2.4 Roles and Powers of the President

Formal powers are written in the Constitution, mostly in Article II:

• Commander in chief of the armed forces
• Make treaties, with approval of two-thirds of the Senate
• Nominate ambassadors, judges and top officials, with Senate confirmation
• Grant pardons and reprieves for federal crimes (except in impeachment cases)
• Veto bills passed by Congress (Article I, Section 7)
• Give Congress information on the State of the Union and recommend legislation
• Call Congress into special session
• Receive ambassadors, which in practice means recognizing foreign governments
• Make sure the laws are “faithfully executed”

When Congress sends a bill, the president has 10 days (not counting Sundays) to act. Signing makes it law. A veto sends it back to Congress, which can override with a two-thirds vote in both chambers. If Congress is in session and the president does nothing for 10 days, the bill becomes law without a signature.

A pocket veto happens when Congress adjourns within those 10 days and the president doesn't sign. The bill dies, and Congress can't override it, since it isn't in session to vote. It would have to start over in the next session.

Even the threat of a veto is a powerful tool, since Congress may change a bill to avoid one. Presidents have no line-item veto, the power to cut individual parts of a spending bill; the Court struck down a law creating one in Clinton v. City of New York (1998).

• Executive order: a directive to the executive branch on how to carry out laws. It has the force of law but can be overturned by courts, overridden by Congress or reversed by a later president. Examples: Truman's 1948 order desegregating the armed forces, and Franklin Roosevelt's 1942 order that led to the forced removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans.
• Executive agreement: a deal with a foreign leader that doesn't need Senate approval. Presidents use them far more often than treaties.
• Signing statement: a written comment issued when signing a bill, explaining how the president interprets it or will enforce it, sometimes signaling that parts won't be enforced.
• Bargaining and persuasion: using personal contact, favors and public pressure to win votes in Congress. Political scientist Richard Neustadt called presidential power “the power to persuade.”
• Executive privilege: the claim that some communications can be kept confidential. In United States v. Nixon (1974), the Court said it isn't absolute and ordered the release of White House tapes.

• Vice president: presides over the Senate, breaks tie votes there and is first in line to succeed the president. The VP's actual influence depends on the president.
• Cabinet: the heads of the 15 executive departments, such as the secretaries of state, defense and the treasury and the attorney general, plus other officials the president chooses to include.
• Executive Office of the President (EOP): created in 1939, it includes the White House staff, the Office of Management and Budget (which drafts the budget), and the National Security Council. These advisers work directly for the president and most don't need Senate confirmation.

The president commands the military, but only Congress can declare war. Congress has formally declared war in only five conflicts, the last being World War II; presidents have sent troops abroad many times without a declaration. After Vietnam, Congress passed the War Powers Resolution (1973), over a presidential veto. It requires the president to notify Congress within 48 hours of sending troops into hostilities and to withdraw them within 60 days (plus 30 more for withdrawal) unless Congress authorizes the action. Presidents have generally questioned its constitutionality but often file the reports.