Powers of the President of the United States
Encyclopedia
The President of the United States has numerous powers, including those explicitly granted by Article II of the Constitution
, implicit powers, powers granted by Acts of Congress, and enormous influence and soft power
from his position of leader of the United States.
, the president fulfills the roles of head of state
and head of government
. As a head of state, the President of the United States represents the nation at home and abroad. In this capacity the President has the power to receive other foreign heads of state, such as the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland or the Bundespräsident
of Germany in official ceremonies. As head of state, the President has the power to offer diplomatic recognition
of other states. This is most commonly done through an exchange of ambassadors between the two countries. At times, diplomatic recognition can be controversial. President Harry Truman recognized the state of Israel
in 1948 despite the violent onslaught on it by Arab countries, and President George W. Bush
extended recognition to Kosovo
in 2008 despite the questionable legal status of the nation. Many of the duties as head of state are ceremonial and convey no real power. The President will exercise real political power as the head of government
.
itself, the president has broad powers to manage national affairs and the workings of the federal government. The president can issue rules, regulations, and instructions called executive orders, which have the binding force of law upon federal agencies but do not require congressional approval.
According to the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921, the president is also responsible for preparing the Budget of the United States, although the Congress must approve it . The Office of Management and Budget assists the President with the preparation of the budget. In the past (but no longer), the President was able to impound
funds as he saw fit. The power was available to all presidents up to and including Richard Nixon, and was regarded as a power inherent to the office. The Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974
was passed in response to large scale exercise of the power by President Nixon. This act also created the Congressional Budget Office
as a legislative counterpoint to the Office of Management and Budget.
As Commander in Chief of the armed forces of the United States
, the president may also call into federal service the state units of the National Guard
. In times of war or national emergency, the Congress may grant the president even broader powers to manage the national economy and protect the security of the United States but these are not powers granted by the Constitution
to the president. During the Vietnam War in 1973, Congress passed the War Powers Act to severely limit the ability of the President to conduct warfare without Congressional approval. Congress has the power to declare the war (Article 1, sec 8), but if the president needs to send the troops to other countries for hostile reasons, he will need congressional confirmation. For any time beyond 60 days, further congressional approval will be required. The president does retain the sole right to authorize the use of nuclear weapons and is constantly accompanied by a special military officer who carries the "nuclear football
".
If he agrees with the bill, then it is signed into law within ten days of receipt. If the president opposes the bill, he can veto
it and return the legislation to Congress with a veto message offering suggested changes. Presidents must approve all of a bill or none of it, they do not have the ability to veto only selected parts
. If the Congress is still in session for ten business days after the president receives the bill, the legislation will become a law without the president's signature. But, if Congress adjourns within the ten business days of giving the bill to the President, the bill dies. If the president does this to a bill, Congress can do nothing to override the president. This is called a pocket veto
.
In 1996, Congress gave President Bill Clinton
a line-item veto
over parts of a bill that require spending federal funds. The Supreme Court ruled that Clinton's use of the veto against a pork barrel appropriation
for New York City was unconstitutional. The Court ruled in Clinton v. New York City that only a constitutional amendment could give the president the line item veto power. President George W. Bush
has also tried to override congressional bill with the use of signing statements. In a signing statement, the President can alter or ignore the intention of a bill. The Supreme Court has not addressed the use of signing statements by President Bush. Congress can override vetoes with a two thirds vote of both chambers, but this process is difficult and rarely happens to most presidents.
Much of the legislation dealt with by Congress is drafted at the initiative of the executive branch. In annual and special messages to Congress, the president may propose legislation he believes is necessary. The most important of these is the annual State of the Union address
. Before a joint session of Congress, the president outlines the status of the country and his legislative proposals for the upcoming year. If Congress should adjourn without acting on those proposals, the president has the power to call it into special session. But beyond this official role, the president, as head of a political party and as principal executive officer of the United States government, is primarily in a position to influence public opinion and thereby to influence the course of legislation in Congress.
To improve their working relationships with Congress, presidents in recent years have set up an Office of Legislative Affairs
. Presidential aides keep abreast of all important legislative activities.
Before taking office, the President-elect
must appoint more than 6,000 new federal positions. The appointments range from top officials at U.S. government agencies, to the White House Staff, and members of the United States diplomatic corps
. Many, but not all, of these positions are appointed by the President with the advice and consent
of the United States Senate
.
The President also has the power to nominate federal judges, including members of the United States Courts of Appeals
and the United States Supreme Court. However, these nominations do require Senate confirmation, and this can provide a major stumbling block for Presidents who wish to shape their federal judiciary in a particular ideological stance. The President must appoint judges for the United States District Courts, but he will not often defer to Senatorial courtesy
in making these choices.
As head of the executive branch, the President must appoint the top officials for all of the federal agencies. These positions are listed in the Plum Book which outlines the 700,000 bureaucratic positions that the President has the right to fill. In the case of ten agencies, the President is free to appoint a new agency head at his pleasure. For example, it is not unusual for the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
or the NASA Administrator to be changed by the President. Other agencies that deal with federal regulation such as the Federal Reserve Board or the Securities and Exchange Commission have set terms that will often outlast the time a President sits in office. For example, the members of the Federal Reserve board serve for twelve years. This is to ensure that these agencies can act independently of political control. The President also appoints members to the boards of directors for government-owned corporations such as Amtrak
. The President can also make a recess appointment
if a position needs to be filled while Congress is not in session.
In the past, Presidents had the power to appoint all members of the United States civil service. This use of the spoils system
allowed Presidents to reward political supporters with jobs. Following the assassination of President James Garfield
by Charles J. Guiteau
, a disgruntled office seeker, Congress instituted a merit-based civil service in which positions are filled on a nonpartisan basis. The Office of Personnel Management
now oversees the staffing of 2.8 million federal jobs in the federal bureaucracy
.
The President must also appoint his staff
of 1,800 aides, advisers, and assistants. These individuals are political appointments and are not subject to review by the Senate. All members of the staff serve, "at the pleasure of the President."
of the United States Constitution
gives the President the power of clemency. The two most commonly used clemency powers are those of pardon
and commutation
. A pardon is an official forgiveness for an acknowledged crime. Once a pardon is issued, all punishment for the crime is waived. The person accepting the pardon must, however, acknowledge that the crime did take place. The President maintains the Office of the Pardon Attorney
in the United States Department of Justice
to review all requests for pardons. Most pardons are issued as oversight of the judicial branch, especially in cases where Federal Sentencing Guidelines
are considered too severe for the crime committed. Other pardons have been much more controversial because there was political motivation. President Bill Clinton
pardoned millionaire Marc Rich
after Rich fled the country to escape prosecution. The most famous presidential pardon is that of former President Richard Nixon
by President Gerald Ford
.
This power can check the legislative and judicial branches by altering punishment for crimes. Presidents can issue blanket amnesty
which forgives entire groups of people for a crime. President Jimmy Carter offered amnesty to Vietnam War draftees who fled to Canada. Presidents can also issue temporary suspension of prosecution or punishment in the form of respite
s. This power is most commonly used to delay federal sentences of execution.
The President can also commute a sentence which, in effect, changes the punishment to time served. While the guilty party may be released from custody or not have to serve out a prison term, all other punishments still apply. President George W. Bush
commuted the sentence of White House staffer Lewis "Scooter" Libby
.
headed the American delegation to the Paris conference at the end of World War I; President Franklin D. Roosevelt
met with Allied
leaders during World War II; and every president since then has sat down with world leaders to discuss economic and political issues and to reach agreements.
Through the Department of State
and the Department of Defense
, the president is responsible for the protection of Americans abroad and of foreign nationals in the United States. The president decides whether to recognize new nations and new governments, and negotiate treaties with other nations, which become binding on the United States when approved by two-thirds of the Senate. The president may also negotiate "executive agreements" with foreign powers that are not subject to Senate confirmation.
have been used both at home and overseas. The most common use of emergency powers is to declare a state of emergency which allows the Federal Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA) to bypass normal administrative and jurisdictional rules. Declarations of emergency can also provide special federal aid such as during the Flood of 1993 along the Mississippi River or in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina
. President Abraham Lincoln used his emergency powers to suspend the writ of habeas corpus
in Maryland during the American Civil War
. President Harry Truman was also denied emergency powers by the Court in Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer
when he tried to nationalize the nation's steel mills.
gives the President the ability to withhold information from the public, Congress, and the courts in matters of national security. George Washington
first claimed privilege when Congress requested to see Chief Justice
John Jay
's notes from an unpopular treaty negotiation with Great Britain. While not enshrined in the Constitution, Washington's action created the precedent for privilege. When Richard Nixon tried to use executive privilege as a reason for not turning over subpoenaed evidence to Congress for the Watergate hearings, the Supreme Court ruled in United States v. Nixon
that privilege did not apply in cases where a President was attempting to avoid criminal prosecution. Later President Bill Clinton lost in federal court when he tried to assert privilege in the Lewinsky scandal
. The Supreme Court affirmed this in Clinton v. Jones
which denied the use of privilege in cases of civil suits as well.
," referring to the expanded role of the office that Franklin D. Roosevelt maintained during his term.
President Theodore Roosevelt
famously called the presidency a "bully pulpit
" from which to raise issues nationally, for when a president raises an issue, it inevitably becomes subject to public debate. A president's power and influence may be limited, but politically the president is certainly the most important power in Washington and, furthermore, is one of the most famous and influential of all Americans.
Though constrained by various other laws passed by Congress, the President's executive branch conducts most foreign policy, and his power to order and direct troops as commander-in-chief is quite significant (the exact limits of what a President can do with the military without Congressional authorization are open to debate).
The Separation of Powers devised by the framers of the Constitution was designed to do one primary thing: to prevent the majority from ruling with an iron fist. Based on their experience, the framers shied away from giving any branch of the new government too much power. The separation of powers provides a system of shared power known as Checks and Balances (see Separation of powers
). For example, the President appoints judges and departmental secretaries, but these appointments must be approved by the Senate.
Article Two of the United States Constitution
Article Two of the United States Constitution creates the executive branch of the government, consisting of the President and other executive officers.-Clause 1: Executive power:...
, implicit powers, powers granted by Acts of Congress, and enormous influence and soft power
Soft power
Soft power is the ability to obtain what one wants through co-option and attraction. It can be contrasted with 'hard power', that is the use of coercion and payment...
from his position of leader of the United States.
Powers of State
Because the United States is a presidential systemPresidential system
A presidential system is a system of government where an executive branch exists and presides separately from the legislature, to which it is not responsible and which cannot, in normal circumstances, dismiss it....
, the president fulfills the roles of head of state
Head of State
A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...
and head of government
Head of government
Head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet. In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled prime minister, chief minister, premier, etc...
. As a head of state, the President of the United States represents the nation at home and abroad. In this capacity the President has the power to receive other foreign heads of state, such as the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland or the Bundespräsident
Bundespräsident
Bundespräsident is the German language title for:* The President of Austria * The President of Germany...
of Germany in official ceremonies. As head of state, the President has the power to offer diplomatic recognition
Diplomatic recognition
Diplomatic recognition in international law is a unilateral political act with domestic and international legal consequences, whereby a state acknowledges an act or status of another state or government in control of a state...
of other states. This is most commonly done through an exchange of ambassadors between the two countries. At times, diplomatic recognition can be controversial. President Harry Truman recognized the state of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
in 1948 despite the violent onslaught on it by Arab countries, and President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
extended recognition to Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
in 2008 despite the questionable legal status of the nation. Many of the duties as head of state are ceremonial and convey no real power. The President will exercise real political power as the head of government
Head of government
Head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet. In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled prime minister, chief minister, premier, etc...
.
Executive powers
Within the executive branchExecutive (government)
Executive branch of Government is the part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers.In many countries, the term...
itself, the president has broad powers to manage national affairs and the workings of the federal government. The president can issue rules, regulations, and instructions called executive orders, which have the binding force of law upon federal agencies but do not require congressional approval.
According to the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921, the president is also responsible for preparing the Budget of the United States, although the Congress must approve it . The Office of Management and Budget assists the President with the preparation of the budget. In the past (but no longer), the President was able to impound
Impoundment
Impoundment is the election of a President of the United States not to spend money that has been appropriated by the U.S. Congress. The precedent for presidential impoundment was first set by Thomas Jefferson in 1801. The power was available to all presidents up to and including Richard Nixon, and...
funds as he saw fit. The power was available to all presidents up to and including Richard Nixon, and was regarded as a power inherent to the office. The Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974
Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974
The Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 is a United States federal law that governs the role of the Congress in the United States budget process.-The Congressional budget process:...
was passed in response to large scale exercise of the power by President Nixon. This act also created the Congressional Budget Office
Congressional Budget Office
The Congressional Budget Office is a federal agency within the legislative branch of the United States government that provides economic data to Congress....
as a legislative counterpoint to the Office of Management and Budget.
As Commander in Chief of the armed forces of the United States
United States armed forces
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...
, the president may also call into federal service the state units of the National Guard
United States National Guard
The National Guard of the United States is a reserve military force composed of state National Guard militia members or units under federally recognized active or inactive armed force service for the United States. Militia members are citizen soldiers, meaning they work part time for the National...
. In times of war or national emergency, the Congress may grant the president even broader powers to manage the national economy and protect the security of the United States but these are not powers granted by the Constitution
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
to the president. During the Vietnam War in 1973, Congress passed the War Powers Act to severely limit the ability of the President to conduct warfare without Congressional approval. Congress has the power to declare the war (Article 1, sec 8), but if the president needs to send the troops to other countries for hostile reasons, he will need congressional confirmation. For any time beyond 60 days, further congressional approval will be required. The president does retain the sole right to authorize the use of nuclear weapons and is constantly accompanied by a special military officer who carries the "nuclear football
Nuclear football
The nuclear football is a briefcase, the contents of which are to be used by the President of the United States of America to authorize a nuclear attack while away from fixed command centers, such as the White House Situation Room...
".
Powers related to Legislation
The President has several options when a bill arrives on his desk from Congress:If he agrees with the bill, then it is signed into law within ten days of receipt. If the president opposes the bill, he can veto
Veto
A veto, Latin for "I forbid", is the power of an officer of the state to unilaterally stop an official action, especially enactment of a piece of legislation...
it and return the legislation to Congress with a veto message offering suggested changes. Presidents must approve all of a bill or none of it, they do not have the ability to veto only selected parts
Line-item veto
In United States government, the line-item veto, or partial veto, is the power of an executive authority to nullify or cancel specific provisions of a bill, usually a budget appropriations bill, without vetoing the entire legislative package...
. If the Congress is still in session for ten business days after the president receives the bill, the legislation will become a law without the president's signature. But, if Congress adjourns within the ten business days of giving the bill to the President, the bill dies. If the president does this to a bill, Congress can do nothing to override the president. This is called a pocket veto
Pocket veto
A pocket veto is a legislative maneuver in United States federal lawmaking that allows the President to veto a bill indirectly.The U.S. Constitution limits the President's period for decision on whether to sign or veto any legislation to ten days while the United States Congress is in session...
.
In 1996, Congress gave President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
a line-item veto
Line-item veto
In United States government, the line-item veto, or partial veto, is the power of an executive authority to nullify or cancel specific provisions of a bill, usually a budget appropriations bill, without vetoing the entire legislative package...
over parts of a bill that require spending federal funds. The Supreme Court ruled that Clinton's use of the veto against a pork barrel appropriation
Appropriation (law)
In law and government, appropriation is the act of setting apart something for its application to a particular usage, to the exclusion of all other uses....
for New York City was unconstitutional. The Court ruled in Clinton v. New York City that only a constitutional amendment could give the president the line item veto power. President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
has also tried to override congressional bill with the use of signing statements. In a signing statement, the President can alter or ignore the intention of a bill. The Supreme Court has not addressed the use of signing statements by President Bush. Congress can override vetoes with a two thirds vote of both chambers, but this process is difficult and rarely happens to most presidents.
Much of the legislation dealt with by Congress is drafted at the initiative of the executive branch. In annual and special messages to Congress, the president may propose legislation he believes is necessary. The most important of these is the annual State of the Union address
State of the Union Address
The State of the Union is an annual address presented by the President of the United States to the United States Congress. The address not only reports on the condition of the nation but also allows the president to outline his legislative agenda and his national priorities.The practice arises...
. Before a joint session of Congress, the president outlines the status of the country and his legislative proposals for the upcoming year. If Congress should adjourn without acting on those proposals, the president has the power to call it into special session. But beyond this official role, the president, as head of a political party and as principal executive officer of the United States government, is primarily in a position to influence public opinion and thereby to influence the course of legislation in Congress.
To improve their working relationships with Congress, presidents in recent years have set up an Office of Legislative Affairs
Office of Legislative Affairs
The Office of Legislative Affairs is a division within the United States Department of Justice. Its responsibility is for the development and implementation of strategies to advance the Department's legislative initiatives and other interests relating to Congress....
. Presidential aides keep abreast of all important legislative activities.
Powers of Appointment
The President of the United States has several different appointment powers.Before taking office, the President-elect
President-elect of the United States
President-elect of the United States is the title used for an incoming President of the United States in the period between the general election on Election Day in November and noon eastern standard time on Inauguration Day, January 20, during which he is not in office yet...
must appoint more than 6,000 new federal positions. The appointments range from top officials at U.S. government agencies, to the White House Staff, and members of the United States diplomatic corps
Diplomatic corps
The diplomatic corps or corps diplomatique is the collective body of foreign diplomats accredited to a particular country or body.The diplomatic corps may, in certain contexts, refer to the collection of accredited heads of mission who represent their countries in another state or country...
. Many, but not all, of these positions are appointed by the President with the advice and consent
Advice and consent
Advice and consent is an English phrase frequently used in enacting formulae of bills and in other legal or constitutional contexts, describing a situation in which the executive branch of a government enacts something previously approved of by the legislative branch.-General:The expression is...
of the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
.
The President also has the power to nominate federal judges, including members of the United States Courts of Appeals
United States courts of appeals
The United States courts of appeals are the intermediate appellate courts of the United States federal court system...
and the United States Supreme Court. However, these nominations do require Senate confirmation, and this can provide a major stumbling block for Presidents who wish to shape their federal judiciary in a particular ideological stance. The President must appoint judges for the United States District Courts, but he will not often defer to Senatorial courtesy
Senatorial courtesy
Senatorial courtesy is an unwritten political custom in the United States whereby the president consults the senior U.S. Senator of his political party of a given state before nominating any person to a federal vacancy within that Senator's state. It is strictly observed in connection with the...
in making these choices.
As head of the executive branch, the President must appoint the top officials for all of the federal agencies. These positions are listed in the Plum Book which outlines the 700,000 bureaucratic positions that the President has the right to fill. In the case of ten agencies, the President is free to appoint a new agency head at his pleasure. For example, it is not unusual for the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
or the NASA Administrator to be changed by the President. Other agencies that deal with federal regulation such as the Federal Reserve Board or the Securities and Exchange Commission have set terms that will often outlast the time a President sits in office. For example, the members of the Federal Reserve board serve for twelve years. This is to ensure that these agencies can act independently of political control. The President also appoints members to the boards of directors for government-owned corporations such as Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
. The President can also make a recess appointment
Recess appointment
A recess appointment is the appointment, by the President of the United States, of a senior federal official while the U.S. Senate is in recess. The U.S. Constitution requires that the most senior federal officers must be confirmed by the Senate before assuming office, but while the Senate is in...
if a position needs to be filled while Congress is not in session.
In the past, Presidents had the power to appoint all members of the United States civil service. This use of the spoils system
Spoils system
In the politics of the United States, a spoil system is a practice where a political party, after winning an election, gives government jobs to its voters as a reward for working toward victory, and as an incentive to keep working for the party—as opposed to a system of awarding offices on the...
allowed Presidents to reward political supporters with jobs. Following the assassination of President James Garfield
James Garfield
James Abram Garfield served as the 20th President of the United States, after completing nine consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. Garfield's accomplishments as President included a controversial resurgence of Presidential authority above Senatorial courtesy in executive...
by Charles J. Guiteau
Charles J. Guiteau
Charles Julius Guiteau was an American lawyer who assassinated U.S. President James A. Garfield. He was executed by hanging.- Background :...
, a disgruntled office seeker, Congress instituted a merit-based civil service in which positions are filled on a nonpartisan basis. The Office of Personnel Management
Office of Personnel Management
The United States Office of Personnel Management is an independent agency of the United States government that manages the civil service of the federal government. The current Director is John Berry.-History:...
now oversees the staffing of 2.8 million federal jobs in the federal bureaucracy
Bureaucracy
A bureaucracy is an organization of non-elected officials of a governmental or organization who implement the rules, laws, and functions of their institution, and are occasionally characterized by officialism and red tape.-Weberian bureaucracy:...
.
The President must also appoint his staff
Executive Office of the President of the United States
The Executive Office of the President consists of the immediate staff of the President of the United States, as well as multiple levels of support staff reporting to the President. The EOP is headed by the White House Chief of Staff, currently William M. Daley...
of 1,800 aides, advisers, and assistants. These individuals are political appointments and are not subject to review by the Senate. All members of the staff serve, "at the pleasure of the President."
Executive clemency
Article IIArticle Two of the United States Constitution
Article Two of the United States Constitution creates the executive branch of the government, consisting of the President and other executive officers.-Clause 1: Executive power:...
of the United States Constitution
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
gives the President the power of clemency. The two most commonly used clemency powers are those of pardon
Pardon
Clemency means the forgiveness of a crime or the cancellation of the penalty associated with it. It is a general concept that encompasses several related procedures: pardoning, commutation, remission and reprieves...
and commutation
Commutation of sentence
Commutation of sentence involves the reduction of legal penalties, especially in terms of imprisonment. Unlike a pardon, a commutation does not nullify the conviction and is often conditional. Clemency is a similar term, meaning the lessening of the penalty of the crime without forgiving the crime...
. A pardon is an official forgiveness for an acknowledged crime. Once a pardon is issued, all punishment for the crime is waived. The person accepting the pardon must, however, acknowledge that the crime did take place. The President maintains the Office of the Pardon Attorney
Office of the Pardon Attorney
The Office of the Pardon Attorney, in consultation with the Attorney General of the United States or his designee, assists the President of the United States in the exercise of executive clemency as authorized under Article II, Section 2, of the Constitution. Under the Constitution, the President's...
in the United States Department of Justice
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
to review all requests for pardons. Most pardons are issued as oversight of the judicial branch, especially in cases where Federal Sentencing Guidelines
Federal Sentencing Guidelines
The Federal Sentencing Guidelines are rules that set out a uniform sentencing policy for individuals and organizations convicted of felonies and serious misdemeanors in the United States federal courts system...
are considered too severe for the crime committed. Other pardons have been much more controversial because there was political motivation. President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
pardoned millionaire Marc Rich
Marc Rich
Marc Rich is an international commodities trader and entrepreneur. He is best known for founding the commodities company Glencore. He was indicted in the United States on federal charges of illegally making oil deals with Iran during the late 1970s-early 1980s Iran hostage crisis and tax evasion...
after Rich fled the country to escape prosecution. The most famous presidential pardon is that of former President Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
by President Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
.
This power can check the legislative and judicial branches by altering punishment for crimes. Presidents can issue blanket amnesty
Amnesty
Amnesty is a legislative or executive act by which a state restores those who may have been guilty of an offense against it to the positions of innocent people, without changing the laws defining the offense. It includes more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the...
which forgives entire groups of people for a crime. President Jimmy Carter offered amnesty to Vietnam War draftees who fled to Canada. Presidents can also issue temporary suspension of prosecution or punishment in the form of respite
Respite
Respite may be:* Respite , delay of sentence* Respite care, care provided as temporary replacement of a live-in caregiver* Respite , practice of allocating extraordinary resources toward recovery of workers from effects of unusual stress...
s. This power is most commonly used to delay federal sentences of execution.
The President can also commute a sentence which, in effect, changes the punishment to time served. While the guilty party may be released from custody or not have to serve out a prison term, all other punishments still apply. President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
commuted the sentence of White House staffer Lewis "Scooter" Libby
Lewis Libby
I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby is a former adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney, later disbarred and convicted of a felony....
.
Foreign affairs
Under the Constitution, the president is the federal official that is primarily responsible for the relations of the United States with foreign nations. The president appoints ambassadors, ministers, and consuls —subject to confirmation by the Senate—and receives foreign ambassadors and other public officials. With the secretary of state, the president manages all official contacts with foreign governments. On occasion, the president may personally participate in summit conferences where heads of state meet for direct consultation. Thus, President Woodrow WilsonWoodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
headed the American delegation to the Paris conference at the end of World War I; President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
met with Allied
Allies of World War II
The Allies of World War II were the countries that opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War . Former Axis states contributing to the Allied victory are not considered Allied states...
leaders during World War II; and every president since then has sat down with world leaders to discuss economic and political issues and to reach agreements.
Through the Department of State
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
and the Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
, the president is responsible for the protection of Americans abroad and of foreign nationals in the United States. The president decides whether to recognize new nations and new governments, and negotiate treaties with other nations, which become binding on the United States when approved by two-thirds of the Senate. The president may also negotiate "executive agreements" with foreign powers that are not subject to Senate confirmation.
Emergency Powers
Over the years, Presidents have claimed to have emergency powers in times of crisis. These Inherent PowersInherent Powers
Inherent powers are those powers that a sovereign state holds. The President derives these powers from the loosely worded statements in the Constitution that "the executive Power shall be vested in a President" and that the President should "take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed"; defined...
have been used both at home and overseas. The most common use of emergency powers is to declare a state of emergency which allows the Federal Emergency Management Agency
Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security, initially created by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1978 and implemented by two Executive Orders...
(FEMA) to bypass normal administrative and jurisdictional rules. Declarations of emergency can also provide special federal aid such as during the Flood of 1993 along the Mississippi River or in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
. President Abraham Lincoln used his emergency powers to suspend the writ of habeas corpus
Habeas corpus
is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...
in Maryland during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. President Harry Truman was also denied emergency powers by the Court in Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer
Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer
Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer, , also commonly referred to as The Steel Seizure Case, was a United States Supreme Court decision that limited the power of the President of the United States to seize private property in the absence of either specifically enumerated authority under Article...
when he tried to nationalize the nation's steel mills.
Executive Privilege
Executive privilegeExecutive privilege
In the United States government, executive privilege is the power claimed by the President of the United States and other members of the executive branch to resist certain subpoenas and other interventions by the legislative and judicial branches of government...
gives the President the ability to withhold information from the public, Congress, and the courts in matters of national security. George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
first claimed privilege when Congress requested to see Chief Justice
Chief Justice
The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...
John Jay
John Jay
John Jay was an American politician, statesman, revolutionary, diplomat, a Founding Father of the United States, and the first Chief Justice of the United States ....
's notes from an unpopular treaty negotiation with Great Britain. While not enshrined in the Constitution, Washington's action created the precedent for privilege. When Richard Nixon tried to use executive privilege as a reason for not turning over subpoenaed evidence to Congress for the Watergate hearings, the Supreme Court ruled in United States v. Nixon
United States v. Nixon
United States v. Nixon, , was a landmark United States Supreme Court decision. It was a unanimous 8-0 ruling involving President Richard Nixon and was important to the late stages of the Watergate scandal. It is considered a crucial precedent limiting the power of any U.S. president.Chief Justice...
that privilege did not apply in cases where a President was attempting to avoid criminal prosecution. Later President Bill Clinton lost in federal court when he tried to assert privilege in the Lewinsky scandal
Lewinsky scandal
The Lewinsky scandal was a political sex scandal emerging in 1998 from a sexual relationship between United States President Bill Clinton and a 25-year-old White House intern, Monica Lewinsky. The news of this extra-marital affair and the resulting investigation eventually led to the impeachment of...
. The Supreme Court affirmed this in Clinton v. Jones
Clinton v. Jones
Clinton v. Jones, , was a landmark United States Supreme Court case establishing that a sitting President of the United States has no immunity from civil law litigation against him, for acts done before taking office and unrelated to the office....
which denied the use of privilege in cases of civil suits as well.
Constraints on Presidential power
Because of the vast array of presidential roles and responsibilities, coupled with a conspicuous presence on the national and international scene, political analysts have tended to place great emphasis on the president's powers. Some have even spoken of "the imperial presidencyThe Imperial Presidency
The Imperial Presidency by Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. was written in 1973.This book details the history of the Presidency of the United States from its conception by the Constitutional Founders, through the late twentieth century...
," referring to the expanded role of the office that Franklin D. Roosevelt maintained during his term.
President Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
famously called the presidency a "bully pulpit
Bully pulpit
A bully pulpit is a public office or other position of authority of sufficiently high rank that provides the holder with an opportunity to speak out and be listened to on any matter...
" from which to raise issues nationally, for when a president raises an issue, it inevitably becomes subject to public debate. A president's power and influence may be limited, but politically the president is certainly the most important power in Washington and, furthermore, is one of the most famous and influential of all Americans.
Though constrained by various other laws passed by Congress, the President's executive branch conducts most foreign policy, and his power to order and direct troops as commander-in-chief is quite significant (the exact limits of what a President can do with the military without Congressional authorization are open to debate).
The Separation of Powers devised by the framers of the Constitution was designed to do one primary thing: to prevent the majority from ruling with an iron fist. Based on their experience, the framers shied away from giving any branch of the new government too much power. The separation of powers provides a system of shared power known as Checks and Balances (see Separation of powers
Separation of powers
The separation of powers, often imprecisely used interchangeably with the trias politica principle, is a model for the governance of a state. The model was first developed in ancient Greece and came into widespread use by the Roman Republic as part of the unmodified Constitution of the Roman Republic...
). For example, the President appoints judges and departmental secretaries, but these appointments must be approved by the Senate.