American Presidency President’s Roles & Power
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The President’s Roles
The president must serve in a number of capacities to fulfill a number of duties. Some of these roles are specified in the Constitution, but most of them have evolved over time; the following chart summarizes some of the president’s roles.
| Role | Summary |
| Chief of State | Acts as the symbolic leader of the country |
| Chief Executive | Executes the laws, appoints key federal officials, grants pardons and reprieves |
| Commander in Chief | Runs the armed forces |
| Chief Diplomat | Negotiates with other countries |
| Chief Legislator | Signs or vetoes legislation, introduces legislation, works with Congress on the budget |
| Superpolitician | Helps his or her party raise money and elect candidates |
Chief of State
Every nation has a chief of state, a person who serves as the symbolic leader of the country and represents the nation. In the United States, the president both leads the government and acts as the chief of state, although this is not the case in many countries. As chief of state, the president presides over commemorations of war heroes, throws out the first pitch at baseball games, and attends funerals of world leaders, among other duties.
The Other Chiefs of State
Obviously, the president cannot attend all ceremonies in his or her role as chief of state. Therefore, sometimes the first lady or the vice president stands in for the president as a symbolic chief of state.
Chief Executive
The president is the head of the executive branch and is responsible for running the federal bureaucracy and enforcing the laws passed by Congress. To do this, the president is allowed to appoint people to key offices, a power called appointment power. The president nominates members of the cabinet, which consists of appointees who are in charge of the major executive departments and advise the president on policy matters. The president also chooses heads of agencies, federal judges, and about 2,000 lesser jobs. The Senate must approve these nominations. The president also has the power to fire these officials.
The President’s Staff
To do the job effectively, the president needs a large staff. The president sits atop a vast bureaucracy, including the White House staff, the president’s closest advisers. Not surprisingly, as the president relies more heavily on his staff, he often loses the ability to control it.
The president works with the White House staff every day. They help organize the president’s schedule, set priorities, and work with Congress. The president frequently chooses close friends and trusted advisers to the White House staff, and the staff plays a crucial role in shaping the presidency. The head of the White House staff is the White House Chief of Staff. Each president runs the staff differently: Some create rigid hierarchies, whereas others encourage competition among the staffers. The president’s closest advisers are sometimes informally called the kitchen cabinet.
The Executive Office of the Presidency
The executive office of the presidency (EOP) consists of agencies designed to help the president set policy and respond to key issues. These groups work closely with the president, supplying advice and help. Because they are closer to the president than cabinet members, officials from the EOP frequently have more influence than cabinet members.
As of 2009, the EOP includes the following agencies and councils:
- Council of Economic Advisors
- Council on Environmental Quality
- National Security Council and Homeland Security Council
- Office of Administration
- Office of Management and Budget
- Office of National Drug Control Policy
- Office of Science and Technology Policy
- Office of the United States Trade Representative
- Office of the Vice President
- Executive Residence
- The White House
Pardons and Reprieves
As part of the power to enforce the law, the Constitution grants the president the power to pardon, or release from punishment, people convicted of crimes. In theory, this power allows the president to prevent a miscarriage of justice. Presidential pardons are absolute, and they cannot be overturned. The president can also grant reprieves, which are formal postponements of the execution of a sentence.
The Most Notorious Pardon
Probably the most notorious presidential pardon was Gerald Ford’s pardon of Richard Nixon for any crimes Nixon may have committed as part of the Watergate scandal in 1974. Ford hoped to bring the tumultuous scandal to a close, but many people felt that Ford actually made the situation worse by ensuring that Nixon would never face charges.
Commander in Chief
The Constitution states that the president is commander in chief of the armed forces. This means that the president—a civilian—controls the entire American military. Civilian control of the military has been a cornerstone of the United States since its founding.
As commander in chief, the president can send troops into battle without a formal declaration of war from Congress and has final authority over military operations. During wartime, the president’s powers expand dramatically: Most Americans willingly grant the president a great deal of freedom in order to win the war. During World War I, for example, the Wilson Administration rationed food and important materials and, with the media’s cooperation, controlled the news.
The President’s Controversial Power
Even though only Congress can declare war, the president is the commander in chief. Most of the time, Congress and the president cooperate, but sometimes problems do arise. During the Vietnam War in 1973, for example, Congress passed the War Powers Resolution, which requires the president to consult with Congress when sending troops into combat. The resolution also gave Congress the power to force the president to withdraw troops, but this power has never been used.
Chief Diplomat
The president is the main face and voice of American foreign policy, negotiating treaties and other sorts of agreements with foreign leaders (although the Senate must approve all treaties). The president uses two key tools to conduct foreign policy:
- Executive agreement: An agreement made with foreign leaders that does not require Senate approval (although Congress may refuse to fund the agreement); executive agreements are not necessarily binding on future presidents
- Diplomatic recognition: Formal acknowledgment of a government as legitimate; this recognition allows the exchange of ambassadors
Chief Legislator
The president does not have any formal legislative power but has acquired a great deal of informal power as relations between the president and Congress have evolved. People expect the president to have a legislative agenda, a series of laws he or she wishes to pass, which is presented each year during the
State of the Union address to Congress and the American people. The president can also play a key role in getting legislation passed by persuading members of Congress to vote for certain bills. The president’s popularity and the partisan makeup of Congress influence how effective a president can be in getting legislation passed.
The Evolution of the State of the Union Address
The president is obligated by the Constitution to deliver a state of the union message to Congress each year. However, the manner in which the message is given and the importance of the message have changed dramatically. Prior to the early twentieth century, presidents generally sent the message to Congress in written form, and the message was mostly a description of the status of the country. By the end of the twentieth century, the state of the union address had become a crucial political event, far more important than the framers of the Constitution had originally foreseen.
For a bill to become law, the president must sign it. Often, the signing of a bill is turned into a ceremony, with the president using many pens to sign the bill into law and then distributing those pens to everyone who helped pass the law. If the bill is an unpopular one, the signing is usually done in private. The president sometimes includes a signing message that explains his support and understanding of the new law.
The Veto
The president’s most powerful tool in dealing with Congress is the veto, through which the president can reject a bill passed by Congress. Congress can override a veto with a two-thirds vote in both houses, but overrides are extremely rare. The president attaches a veto message to a bill that is sent back to Congress, explaining the reasoning for the veto.
The president can also make use of the pocket veto. If the president neither signs nor vetoes a bill while Congress is not in session, the bill dies at the end of ten days. If Congress is in session and the president does not sign the bill within ten days, then the bill becomes law anyway. The president might make use of the pocket veto for political reasons: He or she may not want the bill to become law but fears political damage if he or she actually vetoes it.
The presidential veto is all or nothing: The bill dies, or it does not. The line-item veto is a special type of veto that the president can use to strike the specific parts of the bill he or she dislikes without rejecting the entire bill. Many state governors have line-item veto power, but the president does not. Congress has passed laws giving the president this power, but the Supreme Court has rejected these laws as unconstitutional.
The Budget
The major part of the president’s legislative agenda is the federal budget, which explains how federal money will be spent during the next year. The federal government operates on fiscal years, a twelve-month period (that does not coincide with the calendar year) used for accounting purposes. Every year, the president proposes a budget. Congress can reject or approve the budget, but the president’s budget usually lays out the contours of debate on fiscal matters.
Superpolitician
In addition to formal roles, the president also serves as the leader of his or her party. The president, for example, chooses the chairperson of the national party organization and campaigns on behalf of fellow party members. As the most visible party member, the president can play a huge role in raising money and generating support for candidates from this party, especially if the president is popular. Sometimes, however, party members seek to distance themselves from an unpopular president.
Presidential Power
There are three categories of presidential power:
- Constitutional powers: powers explicitly granted by the Constitution
- Delegated powers: powers granted by Congress to help the president fulfill his duties
- Inherent powers: powers inherent in the president’s power as chief of the executive branch
Constitutional and delegated powers make up the expressed powers because these powers are clearly outlined in the Constitution. Presidents have interpreted inherent powers differently, sometimes in ways that grant the president great power.
Emergency Powers
The most common inherent powers are emergency powers, exercised only in times of great need. Some emergency powers are limited in scope. The president can declare a place devastated by a storm a federal disaster area, making it eligible for federal aid. Other emergency powers are much vaster in scope. During the Civil War, for example, President Abraham Lincoln spent money without congressional approval, and he also suspended a number of civil liberties, including the writ of habeas corpus.
Executive Orders
Another type of inherent power is the executive order, which is a rule or regulation issued by the president that has the force of law. The president can issue executive orders for three reasons:
- To enforce statutes
- To enforce the Constitution or treaties
- To establish or modify how executive agencies operate
All executive orders must be published in the Federal Register, the daily publication of federal rules and regulations.
Executive Privilege
Executive privilege is the right of officials of the executive branch to refuse to disclose some information to other branches of government or to the public. It includes refusing to appear before congressional committees. Executive privilege is an inherent power that is not clearly defined, and the courts have had to set limitations on the use of the privilege. In 1974, for example, the Supreme Court ruled that executive privilege could not be invoked to prevent evidence from being used in criminal proceedings against the president.
Abuse of Power and Impeachment
If the president abuses power, the House of Representatives can impeach him, or formally charge him of committing crimes severe enough to call for removal from office. The Senate then tries the impeached president to determine whether he is innocent or guilty of the charges. If convicted, the president is removed from office. Two presidents have been impeached— Andrew Johnson in 1867 and Bill Clinton in 1998—but no president has been convicted by the Senate and removed from office. Richard Nixon would probably have been convicted for his involvement in the Watergate scandal, which is why he resigned in 1974 before the House began impeachment proceedings.
Presidential Leadership
To be successful, a president must be a strong leader, someone who successfully engages in statecraft, the combination of power and wisdom in service of the public good. Scholars have long studied the art of statecraft and have debated what it takes for a president to be successful. Stagecraft always includes the following traits:
- Political skill: the ability to persuade, cajole, or coerce people
- Prudence: the ability to apply general principles to specific situations in a successful manner
- Opportunity: the ability to behave in decisive and meaningful ways
The Illusion of Presidential Government
Presidents wish to convey an image of strength and effectiveness to the public, but in reality, the president’s power is often constrained and limited. In 1981, presidential scholar Hugh Heclo labeled the perception that the president is in charge of the government the “illusion of presidential government.” Portraying strength and confidence can be a successful strategy, but it can also backfire because a president who appears too successful may get blamed later for anything that goes wrong.
