The Presidency: Summary
Both head of state and head of government – set out in Article II (also 35yrs old was laid out by the Philadelphia
constitutional convention). Article II is vague but allows for the growth of the modern presidency, but could expand
jurisdictions too much.
a. Head of state – attending global summits (G7 etc), making treaties, nominating ambassadors, granting
pardons (Obama exercising executive clemency for federal crimes to 1927 people)
b. Head of government – chief appointing officer (senior judges), signing/vetoing legislation (Bush has 12 vetoes
overridden, 33%, and Trump signed the Tax cuts and jobs act 2017), executing legislation, appointing the
cabinet, state of union address (‘from time to time’, Obama said he would have gun control, he failed)
c. Commander-in-chief – head of armed forces and is responsible for the defence of the US
Informal sources of power:
Executive orders – Trump issued 55, including the controversial travel ban from several Muslim countries
Executive memoranda – DACA by Obama
Mandate – 77mil voted for Biden, Trump had a popular vote of 46% - backwards election
The cabinet
Events – congress acts in deference – 9/11 etc
Federal bureaucracy: POTUS/EXOP – 2 million civilian employees
1937 – Brownlow committee said that ‘the president needs help’ – NSC and OMB
Power of persuasion: cajole congress – Obamacare was controversial but he had a 53.9% popular vote in 2008, had
democrat control of both houses and popularity.
Relationship between congress and the president:
Separation of powers – needs the support of congress to fund federal expenditure, to pass legislation,
approve military action etc
Separate mandates – congress have more recent mandates than the president and think about their
constituents before deciding how supportive they will be of federal govt
Presidents popularity (coattails) / divided govt / executive orders
Relationship between the supreme court and the president: judicial review, public criticism, appointments
CLINTON 1993-2001 BUSH 2001-2009
SUCCESSES: economic growth, brought down budget SUCCESSES: Patriot Act, created the homeland security
deficit, background checks on guns (the Brady Bill), department (war on terror), passed the ‘No child left
reduced the size of federal govt, environmental advance behind’ act with bipartisan support, foreign policy success
through executive orders in Iraq and Afghanistan, reduced taxes, increased defence
FAILURES: failed to introduce affordable healthcare, foreign spending, tax-free health savings accounts
policy failure in Somalia, 1995/96 federal shutdown, failed FAILURES: slow response to Hurricane Katrina,
to extend civil rights (promised more gay rights), Monica Guantanamo Bay (habeus corpus petitions), financial
Lewinsky crisis, human rights controversies in Iraq war
OBAMA 2009-2017 TRUMP 2017-2021
SUCCESSES: the affordable healthcare act/Obamacare, SUCCESSES: significant tax reform (tax cuts for
withdrew troops from Afghanistan and Iraq, economic corporations), established the space fore, strong
stimulus measures like the Recovery Act. economic performance other than Covid, military success
FAILURES: failed to close Guantanamo, failure to reform against ISIS
gun control after Sandy Hook shooting, no significant FAILURES: failed to completely ‘repeal and replace’
immigration reform, health reform less wide-reaching than Obamacare, poor handling of Covid (inject with hand
proposed, failure to increase minimum wage but did for sanitizer), only some of the border wall built, failed to
federal contractors implement most of his immigration reform.
Both head of state and head of government – set out in Article II (also 35yrs old was laid out by the Philadelphia
constitutional convention). Article II is vague but allows for the growth of the modern presidency, but could expand
jurisdictions too much.
a. Head of state – attending global summits (G7 etc), making treaties, nominating ambassadors, granting
pardons (Obama exercising executive clemency for federal crimes to 1927 people)
b. Head of government – chief appointing officer (senior judges), signing/vetoing legislation (Bush has 12 vetoes
overridden, 33%, and Trump signed the Tax cuts and jobs act 2017), executing legislation, appointing the
cabinet, state of union address (‘from time to time’, Obama said he would have gun control, he failed)
c. Commander-in-chief – head of armed forces and is responsible for the defence of the US
Informal sources of power:
Executive orders – Trump issued 55, including the controversial travel ban from several Muslim countries
Executive memoranda – DACA by Obama
Mandate – 77mil voted for Biden, Trump had a popular vote of 46% - backwards election
The cabinet
Events – congress acts in deference – 9/11 etc
Federal bureaucracy: POTUS/EXOP – 2 million civilian employees
1937 – Brownlow committee said that ‘the president needs help’ – NSC and OMB
Power of persuasion: cajole congress – Obamacare was controversial but he had a 53.9% popular vote in 2008, had
democrat control of both houses and popularity.
Relationship between congress and the president:
Separation of powers – needs the support of congress to fund federal expenditure, to pass legislation,
approve military action etc
Separate mandates – congress have more recent mandates than the president and think about their
constituents before deciding how supportive they will be of federal govt
Presidents popularity (coattails) / divided govt / executive orders
Relationship between the supreme court and the president: judicial review, public criticism, appointments
CLINTON 1993-2001 BUSH 2001-2009
SUCCESSES: economic growth, brought down budget SUCCESSES: Patriot Act, created the homeland security
deficit, background checks on guns (the Brady Bill), department (war on terror), passed the ‘No child left
reduced the size of federal govt, environmental advance behind’ act with bipartisan support, foreign policy success
through executive orders in Iraq and Afghanistan, reduced taxes, increased defence
FAILURES: failed to introduce affordable healthcare, foreign spending, tax-free health savings accounts
policy failure in Somalia, 1995/96 federal shutdown, failed FAILURES: slow response to Hurricane Katrina,
to extend civil rights (promised more gay rights), Monica Guantanamo Bay (habeus corpus petitions), financial
Lewinsky crisis, human rights controversies in Iraq war
OBAMA 2009-2017 TRUMP 2017-2021
SUCCESSES: the affordable healthcare act/Obamacare, SUCCESSES: significant tax reform (tax cuts for
withdrew troops from Afghanistan and Iraq, economic corporations), established the space fore, strong
stimulus measures like the Recovery Act. economic performance other than Covid, military success
FAILURES: failed to close Guantanamo, failure to reform against ISIS
gun control after Sandy Hook shooting, no significant FAILURES: failed to completely ‘repeal and replace’
immigration reform, health reform less wide-reaching than Obamacare, poor handling of Covid (inject with hand
proposed, failure to increase minimum wage but did for sanitizer), only some of the border wall built, failed to
federal contractors implement most of his immigration reform.
