The Executive Branch: The President
The purpose of the executive branch, established by Article II of the Constitution, is to make sure that the laws of the United States are obeyed. The President of the United States is the head of the executive branch of government. This branch is very large so the President gets help from the Vice President, department heads (Cabinet members), and heads of independent agencies.
Presidents must:
Powers of the President:
Benefits the President Enjoys:
Other Sources of Information:
Presidents must:
- Be at least 35 years old
- Must be a natural-born U.S. citizen
- Have lived in the U.S. for at least 14 years.
Powers of the President:
- Serve as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.
- Receive ambassadors and negotiate treaties with other nations; These formal international agreements do not go into effect, however, until ratified by a two-thirds vote of the Senate.
- Appoint many people to serve the government in a wide range of offices with the approval of the Senate; the most important among them are ambassadors, members of the Supreme Court and the federal courts, and cabinet secretaries.
- Outline the administration's legislative agenda in the State of the Union address given to a joint session of Congress each January; However, the President cannot write bills. He can propose a bill, but a member of Congress must submit it for him.
- Veto bills in Congress; If the president rejects a bill, it takes a two-thirds vote of both houses to accomplish a veto override, which is difficult to achieve.
- Call Congress into special session and can adjourn Congress if the House and the Senate cannot agree on a final date.
- Grant reprieves and pardons for federal crimes (except impeachment).
- Can authorize the use of troops overseas without declaring war, but can do so for a period of 60 days. To officially declare war, though, he must get the approval of the Congress.
Benefits the President Enjoys:
- A salary of $400,000 per year (taxable)
- Expense account of $50,000 per year (taxable)
- Travel expenses of $100,000 per year (tax-free)
- $19,000 for entertainment (taxable)
- Pension, on retirement, cabinet member's salary (taxable)
- Staff support upon leaving the presidency
- A place in the country - Camp David
- Presidential state car
- A personal airplane - Air Force One
- A personal helicopter - Marine One
- Blair House Residency
Other Sources of Information:
- The American Presidency Project contains a "set of articles on the Presidents, the Presidency and American politics."
- Character Above All: An Exploration of Presidential Leadership From the PBS Online Newshour contains essays, a discussion forum, and transcripts from the broadcast of this program.
- Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents of the U.S. From George Washington to Barack H. Obama. Online from Bartleby.com.
- Presidential Inaugurations
- Presidents of the United States (POTUS) Online from the Internet Public Library, this site provides background information, election results, cabinet members, presidency highlights, and some odd facts on each of the presidents. Links to biographies, historical documents, audio and video files, and other presidential sites are also included.
"Government 101: President of the United States" Project Vote Smart - American Government, Elections, Candidates and Voting. Project Vote Smart, n.d. Web. 16 June 2015. <https://votesmart.org/education/president#.VYA6DDBViko>.
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