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U.S. Constitution study guide: Difference between revisions
U.S. Constitution study guide (view source)
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* thereby the President has assumed tremendous additional solitary powers of military and diplomatic action not envisioned by the original Constitution}}''' of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment. | * thereby the President has assumed tremendous additional solitary powers of military and diplomatic action not envisioned by the original Constitution}}''' of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment. | ||
He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments. | He shall have Power, by and with the '''{{#tip-text:Advice and Consent of the Senate|Advice and Consent of the Senate | ||
* the President may negotiate treaties, appoint public officials, etc., but the Senate must provide its "consent" or agreement | |||
* by "advice" the Constitution means that the Senate may deliberate and advise the President on these powers | |||
* this power of the Senate = a key separation of powers between the executive and the legislative branches | |||
* as well as between the houses of Congress, as only the Senate has the powers of "Advice and Consent" in these ways, including: | |||
* confirm treaties, Executive branch appointments, judicial appointments | |||
* Senate confirmation requires 2/3rds vote (a super-majority) | |||
* as a practical matter, Senate powers of advice and consent creates a dependency of the Executive upon the good will of the Senate | |||
* Presidents who do not receive Senate advice and consent of negotiated treaties, appointments, etc. frequently act without Senate authority through "recess appointments", per the next clause}}''', to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments. | |||
The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session. | The President shall have '''{{#tip-text:Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate|Recess appointments | ||
* this clause allows the President to appoint officials without Senate consent whenever the Senate in in "recess", or not in session | |||
* the appointment would expire at the end of the next Senate session | |||
* the original idea was that the President may need to make appointments during lengthy periods of Congressional recess | |||
* however, since the Congress is in session almost the entire year now, the recess appointment is not longer about the functioning of the government | |||
* it is instead a way for presidents to put into office appointees who do not or likely will not receive Senate confirmation | |||
- "recess appointments" which are appointments of Executive branch officials (not judges) while the Senate is not in session, thus allowing the President to put a person into an office temporarily}}''', by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session. | |||
=== Section 3. (Requirements & duties of the presidency)=== | === Section 3. (Requirements & duties of the presidency)=== | ||
He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States. | He shall from time to time give to the Congress '''{{#tip-text:Information of the State of the Union|State of the Union address | ||
* the Constitution requires that the President, as executive, inform Congress, "from time to time" on the "state", or condition, of the nation ("the Union") | |||
* this important function of reporting to Congress has become a political event in the modern period | |||
* although Washington and Adams submitted their "state of the union" reports in person, Presidents from Jefferson through William Howard Taft submitted them in writing | |||
* in 1913, Woodrow Wilson submitted his "State of the Union" as a speech instead of as a written document | |||
* Wilson thereby used the Constitutional function as a pretext for making a political speech in favor of his policies | |||
* the Congress must invite the President to the Capitol for the speech, and resolutions are required by both the House and the Senate to receive the President for the speech}}''', and '''{{#tip-text:recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient|"Recommend Measures" | |||
* the President is not allowed by the Constitution to introduce legislation | |||
* however, the Constitution here makes it clear that a function of the executive is to offer advice to Congress on "measures", i.e., laws}}'''; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, '''{{#tip-text:convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper|Convene or Adjourn Congress | |||
* the Founders expected that Congress would not be in session the entire year, so the power of a President to call a Congress in times of need or emergency (to declare war, especially) was considered essential | |||
* the power of the President to adjourn the Congress exists in order to settle a dispute between the House and the Senate as to the date of adjournment | |||
* so the President cannot adjourn the Congress unilaterally | |||
* the English Civil War was a result, in part, of the adjournment of Parliament by the King | |||
* so the Founders wanted to protect against an arbitrary power of the President to adjourn Congress}}'''; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; '''{{#tip-text:he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed|Laws shall be Faithfully executed | |||
* known as the "Take Care Clause", i.e., the President must "take care" that the laws are carried out | |||
* = protection against arbitrary application of the law by the executive | |||
* i.e., the power to make laws resides with Congress, however, if the President were to ignore or arbitrarily (randomly) "execute" (apply) the laws, then it would become essential a law-making power | |||
* nevertheless, Presidents regularly ignore laws, apply them as they see fit (i.e., with prejudice) | |||
* the Supreme Court has ruled on disputes over this clause and executive power/ limitation}}''', and shall '''{{#tip-text:Commission all the Officers of the United States|Commission officers | |||
* the President has the power to "commission" or appoint officers of the Executive branch | |||
* does not just mean military "officers," but offices, generally | |||
* note that the Congress has the power to create Departments and offices, but the President has the power to appoint them | |||
* however, the President also has the sole power to "commission" them, which means that even if an officer has been approved by the Senate, the President alone has the power to install that person in the office (or not)}}'''. | |||
==={{#tip-text: Section 4.|}}=== | ==={{#tip-text: Section 4.|}}=== | ||