The President and the Executive

BranchFall – Winter 2013

Harrison Career CenterMr. Leasure

The POTUS and the VPOTUS

Qualifications for POTUS• The president heads the executive branch—the top political job in

the country and possibly the world.

• George Washington was the first to hold the office.

Qualifications for POTUS• To become president, a person must be:

1. at least 35, 2. a native-born American citizen, and3. a resident of the United States for at least 14 years.

Qualifications for POTUS• With exception to the election of President Obama, every U.S.

president has been a white male.

• All but one has been Protestant Christian. Most have had a college education.

• Many were lawyers. Most came from states with large populations.

Electing a POTUS• Presidential elections take place every four years in years evenly

divisible by 4.

• The Constitution set up an indirect method of election called the Electoral College. By marking their ballots for a particular candidate, voters are actually selecting their state’s electors. The electors are pledged to vote for the chosen candidate.

Electing a POTUS• Each state has as many electoral votes as the total of its members in

Congress. This means that states with larger populations have more electoral votes.

• In almost all states, the winning candidate receives all the electoral votes, even if the person wins by only a small majority. As a result, candidates focus their campaigns on states with the most electoral votes.

Electing a POTUS

• It takes 270 of the 538 electoral votes to win.

• The media announces the winner the evening of the election.

• However, the outcome is not official until the Electoral College casts ballots and Congress counts them.

Term of Office• Presidents serve four-year terms. The Twenty-second Amendment

limits each president to two elected terms, or a maximum of 10 years if the president took office during another president’s term.

• The president receives a yearly salary of $400,000, plus expenses. The president lives and works at the White House. A staff tends to the needs of the president’s family.

Term of Office• Camp David, a beautiful estate in Maryland, serves as the

president’s retreat and a place to host foreign leaders. Presidents travel in special cars, helicopters, and airplanes, such as Air Force One.

The VPOTUS• The vice president is elected with the president, and the

qualifications are the same for both jobs.

• The vice president votes in the Senate in case of a tie, but otherwise has little authority. Yet if the president dies, is removed from office, becomes seriously ill, or resigns, the vice president becomes president.

Presidential Succession• The Constitution was not clear about whether the vice president

would become president or. just take over the president’s duties if the president could no longer serve.

• Vice President John Tyler settled the question. He took the oath as president when William Henry Harrison died in office.

Presidential Succession• The Presidential Succession Act of 1947 established the line of

succession.

• If both the president and vice president die or leave office, the Speaker of the House would be next, followed by the president pro tempore, and then the secretary of state.

Presidential Succession• Later the Twenty-fifth Amendment further established that the vice

president, after becoming president, would choose another vice president.

• Both houses of Congress must approve the choice.

Presidential Succession• The amendment gives the vice president a role in determining

whether a president is disabled and unable to do the job.

• The vice president would then act as president until the president is able to go back to work.

The President’s JobIn addition to the power of the office described in the U.S. Constitution, the president fills other roles that are important to the functioning of the United States Government.

Constitutional Powers

• The president’s main job is to carry out the laws passed by Congress.

• The Constitution gives the president power to veto, call Congress into special session, serve as commander in chief, and receive foreign officials.

Constitutional Powers

• The president can make treaties, appoint judges and top government officials, and pardon convicted criminals.

• In the State of the Union address each year, the president informs Congress of important issues facing the nation and proposes new legislative programs.

Roles of the President

• As Chief Executive, the president is in charge of 14 cabinet departments and more than 3 million government workers.

• The president appoints the heads of cabinet departments and large agencies, with Senate approval.

Roles of the President

• The president may not make laws but can issue executive orders—rules or commands that have the force of law.

Roles of the President

• The president can appoint federal judges, including Supreme Court justices.

• This power is important because the way the Supreme Court interprets laws greatly affects life in the United States.

• Most presidents appoint justices who share views similar to their own.

Roles of the President

• The president may grant pardons, or declarations of forgiveness and freedom from punishment.

• The president may issue a reprieve, an order to delay a person’s punishment until a higher court can hear the case.

• The president may also grant amnesty, a pardon toward a group of people.

Roles of the President

• The president directs foreign policy, deciding how the United States will act toward other countries.

Roles of the President

• As commander in chief, the president is in charge of all branches of the armed forces.

• Congress and the president share the power to make war.

• Only Congress can declare war, but only the president can order soldiers into battle.

Roles of the President

• Congress has declared war only five times, yet presidents have sent troops into action more than 150 times.

• This situation may threaten the system of checks and balances.

Roles of the President

• After the undeclared Vietnam War, Congress passed the War Powers Act.

• This law requires the president to notify Congress immediately when troops are sent into battle.

• The troops must be brought home after 60 days unless Congress approves a longer stay or declares war.

Roles of the President

• Only Congress may introduce bills, but the executive branch proposes most legislation.

• All presidents have a legislative program that they want Congress to pass.

Roles of the President

• They make speeches and talk to key members of Congress to build support for their programs.

• The president’s staff works on the laws with members of Congress.

• The president and Congress often disagree.

Roles of the President

• One reason is that the president represents the whole nation.

• Congress members represent only their state or district.

Roles of the President

• Another reason is that the president can serve only two terms.

• Many Congress members win reelection many times and remain in office for decades.

• As a result, the president often wants to move faster on programs than members of Congress do.

Roles of the President

• As head of state, the president hosts visiting foreign leaders and carries out ceremonial functions, such as giving medals to the country’s heroes.

• As the country’s economic leader, the president must plan the federal budget and try to deal with such problems as unemployment, rising prices, and high taxes.

Roles of the President

• The president is the leader of his or her political party.

• The party helps the president get elected.

• In return, the president gives speeches to raise money and help fellow party members win office.