The Executive Branch

The Executive Branch Definition

The executive branch is one of the three branches of the American government. The executive branch executes or carries out the laws that Congress makes. The president, vice president, The Executive Office of the President, White House staff, the Cabinet, and all members of the bureaucracy comprise the executive branch.

The president is head of the executive branch. Three branches of government are illustrative of the separation of powers central to the American government system. The executive, legislative, and judicial branches have separate and distinct responsibilities, and each branch has the power to check other branches.

The presidency is an American institution composed of the roles the president plays and the powers they possess, the relationships with the other branches, and the bureaucracy they control. The presidency is also shaped by the personality of the office holder.

The Executive Branch of Government

Article II of the Constitution describes the requirements and duties of the president. The Constitutional requirements for the presidency are straightforward.The President must be a natural-born citizen of the United States, be at least 35 years old, and have lived in the country for at least 14 years.

Except for Barack Obama, all American presidents have been white. All 46 have been men. All of them have been Protestants, except John F. Kennedy and Joe Biden.

To win the presidency, an individual must receive at least 270 Electoral College votes.

Amendments Related to the Presidency

• 12th Amendment: (1804) Electors vote for the president and vice president together.
• 20th Amendment: (1933) Set the inauguration day for president to January 20.
• 22nd Amendment: (1851) Limits the president to two four-year terms of office. It also limits the president’s total years in office to 10.
• 25th Amendment: (1967) Creates a procedure for selecting a new vice president if the vice president assumes the office of president. It also outlines the procedures for determining if the president is disabled and how the president can resume power.

The Presidential Succession Act specifies the order of succession from the Vice President,Speaker of the House, President Pro Tempore of the Senate, to the Cabinet members in order of the department's year of creation.

Powers of the Executive Branch

The president has both formal and informal powers.

• Vetoes and pocket vetoes: formal powers that act as a check by the president on the legislative branch.

• Foreign policy: examples of formal powers in the area of the foreign policy include treaties and the title of commander-in-chief, and informal powers include exerting influence in relationships with other countries. The president negotiates and signs treaties with the approval of the Senate.

• The power of bargaining and persuasion: informal powers that illustrate the president’s relationship with Congress to accomplish legislative action.

• Executive orders: implied and informal powers that are derived from the executive branch’s vested powers. Executive orders carry the force of law.

• Signing Statements—informal power that informs Congress and the citizens about the president’s interpretation of the laws that Congress has created.

• State of the Union—The Constitution requires that the president...

Presidents give a State of the Union Address in January to a joint session of Congress.

The Executive Branch's Responsibilities

The president faces enormous expectations the minute they take the oath of office. The American public expects their president to wield influence and power and accomplish goals in record time. The president is viewed as being responsible for American peace and economic well-being and citizens look to the president to help ensure that their lives are good.

The president has many responsibilities, and these powers have expanded over time. The president is Commander-in-Chief of the Military, Chief Diplomat, and Chief Communicator. They suggest a legislative agenda to Congress and appoint federal judges, ambassadors, and cabinet secretaries. The president can also issue pardons to people who have been convicted of federal crimes.

The president is Chief Executive and Administrator. They are head of the federal bureaucracy, a vast hierarchical structure that carries out the business of the government. The bureaucracy employs millions of workers that work in government agencies, departments, government corporations, and independent agencies and commissions.

Vice President

The Vice President of the United States supports the president, is president of the Senate, and if the president can fulfill their duties, the vice president becomes president. The role of the vice president is shaped by the president. Some presidents give their vice president’s vast responsibilities, while other vice president’s duties remain largely ceremonial.

Fig. 2 Seal of the Vice President, Wikipedia

The Bureaucracy

The federal bureaucracy is a large, hierarchical structure composed of members of the executive branch. It is organized into four types of agencies: cabinet departments, independent regulatory commissions, government corporations, and independent executive agencies. The federal bureaucracy implements policies and provides many essential services to Americans. They are responsible for the day-to-day enforcement and administration of the laws that the legislative branch makes.

The Judicial Branch vs. The Executive Branch

When the judicial branch makes decisions that result in policy changes, it is the executive branch’s responsibility to implement or carry out judicial orders.

Fig. 3 President Barack Obama greeting his Supreme Court appointee, Justice Sotomayor, Wikimedia Commons

Presidents appoint federal judges, and these judges serve life tenures. Presidents view judicial appointments as central to the legacy, as these appointees will outlast a presidential term, often staying in their judicial positions for decades. The Senate approves judicial appointments.

The judicial branch also has the power to check the executive branch through judicial review, the ability to declare executive acts unconstitutional.