If the issue of signing statements were to reach the Supreme Court what are the Justices likely to rule Why If a case were to reach the high court the Justices are likely to invoke the precedent of Clinton v New York that states that the President cannot engage in legislative activity it violated the presentment clause by the use of a line item veto Thus by stating which parts of laws will and will not be enforced the President is engaging in legislative activity Unlike vetoes signing statements are not part of the legislative process as set forth in the Constitution and have no legal effect A signed law is still a law regardless of what the President says in an accompanying signing statement Cannot use signing statements as line item vetoes I think the courts would agree that these statements have no legal effect and should be ignored Signing statements should not be allowed to result in legislative cherry picking No check on signing statements which means it has potentially damaging implications for the separation of powers DeCosta V Nixon He then refused to enforce section 601 of the Amendment Courts rule that Nixon s signature made it law and that it couldn t be construed differently Court has not ruled directly on this issue because of lack of standing How might Congress counter the President s powers in diplomatic situations Power of the purse Can deny funding for military operations Operations of foreign policy must be funded so congress has the power to cut or increase aid for a foreign project Congress can set restrictions on the length of time American troops are deployed during an international crisis by refusing to pay for them beyond a certain date Advice and consent of Congress Hold political appointees hostage in an attempt to gain leverage Congress can outlaw U S assistance to X country for some purpose Boland Amendment Senate can refuse to ratify treaties Impeachment threaten to do so if President violates War Powers Resolution Act How would the recent Court decision on recess appointments change the nomination process Noel Canning v NLRB Said a recess only occurs between Congresses Limit President s ability to make recess appointments hence giving Senate Congress more power because they can take political hostages Failing to approve a Presidential nominee for political reasons other than the actual quality or positions of the nominee Increased number of political hostages in Senate Congress stay in session all the time President says he can do it if they are away from Washington for a long time Very narrow circumstances takes away ability to do short break ones Congress will try to extend their session If the court deems them to be unconstitutional any action the appointee had done would be undone and anything appointee did would be undone Do the 5 dynamics seem applicable to this President at this time Why Coward of Congress does not seem to apply They are challenging him Rand Paul Filibuster Constant war expands Presidential power rally around singular president than institution of war People want one leader Media Technology President has edge singular voice Congress viewed as one institution bully pulpit call press conferences whenever he wants social media First tech president Obama is known for being a very charismatic speaker he was compared to JFK during the 2008 campaign He was able to mobilize the youth vote by appealing to the younger generations through his use of technology Through his social media networks he makes it seem like he is one of us so to say by making the language of his emails fb posts and tweets very casual Recently Obama s relationship with the media has been strained due to his low approval ratings it will be interesting to see how the media responds to him during the campaign Little guidance from the Courts allowing delegations historically favored strong executive war power Kucinich v Obama deals with Obama s refusal to remove troops from Libya after the 60 day period Obama asserts that he has the power as commander in chief to define what a war is He says that because he hasn t classified the conflict in Libya as a war the War Powers Act doesn t apply and he can keep the troops there for as long as he wants Issue of standing Presidential control of information executive privilege Drones What powers do you think are encompassed in Commander in Chief Why I think there are broad inherent powers included as part of Article II Section 2 These powers as commander in chief give the Personally I am in favor of increased Presidential war powers because I think a unitary executive can evaluate threats consider policy choices and mobilize national resources with a speed and efficiency that is far superior to any other branch President broad constitutional authority to use military force in response to threats to the national security and foreign policy of the U S ability to make Executive Agreement Power of Executive Privilege President should be allowed to disclose information if the President fears it would compromise national security Power to repel sudden attacks power to respond to anyone or thing affiliated with 9 11 under AUMF What sets an executive agreement apart from a treaty No senate approval is needed Ends when one of the executives involved in the agreement leaves office If Congress does not like an executive agreement then they will not fund it One of the problems with an executive agreement is that it conflicts with joint decision making emphasized in the constitution A treaty required senate approval and therefore the president s decision is influenced by political factors Agreement has been affirmed in U S V Belmont Why do Presidents benefit from Omnibus bills What happens if all 13 appropriations bills do not get passed by end fiscal year Budget Impasse bills have not been passed options 1 continuing resolution current spending 2 shut down the government 3 omnibus bill one piece of legislation contained 2 or more impasse funding bills Members know little about bill because of time constraint Political conscience better to get in trouble for voting minor in it than voting against entire thing Large bill that members do not have access to until the last minute This leads to uncertainty over what you are signing onto There is a lack of attention to small details because of the pressure to sign bill This creates an opportunity for sneaking in unpopular or previously failed legislation Bill Clinton always wanted to pass a