulary Concepts Cabinet: a group of experts that the president

relies on to advise him on various issues

Departments: The group of offices, programs and people who work for each cabinet member

Secretary: The title of each cabinet member– ex: Secretary of State, Secretary of Education, etc.

What is the bureaucracy? Have you ever heard a grown up call a

dresser a bureau? A dresser has a lot of drawers to help

keep things neat and separated. A bureaucracy divides the jobs that the

executive branch does into separate groups with a person in charge. This allows the jobs to stay neat and organized.

What are the President’s Roles? The President is a very busy person. Let’s look at the handout to find out about

his various “hats.”

What are the President’s Roles? Seven Main Roles: Chief Legislator Chief Jurist Commander in Chief Chief Politician Head of State Foreign Diplomat Chief Executive

Vocabulary Concepts Pardon: president can excuse someone

who has been convicted of a crime Executive Order: rules the president

makes that have the force of law Mandate: expressed will of the people War Powers Act: prevents presidents from

committing troops for more than 60 days without Congressional approval

Remember the Rule of Law No one is above the law. Even the

president has to follow the laws of the land (the Constitution)

But…..

Presidents have something called Executive privilege: power of the president

to resist certain subpoenas and other interventions by the legislative and judicial branches of government.

For example, the president can use executive privilege to avoid sharing documents with Congress, or avoid testifying in front of Congress.

What kinds of limits are there on the president’s power?

Limitation by Congress Limitation by the Federal Courts Limitation by the Bureaucracy Limitation by Public Opinion

Qualifications for the Presidency

To be President a person must be: at least 35 years old a natural-born citizen of the United States a resident of the United States for at least

14 years. The President is elected for a term of four

years.

Vocabulary Concepts Electoral College- group comprised of electors

(the same number as US senators and representatives added together), based on population, who actually vote for the presidential ticket.

Electors- people in the electoral college. Both the Dems. And Reps. have people ready to be the electors. The party that wins the state’s popular vote gets to use their electors for the electoral college.

How do you become President? Follow this diagram to the Presidency!

Vocabulary/Concepts Primary Election: the election held among

same party candidates to determine which one each party will put on the General Election ticket.

General Election: the final November election that determines the electoral college votes

Popular Vote: the vote of the people

State and Local Executive Branch The Governor of MD is Martin O’Malley The Lieutenant Governor is Anthony Brown The Howard County Executive is Ken

Ulman

You need to know this: The Governor has the following special

powers: Can veto legislation made in General Assembly In charge of the MD National Guard Can issue a state of emergency Appoints judges and members of the executive

council (governor’s cabinet) with approval of the MD Senate

One other big thing to know: The president, the governor, and the county

executive are all responsible for submitting a budget (spending plan) to the legislative branches for approval.