The Executive Branch

1. President’s “job description”
1. Chief of state – ceremonial head of gov’t and US people
2. Chief executive – head of executive branch of gov’t
3. Chief administrator – head of Federal Gov’t w/ 3M employees
4. Chief diplomat – directs foreign policy w/ other nations
5. Commander in chief – directs military
6. Chief legislator – (lawmaker) shapes Congressional agenda
7. Party chief – leads his political party
8. Chief citizen – “representative of the people”
2. Formal qualifications
1. “natural born citizen”
2. at least 35 years old
3. 14 year U.S. resident
3. Informal qualifications?
1. Gender?
2. Race?
3. Wealth?
4. Military?
5. Good looking?
6. Married?
7. Protestant?
4. Term
1. 4 years to a term
2. Initially, no limits on terms (FDR won 4 times)
3. Amendment 22 – limited to 2 terms or 10 years
5. Pay and benefits
1. 1789 - $25,000; today - $400,000 + $50,000 expenses
2. White House (132 rooms, 18.3 acres)
3. Offices and staff
4. Yacht and automobile fleet
5. Air Force One; Marine One
6. Camp David in Catoctin Mtn. in MD
7. Best health care possible
8. Best security possible
9. Pension of $183,500
6. Vacancies of the Presidency
1. Death – 1st by Wm. H. Harrison (1841)
2. Impeachment & Removal – 2 impeached but none removed
3. Illness or disability – 25th Amendment (no one yet)
1. President can inform Congress voluntarily
2. Vice President and majority of cabinet can inform Congress
3. Congress has 21 days to decide
4. Resignation (Nixon – 1974)
7. Order of Presidential Succession
1. V.P.
2. Speaker of the House
3. President Pro Tempore of the Senate
4. Then Cabinet members according to their job’s creation…
1. Sec. of State
2. Sec. of Treasury
3. Sec. of Defense
4. Attorney General
5. 11 other cabinet posts

The Cabinet

1. Students have "advisors," for instance, to whom do you go if...
1. Need help on math problem
2. What to wear to homecoming dance
3. Right/wrong question and what to do
4. Sports problem
5. Trying to find a summer job
2. The president has advisors too.
1. you're not an expert in every field
2. you simply can’t do it all!
3. Cabinet = 15 heads of executive departments who advise the president
1. Usually headed by "Secretaries" (except for Attorney General)
2. Chosen by president, must be approved by the Senate
4. Executive Departments (in order)
1. state - carries on relations with other countries
2. treasury - prints money and collects taxes
3. defense - manages armed forces
4. justice - (Attorney Gen.) enforces federal laws, FBI
5. interior - manages, lands, Indian affairs
6. agriculture - researches ag, inspects (USDA)
7. commerce - conducts census, gives patents and trademarks, promotes trade and economic growth
8. labor - figures economic stats, enforces minimum wage, pays unemployment
9. health and human services - funds health care research, prevents disease spread, Social Security, Medicaire, welfare
10. education - federal money to schools, other programs
11. housing urban development - federal housing, (FHA loans)
12. transportation (DOT) - highways, manages public transportation
13. energy - sets energy policy (can set prices)
14. veterans’ administration (VA) - vets’ affairs, hospitals
15. homeland security - border security, emergency preparedness, prevent terror attacks

Electoral College

1. The basics
1. We the people don’t elect the president, the electors do
2. "Electors" = people elected in each state & pledged to vote for a certain presidential candidate
3. How are they chosen? By the political parties. To become one…work your way up through the party. It’s kind of an honor to be chosen as an elector.
4. Why do we have this?
1. 1787 – communication was poor; they wanted educated/informed electors to vote for president
2. 1787 – many people were far removed from politics
3. Bluntly, the people were considered too dumb
4. Out-dated? Maybe, but until Constitution is changed, that’s how it’ll be done
2. How does it work?
1. Each state gets a number of electors as:
2. (# of Reps in House) + (# of Senators) = # of electors for the state
3. To win, a majority of the electors are needed.
1. Majority = 1 over half
2. 538 / 2 = 269
3. 269 + 1 = 270 electoral votes needed to win
4. To win a state’s electoral votes, a plurality of the popular vote is needed.
1. Plurality = whoever has the most
2. Popular vote = the voting by the people
3. Note, it’s possible to have a plurality, but not a majority. Ex.:
4. Once a candidate wins a plurality of the state’s popular votes, he/she gets ALL of the state’s electoral votes. Winner takes all!
3. Example...
1. Florida has 25 Reps in the House
2. Therefore, FL has 25+2=27 electoral votes up for grabs
3. The popular votes goes like this:
4. Jane-45%, Joe-40%, Jethro-15%
5. Jane won a plurality of the popular vote (most people voted for her); therefore...
6. ...she gets ALL 27 electoral votes from Florida. She needs to get 270 total to be the president

Structure of Congress

1. Bicameral legislature
1. legislature = government body that makes laws
2. bicameral = having 2 houses or rooms
3. Why is it bicameral?
1. Parliamentary tradition – they’ve House of Commons and House of Lords
2. Great Compromise – large and small states differed on representation by population or equality, so BOTH were used
3. checks-and-balances – we’d a fear that the government would become TOO strong, so the branches were checked and even the Congress was checked
2. Powers of Congress
1. “delegated" or "expressed powers”
1. Expressly written in the Constitution as powers delegated to Congress; Article I, Section 8, Clauses 1-17
2. Ex.: tax, declare war, regulate commerce
2. “implied powers”
1. They’re NOT written down, but are hinted at
2. Found in the “elastic clause" or "necessary and proper clause”; Article I, Section 8, Clause 18
3. It says Congress can do anything “necessary and proper” to carry out its delegated powers
1. 1st used in McCulloch v. Maryland case (1819), when legality of Bank of U.S. was in question
3. Special powers – powers special to one house of Congress (see below)
3. Apportionment/Reapportionment
1. Apportionment – how the 435 reps. are divided
2. Reapportionment – the 435 are re-divided
1. Population – determines which states gain/lose Reps; measure every 10 years in census
2. Redistricting – how the rep district lines are drawn/redrawn; this gets controversial!
3. “Gerrymandering” – named after Elbridge Gerry, who “creatively” re-drew his district to include people that vote for him, exclude people who voted against him.

Steps to the Presidency

Life of a Legislator

1. When?
1. Election – 1st Tuesday after 1st Monday in November
2. Congress convenes on Jan. 3 of odd numbered years
3. Go through until the holidays usually
4. When not in session, they’re in “recess”
2. Other roles of Congressmen/women
1. Policymaker – write laws, investigate issues, solve problems
2. Representative
1. Do they serve the people at home first?
2. Do they serve the U.S. first?
3. Re-election!
1. They’re party members and expected to stay within the party
2. They’re always trying to get re-elected.
4. ...and
3. ...committees, comittees, and more committees
1. Much time is in committee: average number of committees:
1. House – 11
2. Senate – 16
2. This is where the “rubber hits the road”
3. This is where much power is wielded because…
1. Seniority determines position on committees
2. Chairing a committee means you control which bills are heard
3. Chairing a committee means you control discussion
4. It also means you can drum up votes for/against
4. Committee types...
1. Standing - a permanent committee
2. Select - a committee chosen for a special purpose
3. Joint - has both House AND Senate members

Powers of Congress

1. Delegated or Expressed Powers
1. Def.: those powers of Congress that are specifically written in Constitution
2. Tax [I-8-1] – levy taxes for the gov’t
1. limits include churches, polls, public (not private) purposes, exports
3. Borrow [I-8-2] – can borrow money on “credit of the U.S.”.
1. This isn’t literal borrowing, it’s spending more than it takes in…”deficit spending”
2. This gives us the “national debt” we have today…$5.04 trillion
4. Commerce [I-8] – sets rules on trade between states
5. Currency [I-8-5] – print or coin or mint money or “legal tender”
6. Bankruptcy [I-8-4] – sets uniform bankruptcy laws
1. Person or organization CAN’T pay debts…
2. Whatever is owned is split up to the creditors
3. Debt is absolved (erased)
7. War [I-8] – Congress declares war, the President orders troops, but Congress declares war
1. War Powers Resolution (1973) – restricts the President by saying he’s 60 days to report to Congress about troops in harm’s way
8. Others
1. Naturalization [I-8-4] – sets rules for becoming US citizen
2. Postal power [I-8-7] – set up postal system, the USPS
3. Copyrights/patents [I-8-8]
1. Copyright – exclusive right of an author to reproduce, sell, print his/her work
2. Patent – grants inventor sole right to make, use, or sell his/her invention
4. Weights and measures [I-8-5] – sets weights and measures
5. Territories [I-8-7] – Congress runs US territories like Puerto Rico
6. Eminent Domain – government can buy your property if it’s in the “best interest” of society
2. Implied Powers
1. These are taken from the “elastic clause” aka. “necessary and proper clause” Article I, Section 8, Clause 18
1. It gives Congress the power to do anything “necessary and proper” to carry out its delegated powers
2. McCulloch v. Maryland started this
3. These powers are debatable, but greatly extend the power of Congress and the federal government
3. Non-Legislative Powers
1. Constitutional amendments – propose amendments with 2/3 vote
2. Electoral duties – pick president if no electoral majority occurs
3. Impeachment – House impeaches, Senate holds trial
4. Appointments by the President – Senate approves president’s appointments
5. Treaties – Senate approves treaties
6. Investigatory powers – look into issues, like baseball steroid issue