- Identify and explain the organization of the Executive
- Identify and provide an example of the powers of the Executive, both formal and informal.
- Identify and explain how Executive shares powers with the Congress, Judiciary, and bureaucracy.
- Discuss the implications of Executive sharing powers with each of the following: Congress, Judiciary, and bureaucracy.
- Discuss the functions that Executive performs.
- Identify how the power of the Executive has/may evolve gradually.
- Identify how the power of the Executive has/may changes dramatically as a result of crisis.
- Identify and discuss the ties between the Executive and political parties.
- Identify and discuss the ties between the Executive and interest groups.
- Identify and discuss the ties between the Executive and media.
- Identify and discuss the ties between the Executive and state and local governments.
- The executive branch, although usually only regarded as the president, has many different layers of command. First is the president and vice president followed by a cabinet of advisers (and councils of advisers) that help to inform the president about the different aspects of the nation. Although there are different advisory styles (competitive, hierarchical, and collegial) there are constant positions that have been in place since George Washington even though they weren't outlined in the constitution.
- Formal powers of the president are all of those that are directly stated in the constitution including: legislative vetoes, commander in chief of the military, ability to convene congress, appointment of officials, making treaties with other countries and granting pardons. Another power is to deliver the annual State of the Union address which has evolved from a private meeting to an important public event. Also, there is the necessary and proper clause that, while directly stated, is up for interpretation as to what is "necessary." Informal powers are those that are inferred but not directly stated in the constitution. Using these powers creates permanent expansion of presidential powers. For example, executive orders are directives that the president makes to modify public policies without the direct approval of congress. It was used when Eisenhower sent the National Guard to Little Rock to enforce desegregation of schools.
- The main time that the executive branch has to share power with congress is during times of war an in foreign affairs. Even though the president is commander in chief of the military, congress declares war and the president creates foreign treaties but congress has to approve it. During regular time, executive's check on congress is the presidential veto (even though it can be overridden with a ⅔ vote). In the judiciary, the president has the power to appoint judges so that they can be people that share his ideologies but nominations have to first be confirmed by congress. The president shares the power with the bureaucracy because they are the lower agencies that often inform him about things going on in the union.
- It is important that the president is connected to these other branches to sure that he doesn't make decisions solely based on his own ideologies but does what is going to be the best for the people of the United States. As always, checks prevent the tyranny that the constitution was created to safeguard against. The POTUS is not just the figure head of the federal government, but an important overseer of the actions taking place within the other branches.
- Since the president is the main feature of the executive branch, his powers are the guiding principles and they were as follows: administrative head of the nation (supervise and provide leadership), commands in chief of the military (highest ranking officer),convene congress (call special sessions, inform congress of the SOTU), veto legislation (disapprove bills), appoint various officials (federal judges, ambassadors, cabinet members, etc.), make treaties (with foreign nations, recognize other nations), and grant pardons (to individuals except in the case of impeachment).
- The executive branch has slowly grown over time due to the size and complexity of the nation. Due to a higher trust in the government compared to when the country was under British rule, there has been an increase in the number of cabinets that serve below the president which is another indicator of his increasing strength. Strength in this branch can continue to grow if people grow to fully understand that the executive branch isn't solely one person, but a large team of people.
- During crisis, the public will first turn to the president so it is important that he is calm during theses times, providing a sense of security for the public. Not only is he a figure head but he can use executive orders to do what is best for the country at the time without waiting for the approval of congress. One of the best examples is FDR's alphabet soup that was used to immediately help the public who was suffering from a debilitating recession.
- The president in the political head and would not be able to reach his position without the support (both financially and through advertising) of his party. People expect him to hold up the ideals of the party once in office and though he is not obligated to, he often does because he personally finds them to be important as well as to keep the approval of the public. The only time political party can be a roadblock is when there is a divided government.
- Presidents are often helped by interest groups to be elected. Once in office, the interest groups are usefully in suggesting things that the executive branch should put on the agenda even though this unfortunately adds pork barrel spending. On the other hand, the president must be sure that he doesn't appear to close to any groups because he doesn't want people to believe that groups have more power than they need in the government.
- Since the president is the figure head of the American government, he is the one individual that receives the most media attention. He has a group of white house correspondents that there job is to ensure that only the good pictures get out along with preventing undesirable information from surfacing that would could news stories to have a negative spin. By having media coverage of the POTUS, especially when he is attending special events and in foreign lands, it helps to get across his ideals and works to build a positive reputation. It helps the president it air time and it boosts the news stations ratings. On the other hand, the media can also be a watchdog who can expose scandals or corrupt behavior to the public quickly and effectively. This is most important during elections to help reveal to the public the character of the president, while at the same time, releasing horse race data that can be used to gauge the success that the president will have.
- The executive branch and state/local governments are connected in two important ways. First, the presidential elections have no direct bearing on state elections but often provide the coattails affect for some people running for state/local positions. Also, the executive branch can participate it devolution by transferring money through grants and aid to the states to limit the financial power that this branch can have.