The debate over the interpretation of Executive Powers brought forth in the constitution has been laden in controversy for years. Both the president and congress have their own interpretation of what Article II section 2 explicitly means in terms of presidential authority. What did the framers of the constitution hope to achieve by creating a vague language surrounding presidential power? In this essay, I will delve into the meaning of Executive Powers, as well as view how they have been used negatively or positively.
When you think of the president of the United States of America, more often you relate that title to the most powerful person in the world. Well, in recent years that would be more correct, however, the constitution was written
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As Commander in Chief, stated in Article II section 2, the President has authority over the armed forces, but that’s not to say he has the ability to start a war on his own. However, in times of war the President and Congress often work well together. “Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and our entry into the Second World War, Congress and the President stood in agreement over the direction of American foreign and military policy. Congressional intervention all but ceased.” While this system seems to work well when all parties are in agreement, what happens when not in a time of war? What is the proper balance between Congress and the President in the formulation and implementation of foreign policy?” One answer to this is that the strengths of congressional policies do not lye with that of foreign legislation but that of the domestic. Congress is used to making changes in their legislation when referring to domestic affairs. If a policy is voted in that inevitably does not work I can then be removed or tweaked. However foreign policy legislation doesn’t necessarily work well if constantly being rewritten. “A foreign policy should be an aggregate strategy, made up of separate bilateral and multilateral relationships that fit into a grander scheme designed to promote the long-term national interests.” The job of the president is to represent the country in foreign affairs and must be able to implement expressed ideals when negotiating with other countries. The five hundred plus members of congress, with different ideas and agendas cannot form a foreign policy that coincides with our nation interests as a whole. Here in lies the power of the Presidential Executive
With all the powers the Constitution gives the president it also gave Congress the power to reject some of the president's power. These powers that Congress has includes being able to refuse to ratify treaties, discouraging foreign arms sales and prohibiting covert activities. Article II, Section 2,
Moe and Howell offer compelling reasons as to why unilateral action is even a concern. They point to the combination of constitutional ambiguity in the level to which presidents are able to act. The multitude of statues, clauses, and loopholes give the executive room to take action in a number
If the president appeals to one set of interests over another, unwanted circumstances can arise. Commonly, the president would want to consider the public opinion which usually
Should the Executive Privilege Be Absolute In United States, the Executive Privilege played a positive role on the president in domestic and foreign policy decisions, defend national interests and the protection of national defense secrets. However, this privilege can be abused by the president and executive members as well in seizing power, even provide legal basis to disguise their illicit activities at the White House. In my point of view, I think the executive privilege should not be absolute due to lack of transparency and supervision on the matter of personal interest and national security. As the strongest nation across the global, the president and members of the executive of the United States has the power to conduct a number of operations or information in secret and the executive privilege grants them to resist some legislative and branches of government for disclosing those communications if would potentially interfere the functions of executive branch (Legal Information Institute).
The Constitution clearly grants the Congress the power to declare war in Article I, Section VIII. Article I Section VIII contains the enumerated powers, which is the life line of congressional power. This power is not shared with anyone, including the President. There is no limitation or condition on this power. The Congress can declare war at any time for any reason it wishes.
The Alien and Sedition Acts that were designed and passed by Congress in 1798 established a range of restrictions on the society. Among those laws, the Naturalization Act made the process of gaining American citizenship longer and the Sedition Act was designed to forbid publishing the materials against the government. While those documents “were in conflict with the Bill of Rights”, the Congress considered them appropriate (Roark 281). The positions of people within the society regarding these laws differed. From the point of view of a recent immigrant, these laws were inappropriate for the American democratic society.
We all had those moments when we all hated the congress for passing a bill that destroyed their dreams or the president for only who they were or what their stance on certain things, however have you ever thought who really calls the shots, the President or the Congress? Like sure, it would make sense if the President has most of the power, while Congress has some or vice versa. Although when it comes to certain things, the Congress has more power over the situation. In Presidential Influence on Congressional Appropriations Decisions by D. Roderick Kiewiet and Mathew D. McCubbins, they state that the president must possess impressive resources upon which to draw.
The president is the Nation’s chief Diplomat. They have the power to make treaties that are then subject to ratification by the senate. If congress is not in session, presidents can make temporary appointments known as recess appointments without senate confirmation. It will be good until the end of the next session of Congress.
Expressed powers are powers granted to the president by the constitution. There are quite a few powers that are bestowed upon the president. Budgeting is one of them; the president has the power in taking the initiative in advising and executing budget priorities. An example of this from the book is “ the president could rein in congressional spending by impounding funds”(losco 310). Another power is Law Enforcement, normally Law Enforcement goes to the state and local government but they have grown to work on bigger responsibilities.
“The president 's power is felt all over the world.” No nation is so remote from the U.S. that they can avoid the repercussions of American diplomacy. The president can abuse their powers and it will affect the U.S as well as other countries that associate with us. “The formal powers as listed in the Constitution say little about a modern president 's real power.” Modern presidents have way more power than was is listed in the constitution, they do not have to follow the guidelines completely like past presidents would have had to.
It seems that while this overlap is present in war powers the distinction can be made between the powers of war and peace. As shown by Federalist 69 the legislature has the powers to declare war while the executive has the prerogative to maintain peace. As such the legislature acts slowly and deliberatively which is best for a larger body. In stark contrast, the executive acts quickly and decisively allowing it to respond to changing climates and necessitating a single authority or President. It seems in the case of the “Proclamation of Neutrality” that the executive is acting exactly as intended by preserving peace and acting
The relationship between Congress and the President has, since the beginning, been a difficult one to balance. The founders of The United States put into place a system of checks and balances to ensure that there would always be a struggle between both branches of government. The tension between one branch writing laws and budgets and the other branch implementing the laws and spending the money has been a basic building blocks of American government. This paper attempts to explain the relationship between the legislative and executive branches in national government.
The constitution attempts to evenly distribute powers between the executive and legislative branches of the federal government by providing the president or the commander-in-chief the power to control and supervise the military upon approval by congress, who have the power to declare war and to support the armed forces. The subject of debate regarding the act is whether the president has the authority to send military troops to war without congressional approval. The way the war powers act was written makes it difficult to decipher approximately how much power is the president privileged in the war-making process. According to the constitution congress have the powers to authorize war by formally granting letters that verify and confirm the
An argument that is made is the notion of Congress not having enough time to deliberate and declare war. What if the country is suddenly attacked? Is it fair for the country to sit on their hands and wait for them to make up their minds when action needs to be taken immediately. The argument of a state of emergency is the loophole that the presidents over time have used to their advantage. Schlesinger says of the Cold War-era presidency, “The imperial presidency was essentially the creation of foreign policy.
For many years, scholars have been categorizing the relationship between the executive and legislative branch in a democratic government into three categories: presidential, parliamentary, and semi-presidential. The distinction of the three has been a central concept within comparative politics and a key identifier that aids in the understanding of the fundamental institutions that have been established by the founding government officials within a state. The Legislative branch of government is a body of representatives with the authority to make laws. On the other hand, the branch of government that is responsible for executing and administering those laws is known as the Executive. The distinction between a presidential and a parliamentary