(Music) 

CARYS: Welcome back or welcome to The Next Voter, a platform dedicated to helping Gen Z be the change. I’m your host Carys Sherer, the founder and executive contributor for The Next Voter. And I’m glad to have you join me today! 

The 2024 presidential election may seem far, but the work of candidates and their campaigns  is well underway. As we get lost in the increasing number of debates, ads, interviews, speeches, and media content it can be easy to lose sight of the core of the struggle, the presidency. And no I’m not saying that we forget the whole reason for the election but rather Americans are often unsure of what the president can and can’t do. That question of “what does the president really do?” back in 5th grade US history tends to get forgotten. But don’t worry because amongst our regular monthly episodes we’ll be going  “Back to the Basics.” Every month we’ll release two podcast episodes, one where we break down the government, its branches, systems, and agencies because you can’t understand the nitty gritty without mastering the basics, and another episode that’ll be topic specific, featuring conversations, information, and/or interviews about particular issues in the political or legal world. So without further ado welcome to Back to the Basics: The President presented by The Next Voter.

(Music)

CARYS: When the US government is mentioned and you have to put a face to it you typically don’t think of all 535 members of congress or the 9 Supreme Court justices. No, it’s the president’s face that often pops into our mind. The president acts as the highest living symbol of our nation. Despite only technically being the chief of one branch, the Executive Branch, the president is often mistaken as the highest power in the US government. You’d be surprised to learn the president’s political influence isn’t absolute and often works in conjunction with other members of the government, especially Congress.

The president chooses a cabinet, which as established in Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution, the Cabinet's role is to advise the President on any subject he may require relating to the duties of each member's respective office. In short, think of the president’s cabinet as an advisory council to the president ensuring they’re well-informed about the different agencies or departments within the government. Like that one group of friends you always go to for advice.  An example is Micheal Regan who as the administrator of the environmental protection agency is a member of President Biden’s cabinet and as such has an active role in informing Biden of the matters with the EPA and any concerns or legislation that affect the EPA. 

However, forming a cabinet is not the only formal power, or explicit power outlined in Article II, that the president has. These powers can typically be broken down into four categories: executive, judicial, legislative, and foreign policy. 

Under the executive subcategory of the president’s formal powers you’ll find careful execution of laws, nominating officials, requesting written opinions from administrative officials, and filling the administrative vacancies during congressional recesses. Let’s briefly break these down.

Since the president is the head of the executive branch it’s only fitting that a key formal power is enforcing federal law. Despite the president being unable to actually pass laws, that responsibility lies with Congress, they can, in a sense, choose which laws have priority during enforcement. For example, if the president’s political agenda heavily focuses on raising taxes the president will likely use his position to issue orders, ensure strict regulation, and lead government agencies in ensuring the laws that raise taxes are adhered to. Not to mention as one of the biggest faces in politics the president could use their platform to place pressure on Congress, especially through swaying public opinion.

Every now and then the media will highlight a recent nomination for an empty office in a federal institution. These nominations are often made by the president. Remember the cabinet I mentioned earlier?  Every member of the cabinet is appointed by the president from the more well-known positions such as the Secretary of State, who handles foreign policy, to the lesser known Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy. It is important to mention that none of these positions are filled purely by presidential appointment, the Senate has to approve the president’s selection, or at least in the long run that’s true. There is a short term workaround to this. That fancy bit I mentioned as part of the president’s formal executive powers? Filling the administrative vacancies during congressional recesses? Yeah, that mouthful. Well the president can only appoint people to fill vacancies if Senate adjournment is sufficiently long and even then these recess appointments are secured only temporarily. The U.S. Senate will vote on it when recess is over and they could very well vote against the appointee and remove them from office. But even beyond Cabinet members and recess appointees the president appoints federal judges and nominates Supreme Court Justices. These, of course, also require senate approval. 

Another formal power that falls under the executive subcategory is the president’s ability to request written opinions from administrative officials. Going back to the cabinet, the members provide written opinions as part of their duties at the president’s discretion. If an official did not want to do this or felt it was wrong for any reason, they’d likely be at a loss. This power is explicitly granted to the president in the Constitution. While it may seem a little dumb to have this as a presidential power, having access to written opinions regarding executive officials’ work can provide crucial information that helps the president develop thorough plans.

(Music) 

CARYS: Let’s take a moment to absorb all this information, I know it’s a lot. So in this brief pause I’m seizing the opportunity to remind you to drink enough water! It’s a hot summer and wherever you are, whenever you’re listening, I hope you're having better weather than me. I’m from Dallas-Fort Worth and this weather is brutal. I feel like every time I step outside I instantly start to sweat. But the heat is bearable with some SPF, rest, and plenty of water. Aim for at least 12 cups of water a day. On that note let’s get back to today’s episode because there’s plenty more to learn!

(Music) 

CARYS: The next category of the formal powers granted to the president under Article II, Section 2 can be called the foreign policy powers. These presidential powers can be huge moves in the diplomatic world and can shape international politics. From everything from war to diplomacy. Under the foreign policy subcategory, you’ll find the president’s role as commander in chief of the armed forces, ability to make treaties, ambassador nominations, receiving ambassadors, and conferring diplomatic recognition on other governments. 

Let’s start with the one your U.S. History class likely hammered into you, the president’s role as commander-in-chief. The Constitution names the president as the Commander in Chief of the armed forces. The president can not actually declare war, that’s one of Congress’s powers. However when troops are deployed, the militia is called, and/or war has been declared the president leads the way. The nation’s generals answer to the president. Secret military meetings and operations often happen under the president’s leadership. Great examples of the president’s role as commander-in-chief and its lasting impacts can be found in the War on Terror. Once war was declared it was President George W. Bush who oversaw troop deployment and strategy at the beginning of the war, and it was President Biden who oversaw the removal of troops from Afghanistan 20 years later. 

The president can also negotiate and make treaties with foreign governments.This does come with the stipulation that two thirds of the Senate concur. As such these treaties are often made with the advice of the senate. The bulk of the work, notably the actual drafting and negotiation is still done by the president and other high ranking officials of the executive branch. This is all connected to the president’s role as a leader in U.S. foreign policy. On top of being able to make treaties, the president also nominates and receives ambassadors. These ambassadors are often diplomatic representatives to foreign nations and international organizations. Chris Lu is an example of this as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations for Management and Reform. He was nominated by President Biden in April 2021 and confirmed by the Senate in December of the same year. I’m sure you’ve noticed how the Senate has to approve many of the president’s nominations or work, ambassador nominations are no exception. However the senate does not need to approve of the president’s reception of foreign ambassadors and by extension the president, as a representative of the U.S. government, can give recognition to newly established nations or governments. In short the president can agree to a luncheon with an ambassador from a newly formed nation and by doing so can give recognition to the legitimacy of the newborn nation. It’s like a group of popular kids ignoring you, but then the most popular amongst them says hi and now everyone acknowledges you. That’s a simplified analogy, but it does give a feel for how the recognition through ambassador reception works.

For the third category of the president’s formal powers we have the judicial powers. We’ve already discussed the first one, the president’s ability to nominate Supreme court Justices and federal judges. The second judicial power tends to draw more attention. Ever heard of a presidential pardon? Well those are made possible by the president’s ability to grant reprieves and pardons for federal offenses, excluding impeachment. Pardons either prevent someone from being prosecuted for a crime or waive their sentence if they’ve already been convicted. It was intended to be a means to correct injustice and showcase mercy. As the head of the executive branch, who runs prosecution and enforcement, presidential pardons are essentially one big “You’re forgiven.” Or you’re forgiven by the law at least. Pardons are often made at the end of a president’s term as they tend to be politically costly and/or embarrassing. An exception is when after the Watergate scandal former President Richard Nixon resigned and was pardoned for any crimes tied to his involvement by his successor, Nixon’s former vice president, Gerald Ford within two months of Ford’s presidency. The extent of pardons has been challenged multiple times, in 2020 there was buzz over the possibility of Trump pardoning himself from his crimes. Even today many disagree whether that would’ve constitutional or not. 

Now we’re moving on to the final category to the president’s formal powers: the legislative powers. Here we’ll find the president’s ability to recommend legislation to Congress, present information on the State of the Union to Congress, convene Congress with extraordinary conditions, adjourn Congress if the House and Senate cannot agree, and approve or veto legislation. 

The president can propose legislation and often makes well use of this power. Presidents have their own political agenda and in order to pass legislation that supports their goals they must sway Congress. These plans are shared with Congress, often through the State of the Union address, another power guaranteed to the President. The State of the Union address is an annual speech given by the president to a joint session, both the Senate and the House, of Congress. The speech is given at the beginning of the year and details the current condition of the nation. Because of its nature it's a prime opportunity for the president to lay out their political goals as well as advocate for proposed legislation. The actual propositions will be done outside of the speech. 

When legislation is drafted and passed by Congress it then makes its way back to the president’s desk. The president can approve the legislation and effectively make it law by signing it. As soon as the president’s signature is on the bill it immediately goes into effect unless another date is specifically mentioned. The Supreme Court can make the bill null by ruling it unconstitutional. The other route the president can take is to veto the bill. Put simply this is a rejection. It takes a two-third majority from both the House and the Senate to override a veto. However whichever chamber of Congress made the bill can also rewrite the bill after a veto and then send it to the president’s desk once more.

There is also the possibility that the president does, well, nothing! If the president receives a piece of legislation, but doesn’t act on it the next step comes down to Congress. If Congress convenes at any point within 10 business days after the president receives the bill it automatically becomes law. If Congress does not convene within 10 business days the bill becomes null and Congress cannot override it.

In times of hardship such as war and economic crisis the president can convene Congress in order to quickly settle the legal side of these issues. The president could also convene Congress to get legislators to pass legislation swiftly. One of the most prominent examples is the “Turnip Day” session called by President Harry Truman. With low public ratings and a fast approaching election day he utilized the power to call the Republican-majority Congress back into session. In the 11 day “Turnip Day” Session placed the Republican party in a tough spot. If they were complacent and passed some legislation Truman could take credit. If they did nothing Truman could blame the lack of change on them. In the end two new laws were passed, but Truman called the work inadequate. The 80th Congress was now nicknamed the “do nothing” Congress. The next elections saw Republicans lose their majority in both the House and the Senate. This showcases the political power embedded within the presidential powers. 

While the president can adjourn the House and Senate if they disagree this power has never been exerted so its political and legal repercussions cannot be certain. It can only be guessed by political and legal analysts. 

(Music)

CARYS: Phew! That was a lot! The crazy part was that those are just the president’s formal powers outlined in the Constitution! There’s tons of inherent powers that are not explicitly outlined in Article II.  

Before we talk about those, let's just let all the information simmer for a bit. Here’s some presidential trivia to briefly step away from all the formal stuff.

James Madison was the shortest president in American history. He stood at a towering 5’4” and weighed a little over 100 pounds!

It wasn’t till the 8th president that an American-born politician took the office! Until Martin Van Buren every president had been born before 1776 and was subsequently British at birth.

President Ulysses S. Grant was originally invited to join Abraham Lincoln at Ford’s Theater the night of the assassination, but had to decline due to plans to visit his children in New Jersey.

President Benjamin Harrison was the first president to hire a female White House staffer. Alice B. Sanger was hired in 1890, it had been 114 years since the country was established and 90 years since the completion of the white house. Sanger became known for her ability to keep political secrets, well, secrets.

One last piece of trivia! President Gerald Ford was actually a star football player at the University of Michigan. He rejected two NFL offers.

Hope you enjoyed that little bit of trivia! Next we’re going to wrap up this episode by discussing some inherent powers on the president and its evolution. 

(Music)

CARYS: It wouldn’t be politics if there weren’t privileges granted that were never explicitly granted by the Constitution. Alongside the formal powers of the president there are informal powers. The president’s ability to bargain and persuade, issue executive orders, issue signing statements, and negotiate executive agreements are inherent powers that have been acquired over time, usually through times of strife when political interpretation can be more easily molded. 

We’ve already discussed the great political influence the president can exert and how it can be used in conjunction with some of the formal powers. This ability to bargain and persuade is rooted in their influence. As a party leader they can pressure their own party to pass legislation and use the party’s platform to support the president’s legislative agenda. They could also place pressure on the opposing party. Both cases grant avenues for bargaining. 

The president also has the power to write a “signing statement” which allows the president to voice concerns about a bill without rejecting it and specify how and what the president intends to enforce. These are added in addition to the president’s signature that signs it into law. This can be simplified down to “Yeah, we’ll make this a law BUT we’re going to do this my way.” The signing statements cannot change the law, only express opinion and describe enforcement. The Supreme Court can override all of this by ruling the law itself as unconstitutional.

Remember the president’s ability to negotiate and formulate treaties? While treaties have to be ratified by the Senate, executive agreements do not. Executive agreements can be seen as a less formal treaty that does not require 2/3rds of the Senate to agree. Examples of executive agreements include FDR’s granting of 50 over age destroyers to the UK after WWII started, but the US was still reluctant to get involved. There’s also NAFTA, or the North American Free Trade Agreement. Yup, the free trade zone established between Canada, Mexico, and the US isn't a treaty. It’s an executive agreement.

Now for the final informal power, the executive orders. These are likely the most discussed informal power and it’s no wonder why. Executive orders have been a constant in US politics. Every president has issued at least one and there’s been over 13.7k of them. But what is an executive order? I’ll try and keep this short and sweet. Executive orders aren’t legislation, but almost act like laws. Some notable uses are to declare things such as holidays or lay out trade plans. Executive orders can have a wide range of effects and implications. It was an executive order that freed slaves in 1863, allowed over 125,000 Japanese Americans to face mass internment during WWII, and created the Department of Homeland Security after 9/11. Whether good or not executive orders have the full force of the law and Congress can’t directly overturn it. Only a president can overturn them by issuing another that overrides it. Congress has to pass new legislation that nullifies the effects of an executive order in order to “override” it. 

(Music)

  CARYS: A little over 31 hundred words later we’ve finally arrived at the end of today’s episode! I hope you learned something new or at least feel more confident for your US History or government class. The president is supposed to be elected by the people for the people. The people deserve to know exactly what that position entails. 

If you want to learn more about the political and legal world make sure to follow us on instagram @thenextvoter. Have any questions or suggestions? Don’t hesitate to email us at thenextvoter@gmail.com. Visit our website thenextvoter.org for the sources to today’s podcast and more content made by youth for youth. See y’all next time and remember, be the change.

(Music)  

1. Roles. “Roles and Powers of the President: Lesson Overview.” Khan Academy, 2018, www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-government-and-civics/us-gov-interactions-among-branches/us-gov-roles-and-powers-of-the-president/a/roles-and-powers-of-the-president-lesson-overview.

2. ‌“Presidential Pardons, Explained.” Penn Today, penntoday.upenn.edu/news/presidential-pardons-explained.

3. ‌“What Does the President Really Do?” Junior.scholastic.com, junior.scholastic.com/pages/promotion/emaillandingpage/011821/what-does-the-president-really-do.html?language=english#1020L.

4. ‌Levy, Gabrielle. “What Can the President Really Do?” US News & World Report, U.S. News & World Report, 2016, www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2016-10-31/what-can-the-president-really-do.

5. ‌Peterson, Erin. “Presidential Power Surges.” Harvard Law School, 17 July 2019, hls.harvard.edu/today/presidential-power-surges/.

6. ‌Johnson, Brent. “LibGuides: Powers of the President of the United States: The Basics.” Libguides.law.widener.edu, 15 Mar. 2022, libguides.law.widener.edu/potus-power.

7. ‌“Interpretation: Commander in Chief Clause | the National Constitution Center.” National Constitution Center – Constitutioncenter.org, constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/articles/article-ii/clauses/345.

8. “The President as Commander-In-Chief (Video).” Khan Academy, www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-government-and-civics/american-civics-parent/american-civics/v/the-president-as-commander-in-chief. 

9. ‌“Recognition.” Www.historycentral.com, www.historycentral.com/Civics/Pres/recognition.html.

10. ‌“Chris Lu.” Wikipedia, 13 June 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Lu. 

11. ‌“The Powers of the President.” Cliffsnotes.com, 2015, www.cliffsnotes.com/study-guides/american-government/the-president/the-powers-of-the-president.

12. ‌Trethan, the New Jersey Press Association for her work our editorial process Phaedra. “What Are the Legislative Powers of the President of the United States?” ThoughtCo, www.thoughtco.com/legislative-powers-of-the-president-3322195.

13. ‌Presidential Authority to Call a Special Session of Congress. https://www.justice.gov/file/20711/download#:~:text=may%2C%20on%20extraordinary%20occasions%2C%20convene,as%20he%20shall%20think%20proper.

14. “ArtII.S3.1 the President’s Legislative Role.” Constitution Annotated, Federal Government of the United States of America, constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artII-S3-1/ALDE_00013550/#:~:text=The%20second%20clause%20of%20Article,consideration%20of%20nominations%20and%20treaties.

15. ‌“U.S. Senate: “Turnip Day” Session.” Www.senate.gov, www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Turnip_Day_Session.htm.

16. ‌Greenspan, Jesse. “46 Surprising Facts about 46 Presidents.” HISTORY, www.history.com/news/us-presidents-facts.

17. ‌“Alice Sanger.” Wikipedia, 21 July 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Sanger. Accessed 10 Aug. 2023.

18. ‌“Executive Agreements (Update) | Encyclopedia.com.” Www.encyclopedia.com, www.encyclopedia.com/politics/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/executive-agreements-update#:~:text=The%20vast%20majority%20of%20all. Accessed 10 Aug. 2023.

19. ‌American Bar Association. “What Is an Executive Order?” Americanbar.org, 25 Jan. 2021, www.americanbar.org/groups/public_education/publications/teaching-legal-docs/what-is-an-executive-order-/.

20. ‌Roos, Dave. “10 of the Most Consequential Executive Orders and Proclamations in Presidential History.” HISTORY, 11 May 2022, www.history.com/news/10-historic-presidential-executive-orders.