7/27/2023 0 Comments Presidential actions![]() ![]() President Reagan was reluctant to use the pardon as much, as was President George H. ![]() While not as generous as Truman, President Jimmy Carter also issued a great number of pardons, including several for draft dodging during the Vietnam War. 42 President Gerald Ford has the unenviable reputation of being the only president to pardon another president (his predecessor Richard Nixon, who resigned after the Watergate scandal) ( Figure 12.17). Truman issued over two thousand pardons and commutations, more than any other post–World War II president. ![]() Once used fairly sparingly-apart from Andrew Johnson’s wholesale pardons of former Confederates during the Reconstruction period-the pardon power has become more visible in recent decades. The president also exercises the power of pardon without conditions. 41 In the case of Senate failure to approve presidential nominations, the president is empowered to issue recess appointments (made while the Senate is in recess) that continue in force until the end of the next session of the Senate (unless the Senate confirms the nominee). Subsequent presidents secured modifications of the legislation before the Supreme Court ruled in 1926 that the Senate had no right to impair the president’s removal power. Andrew Johnson’s violation of that legislation provided the grounds for his impeachment in 1868. During Reconstruction, Congress tried to curtail the president’s removal power with the Tenure of Office Act (1867), which required Senate concurrence to remove presidential nominees who took office upon Senate confirmation. Presidents may not be able to appoint key members of their administration without Senate confirmation, but they can demand the resignation or removal of cabinet officers, high-ranking appointees (such as ambassadors), and members of the presidential staff. When it comes to national security, international negotiations, or war, the president has many more opportunities to act directly and in some cases must do so when circumstances require quick and decisive action. What may seem to be a sign of strength is often more properly understood as independent action undertaken in the wake of a failure to achieve a solution through the legislative process, or an admission that such an effort would prove futile. Moreover, such decisions are subject to court challenge, legislative reversal, or revocation by a successor. When a president governs alone through direct action, it may break a policy deadlock or establish new grounds for action, but it may also spark opposition that might have been handled differently through negotiation and discussion. Describe how historians and political scientists evaluate the effectiveness of a presidencyĪ president’s powers can be divided into two categories: direct actions the chief executive can take by employing the formal institutional powers of the office and informal powers of persuasion and negotiation essential to working with the legislative branch.Explain how presidents persuade others in the political system to support their initiatives.Analyze how different circumstances influence the way presidents use unilateral authority.Identify the power presidents have to effect change without congressional cooperation.By the end of this section, you will be able to: ![]()
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