POLS 015B Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: New Media
7 Jun 2018
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Mon March 5
The Presidency II
Commander and chief:
In the constitution: President is the commander in chief of the nation’s armed forces
→ the congress declares war
48 hours notice to the congress
→ ex of war without informing the congress: Grenada, somalia, yugoslavia, libya
The head of state= Leader in Foreign affairs:
● Seen as presidential prerogative since President Washington
● Treaties:
○ To avoid rejection by the senate, negotiate executive agreements
■ Understanding b/w the administration and a foreign government
○ Congress can pass laws to ratify them, court's can judge them in violation of the
Constitution
Chief executive:
● Lack of administrative power for the president suggested it would be difficult for
presidents to gain control over public policy. Congressional oversight of executive
agencies also hampered the president
● Became difficult for Congress
Does congress cede too much power to the presidency?
→ Agree on the bill but disagree for the specifics
Ex: Congress delegated to the US Fish and Wildlife discretion to establish rules for
classifying species as “endangered” and “threatened”
Executive orders are formal instructions from the president
● Used in managing the federal government
● Has the force of law until the president or a successor retracts it, congress nullifies it or a
federal court rules it unconstitutional
● Most arise from the authority and responsibility explicitly delegated to the president by
law
● Used most frequently to establish an executive branch agency, modify bureaucratic rules
or actions, change decision-making procedures and given substance and force to status
President as a legislator:
President may:
● Call congress into session
● Veto laws (article I)
● Must report “from time to time” to congress with state
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