POLS 1101 Lecture 11 Outline of Last Lecture I Framer s Wishes Unitary Executive II Constitutional Bases of Presidential Power I III Constitutional Bases of Presidential Power II IV Constitutional Bases of Presidential Power III V Bureaucratic Institutions in the Obama Administration VI In Comparison Executive Forms VII Individual Presidents and Scope of the Executive VIII The Partisan Presidency IX The Populist Presidency X Presidential Public Activities Outline of Current Lecture I Presidential Vetoes II Appointments III Orders Agreements and Signing Statements IV Presidential Signing Statements V Administrative Resources VI The Vice President VII Investigations Impeachments and Electoral Pressures Current Lecture I Presidential Vetoes What explains the variation in the number of vetoes of president issues Veto threats whenever congress is considering a proposal the president will oppose bill as it is if it s passed as it is he will veto it Reasons why he ll veto why should we waste our time if I m going to veto it you could revise it and I won t Partisan control of Congress local variation president s party or other party in congress if the other party is the majority it makes for more vetoes Gridlock Arises when the two chambers of Congress and the president cannot agree on new legislation inaction no new policy being made The status quo is key to whether new laws will pass what is policy if nothing happens Sometimes doing nothing will be better or worse HOR If congress was arguing the issue of minimum wage and the president wants to raise minimum wage 10 10 To raise it for the whole country takes congress L to R scale II projects perfectly onto what the idea min wage should be L higher min wage R slightly lower min wage Current status quo 7 25 Which side does the issue lean more towards The house median and everybody needs to be onboard President needs to come down a bit so everybody can be on board Add Senate Cloture rule will 60 100 senators end debate so they can finally vote on bill Appointments President does this With the advice and consent of the Senate Positions in executive agencies ambassadorships and courts Looks for people who share philosophy III Orders Agreements and Signing Statements President doesn t have to weigh into area of gridlock Executive orders can be used for major policy changes a Avoid waiting for legislation Executive agreements to avoid the Senate a lot smaller than a treaty senate doesn t have to ratify President and Other leader from another country come to an agreement Signing statements explain how the president interprets the law President has decided to sign a bill that has passed congress but makes a statement that says how he interprets the law He can say he believes something is unconstitutional so do not follow that part of the law IV Presidential Signing Statements V Administrative Resources White House staff includes chief of staff etc Executive Office of the President a An intermediate layer between the White House staff and the federal bureaucracy b Advises the president on policy transmit things from president to the bureaucracy c Implements policy and provides Congress with information d Office of Management and Budget OMB is part of the EOP The Vice President VI The Vice President Not very useful The Constitution and the Vice President a The 12th and 25th Amendments 12th established that votes for president and vice president are clearly marked 25th established that if the president is disabled the VP serves as active president until the real president is better Duties and responsibilities today a Assumption of the presidency if needed b Key advisor c Breaks ties in the Senate 60 100 d Coordinates bureaucratic agencies VII Investigations Impeachments and Electoral Pressures Checks on the president a Courts can declare actions of the president unconstitutional b Veto override 2 3 of each chamber c Presidents can be impeached only happened twice in history neither convicted HOR votes to impeach Senate hold trial d Elections and public opinion