Presidential Powers
This formal power allows the president to reject a bill passed by Congress, though it can be overridden by a two-thirds vote in both houses.
What is veto power?
These three entities make up the "Iron Triangle": The Bureaucracy, Congressional Committees, and these organizations that represent specific industries or causes.
What are interest groups?
This chamber of Congress must provide "advice and consent" for Supreme Court nominees, such as Amy Coney Barrett.
What is Senate (judiciary committee)?
Because the president is the Chief Executive, they can determine these for federal employees, though Congress must fund them.
What are salary grades?
This category of federal spending, which includes "entitlements" like Social Security and Medicare, is required by law and does not need to be approved by Congress through the annual appropriations process.
What is mandatory spending?
When a president has a different interpretation of a law than Congress and wants to influence how it is implemented, they may issue this written comment.
What is a signing statement?
In an iron triangle, Congress provides the bureaucracy with its budget and this, which allows it to regulate industries.
What is funding/authority?
If a president is unhappy with the way a bureaucratic agency is implementing a policy, he can issue this type of directive - which has the force of law - to manage operations within the Executive Branch.
What is an executive order?
This term describes the bureaucracy's power to decide how to implement a law when the legislative language is vague.
What is discretionary authority?
While the president initiates the budget process by submitting a proposal, this branch of government has the ultimate "power of the purse" to approve or change funding
What is the House of Representatives?
According to Federalist No. 70, this "energy" in the executive is vital for protecting the community against foreign attacks and the steady administration of laws.
What is energy?
This is the primary role of interest groups within the triangle—working with the other two points to determine the best way to provide oversight for an industry.
What is determining industry regulation?
This 1962 Supreme Court case established that congressional redistricting is subject to judicial review, ensuring "one person, one vote".
What is Baker v Carr?
When President Trump ordered that for every one new regulation, two old ones must be removed, these are the actors responsible for carrying out that order.
What are departments and agencies?
This term describes the gap when the federal government spends more money than it takes in during a single fiscal year, a trend that became significantly more pronounced starting around 2009.
What is budget deficit?
Unlike a treaty, this informal power allows the president to negotiate with foreign heads of state without requiring Senate "advice and consent".
What is an executive agreement?
In the Iron Triangle relationship, the Bureaucracy provides this specific benefit to Interest Groups, often in the form of fewer rules/procedures or special favors, in exchange for congressional lobbying support.
What is favorable regulation?
When a House committee calls a Secretary to testify about a failed website launch (like healthcare.gov), they are performing this essential function.
What is (congressional) oversight?
Political cartoons often criticize the bureaucracy for neglecting the needs of these people when making complex policy decisions.
What are the citizens?
Even when a president proposes deep cuts to agencies like the State Department or Agriculture, this often happens to prevent the full cuts from taking place.
What is a congressional check?
This specific informal power, illustrated by Theodore Roosevelt using movie newsreels, describes a president using their office to appeal directly to the public to pressure Congress.
What is the bully pulpit?
This term describes the frequent practice of government officials (from Congress or the Bureaucracy) leaving their public service jobs to become lobbyists for the very interest groups they once regulated, reinforcing the strength of the Iron Triangle.
What is the revolving door?
According to Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., the "Imperial Presidency" grew primarily because the executive branch centralized decisions regarding this type of policy.
What is foreign policy?
This 1883 Act moved the bureaucracy away from the "spoils system" and toward a merit-based system for hiring.
What is the Hatch Act?
This type of spending, which includes defense and education, is the portion of the budget that the president and Congress can fluctuate and negotiate each year, unlike "mandatory" spending.
What is discretionary spending?