United States of America’s Presidency
The president of the United States of America is both the head of government and the head of state. He is the leader of the executive branch of the federal government. He is also the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces (Albert, 202)
The constitution of the united states of American, in article 2, vests upon the president the executive powers of the United States. The constitution allows the president to execute the power of the executive arm of government. The constitution charges the president with the execution of the federal law. This is charged alongside the duty and the responsibility of appointing judicial, federal executive, diplomatic and regulatory officers. The constitution also vests upon the president the duty and powers of concluding treaties and agreements with foreign powers. This is done with the advice and also the consent of the Senate (Albert, 202).
The constitution of the United States of America vests upon the president the powers to represent the nation both at home and abroad. The president has constitutional powers, in this capacity, to receive other heads of state from foreign nations in official ceremonies. He has the power, as the head of state, to offer diplomatic recognition of other nations and states. This particular constitutional duty is commonly done through an exchange of state representatives or rather ambassadors between the two countries.
The constitution as well, gives the president the powers to grant reprieves and pardons to the citizens of the United States of America. He is also empowered to convene and adjourn the congress, either or both houses, under extraordinary circumstances.
Within the executive arm of government, the constitution grants the president broader powers of managing the national affairs and running of the federal government. The president has the powers to issue instructions, rules and regulations referred to as executive orders. These orders have the binding force of law on all the federal agencies. These orders however, do not require congressional approval.
The president has constitutional powers, according to the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921, to make the Budget of the United States of America. However, the budget is subject to congressional approval. Both Houses, the Senate and House of Commons, must approve the budget so as to be legal and binding to the people of the United States of America (Albert, 202).
In his capacity as the commander in chief of the armed forces of the United States of America, the president is empowered by the constitution to call the state units of the National Guard into federal service whenever need arise. The Congress may grant the president even much power, during times of war or national emergency, to control and manage the national economy and also protect the security of the state and nation. These powers are obtained from the Congress but not directly from the constitution. However, the constitution allows the Congress to grant these powers to the president. The president retails the sole powers to authorize the use of nuclear weapons. He is constantly in the company of a special military officer. This special officer carries the “nuclear football.”
The president has a number of options whenever a bill reaches his desk from the Congress. These options regarding the bills are enclosed in his legislative powers granted by the constitution. If the president agrees with the bill as it is, then he signs it within ten days of receipt. Upon his signing, the bill turns into a law that governs all the people of the United States of America. If the president opposes the bill, he has the power to veto it. The legislation is then returned to the Congress. It is always accompanied with a veto message that offers suggested changes and alterations on the bill. The president must approve the entire bill or none of it. He does not have any power to veto only selected parts or sections of it. If the Congress is still in session for ten business days upon the president receiving the bill, the legislation or bill will become a law. This happens without the signature of the president. But if Congress is adjourned within the said ten business days of the president receiving the bill, the bill dies. If the president chooses to do this to a bill, then the Congress cannot do anything to override the president. This constitutional power of the president is referred to as pocket veto (Albert, 202).
The United States of America’s constitution grants few specific powers to the president. These powers are referred to as Inherent Powers. The president of the United States derives these powers from the constitution, which states that the executive power shall be vested upon the president who should take care of that the laws be executed in a faithful manner. These powers are defined through practice rather than through constitutional law or even statutory law. Inherent powers are those powers that commit some functions to exclusive presidential control. Such powers include the power to grant pardons and reprieves for offences against the state, decision on whether and when to seek written opinions of the cabinet members among others. Another example of inherent powers of the president is the emergency powers in times of crisis. Such powers are used in the declaration of a state of emergency. State of emergency gives the mandate the Federal Emergency Management Agency to bypass normal jurisdictional and administrative rules and regulations. Declaration of state of emergency may as well give special federal aid. Such aid was witness during the flood of 1993 which occurred along the Mississippi River after the deadly Hurricane Katrina.
Inherent powers also give the president the executive privileges which include the ability to withhold information from Congress, public, as well as the courts regarding matters of national security. Inherent powers are essentially the powers that are exclusively held by the president. The president enjoys these powers by virtue that he is the office bearer.
Delegation of powers refers to the various powers that are granted respectively to each of the arms or branches of government; the legislature, executive, and judiciary. It is the transfer of power or authority from one level of government to another. This is done specifically to uphold the principle of separation of power which is provided for by the constitution of the United States of America. Separation of power is meant to provide checks and balances to governance. Each of the branches of government acts as a check to the other two branches of government. This is intended to improve the level of accountability and transparency in government
American political system has had some fundamental changes in the recent past with regard to the powers and responsibilities of the president. For instance, the balance of power between the president and the Congress has shifted greatly. This shift has been in favor of the president. This is evident in the impoundment. This involves the powers held by the president to divert money from favoring the Congress to duties that favor the president. Similarly the president has in the recent past been given powers in the international sphere to refuse to invoke the War Powers Resolutions against major military invasions (Loren, 2004). The president has also been, in the recent past, vested with powers to appoint federal judges, executive department heads, and United State’s ambassadors.
The power of the president has increased recently while that of the party has significantly reduced. The electorate has focused much on personality and character of an individual candidate as opposed to the past times when the party politics took a centre stage in politics. There is little emphasis on political parties in relation to politics as opposed to individual presidential candidates. In the later times, political parties have had similar principles and ideologies. There is limited difference in regard to the ideologies of political parties. Political parties are merely vehicles that are used by individuals to seek elections into political power. Political parties are only active during the times of campaigns and would seize to be heard once elections are over. This has made the electorate to shift their focus from the political party to the presidency. Moreover, it has happened in the past that the party ideologies are not applied in governance once a certain party candidate is elected. For instance, a Democratic Party candidate can just govern the same way an outgoing Republican president did. It makes it hard for the electorate to trust on the parties as systems of governance, rather they would shift their focus and attention on individual presidential candidate (Loren, 2004). For example, the latest presidential election was based on personality and character of the individual candidate as opposed to party politics.
The law has in the recent past increased the powers of the president in the various aspects of governance in the United States of America. It therefore implies that the political parties have very little contribution in governance. The political party whose candidate wins an election has very little, if any, control in governance. It cannot be in ma position to shape the style of governance since the constitution does not provide the power to do so. The constitution has focused and empowered the president. For the people of the United States of America to be sure of good governance, they need to ensure that they elect a president who is reasonable and one that share his principles with them. This is the only way the electorate can be assured of a responsible government (Loren, 2004).
The major cause of the decrease in party power is the idea of “American exceptionalism”. It is the lack of a clear ideological between the two major political parties; the Democrats and the Republican Party. The United States of America has never had a credible party based on either socialism or anti-capitalism. The two major parties, republican and democratic party, are pro-business and pro-capital. They both speak to the ‘middle class citizens’ (Loren, 2004).
The increase in the power of the president in comparison to the power of the political parties has led to increased presidential independence. The president of the United States of America lately has limited or rather minimal dependence on his political party in the various aspects of governance. This has even coupled up with the various constitutional powers that have been accorded to the president. Presidential campaigns for candidates have since been less financed by the respective political parties. Individual candidates have sort strategies to look for finances to run their campaign. Parties have had minimal financial support for their presidential candidates. For instance, President Barak Obama designed his own strategy for raising the finances that were necessary for the running off the campaign.
References
Albert, P. (2002). United States constitutional history and law. University of California;
California. Wm. S: Hein Publishing
Loren, K. (2004). The history and topography of the United States of North America: from the
earliest period to the present time. University of Michigan; Michigan. S. Walker
