Which power does the U.S. Constitution give to the President
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One example of a forum particularly susceptible to the executive order is military operations. The President, as Commander-in-Chief of the military, is tasked with running the military and may use executive action to set military policy. For example, in 1948, President Harry Truman issued an executive order that desegregated the military. He relied on his authority as Commander-in-Chief to act. President Ronald Reagan relied on the National Security Act of 1947 to issue an executive order which authorized surveillance of certain people and this law also formed the basis for the NSA’s justification to collect data in the early 2000s during the “War on Terror.”[7] Skip to main content
A PRESIDENT CAN . . . A PRESIDENT CANNOT . . . To become President, a person must be a natural born citizen of the United States. Naturalized citizens are ineligible, as are persons under the age of 35. In the case that the President should be unable to perform their duties, the Vice-President becomes the President (see: 25th Amendment). The 22nd Amendment places a two-term limit on the presidential office. The President:
War PowersCongress holds the power to declare war. As a result, the President cannot declare war without their approval. However, as the Commander in Chief of the armed forces, Presidents have sent troops to battle without an official war declaration (which happened in Vietnam and Korea). The 1973 War Powers Act attempted to define when and how the President could send troops to battle by adding strict time frames for reporting to Congress after sending troops to war, in addition to other measures, however it has not had much effect (see "War Powers Resolution" section in the Commander in Chief Powers article). NominationsThe President is responsible for nominating candidates for the head positions of government offices. The President will typically nominate cabinet officials and secretaries at the beginning of their presidency and will fill vacancies as necessary. In addition, the President is responsible for nominating Federal Circuit Court judges and Supreme Court justices and choosing the chief justice. These nominations must be confirmed by the Senate. While the President usually has broad appointment powers, subject to Senate approval, there are some limitations. In National Labor Relations Board v. SW General Inc. (2017), the Supreme Court decided that the "Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 [FVRA], which prevents a person who has been nominated to fill a vacant office requiring presidential appointment and Senate confirmation from performing the duties of that office in an acting capacity, applies to anyone performing acting service under the FVRA." Further, the President is constitutionally allowed to make recess appointments when the Senate is not in session (which means that such appointments are not subject to Senate approval until the end of the session). However, In National Labor Relations Board v. Noel Canning, the Supreme Court ruled that "for purposes of the clause, the Senate is in session whenever it indicates that it is, as long as – under its own rules – it retains the capacity to transact Senate business." As such, the Senate can claim to always be in session, therefore preventing the President from making any recess appointments. Executive OrdersIn times of emergency, the President can override Congress and issue executive orders with almost limitless power. Abraham Lincoln used an executive order in order to fight the Civil War, Woodrow Wilson issued numerous pardons related to US involvement in World War I (1913-1920), and in 1942 Franklin Roosevelt approved Japanese internment camps during World War II with an executive order. PardonsThe U.S. Constitution gives the President almost limitless power to grant pardons to those convicted of federal |
