The President of the USA

1
The President of the USA
2
The office of the President

• One of the most powerful offices of its kind in
  the world.
• The president, the Constitution says, must "take
  care that the laws be faithfully executed." To
  carry out this responsibility, the president
  presides over the executive branch of the federal
  government (about 4 million people, including 1
  million active-duty military personnel)

3
(No Transcript)
4
Requirements

• Who can become the President?
• No person except a natural born citizen, or a
  citizen of the United States shall be eligible
  to the office of President neither shall any
  person be eligible to that office who shall not
  have attained to the age of thirty-five years,
  and been fourteen years a resident within the
  United States.
• The
  Constitution, Article II, Section One

5
Election

• Election every 4 years.
• Inauguration Day taking the oath
• I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully
  execute the Office of President of the United
  States, and will to the best of my Ability,
  preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of
  the United States.

6
Presidential oath

• http//www.youtube.com/watch?v9cESC0RaVnMlistPL
  F6C5ABE020EE90E7

7
Powers of the President

• Executive
• Legislative
• Judicial

8
Executive powers

• head of the government
• nominates and the Senate confirms the heads
  of all executive departments and agencies,
  together with hundreds of other high-ranking
  federal officials.
• responsible for preparing the budget of the
  United States, although the Congress must approve
  it

9
Executive powers cont.

• Within the executive branch 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.

10
Military powers

• Commander-in-chief of the armed forces
• 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.

11
Legislative powers

• The president can veto any bill passed by
  Congress and, unless two-thirds of the members of
  each house vote to override the veto, the bill
  does not become law.
• May propose legislation to Congress - In annual
  and special messages to Congress, the president
  may propose legislation he believes is necessary.
  
• May call Congress for special session

12
Judicial powers

• May appoint important public officials.
  Presidential nomination of federal judges,
  including members of the Supreme Court, is
  subject to confirmation by the Senate.
• Another significant power is that of granting a
  full or conditional pardon to anyone convicted of
  breaking a federal law except in a case of
  impeachment.

13
Powers in foreign affairs

• Under the Constitution, the president is the
  federal official primarily responsible for the
  relations of the USA 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.

14
What can remove the President from office?

• Death
• Impeachment
• Inability (when Vice President takes over)

15
Grounds for impeachment

• Treason
• Bribery
• Other crimes and misdemeanors
• Article II, Section
  Four

16
Impeachment

• Removing an official from office requires two
  steps (1) a formal accusation, or impeachment,
  by the House of Representatives, and (2) a trial
  and conviction by the Senate.
• Impeachment requires a majority vote of the
  House conviction is more difficult, requiring a
  two-thirds vote by the Senate.

17
Who has been impeached?

• Andrew Johnson in 1868 one vote short
• Richard Nixon in 1974 - resigned
• Bill Clinton in 1998
• None convicted

18
(No Transcript)
19
Johnsons impeachment

• The political backing to begin impeachment
  proceedings against the president came when
  Johnson breached the Tenure of Office Act by
  removing Edwin Stanton, Secretary of War, from
  the cabinet. The Tenure of Office Act, passed
  over Johnson's veto in 1867, stated that a
  president could not dismiss appointed officials
  without the consent of Congress.
• Johnson believed the Tenure of Office Act was
  unconstitutional

20

• President Johnson was impeached by the House of
  Representatives on February 24, 1868 and the
  Senate tried the case in a trial that lasted from
  March to May 1868. In the end, the Senate voted
  to acquit President Andrew Johnson by a margin of
  35 guilty to 19 not guilty - one vote short of
  the two-thirds needed to convict.In a 1926
  case, the Supreme Court declared that the Tenure
  of Office Act had been invalid.

21
(No Transcript)
22
Nixon The Watergate case

• After five men hired by Nixon's reelection
  committee were caught burglarizing Democratic
  party headquarters at the Watergate Complex on
  June 17, 1972, President Nixon's subsequent
  behaviorhis cover-up of the burglary and refusal
  to turn over evidenceled the House Judiciary
  Committee to issue three articles of impeachment
  on July 30, 1974.

23

• The document also indicted Nixon for illegal
  wiretapping, misuse of the CIA, perjury, bribery,
  obstruction of justice, and other abuses of
  executive power.
• Nixon resigned from office on August 9, 1974

24
Nixons resignation speech

• http//www.history.com/videos/richard-nixons-resig
  nation-speechrichard-nixons-resignation-speech

25
(No Transcript)
26
Clintons impeachment

• Bill Clinton, 42nd President of the United
  States, was impeached by the House of
  Representatives on two charges, one of perjury
  and one of obstruction of justice, on December
  19, 1998. Two other impeachment articles, a
  second perjury charge and a charge of abuse of
  power, failed in the House. The charges arose
  from the Lewinsky scandal and the Paula Jones
  lawsuit.

27
Outcome

• He was acquitted by the Senate on February 12,
  1999. Requiring a two-thirds majority for a
  conviction, only 50 senators (out of 100) voted
  guilty on the obstruction charge and 45 on the
  perjury charge. The Senate was 17 votes short of
  removing Clinton from office

28
The process of impeachment

• The House of Representatives passes by vote
  Articles of Impeachment
• The Senate tries all impeachments
• Presiding officer is the Vice President
• If the President is impeached, presiding officer
  is Chief Justice

29
Thank you for your attention!