!!Экзамен зачет 2023 год / Эссе Патенкова

Razumova Ekaterina, 209

The US Presidency

The essay will address the US presidency. It will describe several issues:

1. The Constitutional Basis of presidential power.

2. The power of appointment.

3. Enumerated, Implied, Inherent powers.

4. The Treaty-Making power.

5. Executive Agreements.

6. The Presidential Veto.

7. The President as Legislator.

8. Impeachment.

When the presidency was created, the colonies had just fought a war of independence. The delegates to the Constitutional Convention were extremely wary of unchecked power like the British King, but at the same time they had a desire for strong leadership. The Articles of Confederation had failed to create a unified nation. The new nation was weak. That is why the delegates’ task was to provide national leadership without allowing any opportunity for tyranny.The final shape of the presidency reflected the “checks and balances” philosophy: important limits were imposed on the presidency through the powers delegated to the Congress and the courts.

The requirements for the presidency are set forth in Article II of the Constitution: A president must be natural-born citizen, at least thirty five years old, who has lived in the USA for a minimum of 14 years. Despite the importance of the office, the constitutional description of the president’s duties is vague.

For general purposes of categorization, scholars have identified 3 types of presidential powers. Those powers that are enumerated in the Constitution provide express authority. Implied powers refer to those that can be inferred from express grants. The inherent power is the "gray area" of the Constitution."

The major duties and powers of the president are:

• Serve as administrative head of the nation. The president is to supervise and offer leadership to various departments, agencies and programs created by Congress.

• Act as commander in chief of the military - the highest ranking officer in the armed forces.

• The president can call Congress into special session on extraordinary occasions. He must also periodically inform Congress of the state of the union.

• The president can veto any bill or resolution passed by Congress, with the exception of joint resolutions that propose constitutional amendments. There are three types of presidential veto:

1. Qualified veto- the right of The President to veto any bill or resolution passed by Congress with the two-thirds proportion of the legislature needed to override it.

2. Line-item veto - the power of the executive to veto particular items of a bill without having to veto the entire bill.

3. Pocket veto – takes place when President disapproves of a measure but does not return it within ten days. If Congress should adjourn during that ten-day period, a disapproved measure dies for want of the presidential signature.

• The president has the authority to appoint various officials - federal court judges, ambassadors, Cabinet members, and many others. Many appointments are subject to Senate confirmation.The president's power to appoint and remove those subordinate officials was a necessary complement to his power to manage the executive branch. Article II, section 2, provides four methods of appointments: presidential appointment with Senate confirmation, without it, appointments by courts of law and appointments by heads of departments. Congress cannot appoint executive officers, but may set qualifications for offices established by statute.

However, Congress has narrowed the range of officers over whom the president has the discretionary appointment power: 1) by the creation of the Civil Service Commission and the steady addition of positions to the professional civil service list; 2) and by the establishment of a professional foreign service and the enumeration of the list of diplomatic posts available for presidential appointments. The court has decided only a few cases with respect to the appointment process but the decisions made control the president's power to nominate and appoint and limit his discretionary exercise of the removal power.

• With the advice and consent of at least 2/3 of those senators voting at the time, the president can make treaties with foreign powers. Under the 1798 Logan Act, only the president or his agent is authorized to conduct foreign relations for the United States. When a new ambassador arrives in America, only the president is legally authorized to give him diplomatic recognition. When U.S. congressmen travel abroad on fact-finding missions, they do it as private citizens.Over three-fourths treaties have been approved with no modification, but the numbers are misleading since presidents withdrew treaties when defeat seemed likely.

The proliferation of executive agreements has been one of the most significant changes in the character of foreign relations. Executive agreements are those, in which the President, without the need for Senate approval, may bind the government just as in a treaty. Under the executive agreement process, presidential agents negotiate directly with other countries. State Department Circular 175 recognizes three legal bases for executive agreements: (1) executive agreements pursuant to treaties, (2) those pursuant to legislation, and (3) those pursuant to the president's constitutional authority. This last justification is especially important. Circular provides that “the President may conclude an international agreement on any subject within his constitutional authority so long as the agreement is not inconsistent with legislation enacted by the Congress”.

• The president can grant pardons to individuals.

President’srole in lawmaking is also very important. It is derived in part from a constitutional grant of authority and in part from the evolution of the American political system. The President:

1. submits the national budget to Congress for its guidance;

2. in his State of the Union message provides Congress with legislative blueprint;

3. to facilitate the passage necessary bills, the President may confer with key legislators, particularly his spokesmen on the floor of the Senate or the House. He may bring pressure by appealing to the American people through his press conferences or by means of radio and television;

4. may call a special session of Congress in an effort to achieve his legislative goals; may urge a course of action on Congress, may have bills prepared for submission to that body, and may sign into law measures;

5. сan veto a bill.

Surely, the President's powers are not absolute and are circumscribed by constitutional intent and by long-established usage. There are severalcurbs on presidential powers:

1. The Constitution gives the House the power to bring charges through articles of impeachment and the Senate the power to try all impeachments. It takes a two-thirds majority to convict a president of these charges. The Senate becomes a tribunal for the trial, with the chief justice of the Supreme Court presiding. The chief justice rules on whether the evidence is admissible but can be reversed by majority vote. If convicted the President is removed from-office.

2. The Senate may thwart a President by refusing to accept a treaty he has negotiated.

3. The upper house may also discipline a President by refusing to confirm his appointees.

4. Only Congress has the power to appropriate money and all President’s projects require money.

5. The President's leadership may be challengedboth when Congress is controlled by members of the opposing party and when his own party has a congressional majority.

6. Federal courts also may checkmate the President.

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