Is the President an imperial president? - Are there effective checks
on presidential power?
Intro:
• ‘Imperial president’ is a term rooted in the powers FDR had immediately after Pearl Harbour,
when he was able to commit troops without the conventional Constitutional limitations
o Arthur Schlesinger’s term: the power to create your own foreign policy
o It has however leaked in domestic policy recently
• Gerald Ford’s ‘imperilled presidency’ after the War Powers Act in 1973
o As a result of being limited by Congress and recently the Supreme Court
• Flagpost: Aaron Wildavsky’s ‘dual presidency’ (the president has near unlimited power over
foreign policy, but has more checks domestically) and Professor George Jones’ ‘elastic theory’
(the more the president tries to increase his power, the more Congress resists it)
Foreign policy
Imperial:
• Constitutional powers:
o Commander in Chief (Article 2 Section 2)
o Executive agreements and negotiate treaties
• Congress has deferred powers:
o Curtiss-Wright decision (1936) – declared that constitution implicitly grants the
president broad foreign policy making powers
o Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (1964) – effectively gave Johnson a blank cheque and
limitless foreign policy making power
• Bypassing of Congress:
o Many Presidents have bypassed Congress and the War Powers Act by exploiting its
loopholes by sending ‘military advisors’
o Obama with Libya in 2011, JFK with the Bay of Pigs and Vietnam, Truman with Korea
• Public rallying around the president in a time of crisis:
o Wildavsky’s dual presidency theory states that the president is granted greater freedom
from the public and Congress during crises
o The president set the tone for foreign policy through his State of the Union address (e.g.
Bush declaring war on the ‘Axis of Evil’), and the public will rally around him
o Evident during the Cold War, where the permanent state of crisis led to everyone to “rally
around the flag” (Rosati, 2003) and a “high congressional compliance and presidential
supremacy in foreign policy” (Carter, 1986)
§ During crises, people rally around the president for decisive action, and the
public perception of an “omnipotent president” (Rosati) often leads to increased
presidential power
§ Congress therefore must oblige, and “has little choice but to go along, as it is
dishonourable to deprive men risking their lives of financial support” (Mervin, 1993)
Imperilled:
• Constitutional congressional checks:
o Power to declare war (Article 1 Section 8)
o Power of the purse
o Power to reject appointments
o Barrett (1990) calls it a “congressional government”, stating that “the President plays a key
role in foreign policy, but is mostly deferential to the will of Congress”
• Congressional resolutions/acts:
o Cooper-Church Agreement (1971) – prohibited the use of appropriated funds to finance
any military intervention without Congressional approval (was successful and utilised the
power of the purse to great avail, as it ended participation in Cambodia and Laos, and
refused Ford’s appeal for financial aid for Vietnam in 1975)
o The Case Act (1972) – the president must inform Congress of any executive agreements he
makes with foreign leaders
on presidential power?
Intro:
• ‘Imperial president’ is a term rooted in the powers FDR had immediately after Pearl Harbour,
when he was able to commit troops without the conventional Constitutional limitations
o Arthur Schlesinger’s term: the power to create your own foreign policy
o It has however leaked in domestic policy recently
• Gerald Ford’s ‘imperilled presidency’ after the War Powers Act in 1973
o As a result of being limited by Congress and recently the Supreme Court
• Flagpost: Aaron Wildavsky’s ‘dual presidency’ (the president has near unlimited power over
foreign policy, but has more checks domestically) and Professor George Jones’ ‘elastic theory’
(the more the president tries to increase his power, the more Congress resists it)
Foreign policy
Imperial:
• Constitutional powers:
o Commander in Chief (Article 2 Section 2)
o Executive agreements and negotiate treaties
• Congress has deferred powers:
o Curtiss-Wright decision (1936) – declared that constitution implicitly grants the
president broad foreign policy making powers
o Gulf of Tonkin Resolution (1964) – effectively gave Johnson a blank cheque and
limitless foreign policy making power
• Bypassing of Congress:
o Many Presidents have bypassed Congress and the War Powers Act by exploiting its
loopholes by sending ‘military advisors’
o Obama with Libya in 2011, JFK with the Bay of Pigs and Vietnam, Truman with Korea
• Public rallying around the president in a time of crisis:
o Wildavsky’s dual presidency theory states that the president is granted greater freedom
from the public and Congress during crises
o The president set the tone for foreign policy through his State of the Union address (e.g.
Bush declaring war on the ‘Axis of Evil’), and the public will rally around him
o Evident during the Cold War, where the permanent state of crisis led to everyone to “rally
around the flag” (Rosati, 2003) and a “high congressional compliance and presidential
supremacy in foreign policy” (Carter, 1986)
§ During crises, people rally around the president for decisive action, and the
public perception of an “omnipotent president” (Rosati) often leads to increased
presidential power
§ Congress therefore must oblige, and “has little choice but to go along, as it is
dishonourable to deprive men risking their lives of financial support” (Mervin, 1993)
Imperilled:
• Constitutional congressional checks:
o Power to declare war (Article 1 Section 8)
o Power of the purse
o Power to reject appointments
o Barrett (1990) calls it a “congressional government”, stating that “the President plays a key
role in foreign policy, but is mostly deferential to the will of Congress”
• Congressional resolutions/acts:
o Cooper-Church Agreement (1971) – prohibited the use of appropriated funds to finance
any military intervention without Congressional approval (was successful and utilised the
power of the purse to great avail, as it ended participation in Cambodia and Laos, and
refused Ford’s appeal for financial aid for Vietnam in 1975)
o The Case Act (1972) – the president must inform Congress of any executive agreements he
makes with foreign leaders
