Magruder's American Government: 5. The Executive Branch: The Presidency and Vice Presidency

The President is the nation’s chief executive, vested by the Constitution with “the executive Power” of the United States.

That power is immensely broad in domestic affairs as well as foreign affairs.

That power is immensely broad in domestic affairs as well as foreign affairs.

The President is also the chief administrator, the director of the huge executive branch of the Federal Government.

Every President is also the nation’s chief diplomat, the main architect of American foreign policy and the nation’s chief spokesman to the rest of the world.

The President is also the nation’s chief legislator, the principal author of its public policies.

In close concert with his or her role in foreign affairs, the Constitution also makes the President the commander in chief of the nation’s armed forces.

Some observers have suggested that modern Presidents must also be the nation's chief economist. That is, the President is expected to keep a close eye on the nation's economy and to take immediate and effective action when conditions dictate.

Presidential succession is the scheme by which a presidential vacancy is filled.

If a President dies, resigns, or is removed from office by impeachment, the Vice President succeeds to the office.

The chief executive has the power to issue executive orders, which are directives, rules, or regulations that have the effect of law. The power to issue these orders, the ordinance power, arises from two sources: the Constitution and acts of Congress.

...the nation’s chief executives have at times insisted that the Constitution gives the President the inherent power to refuse to disclose certain information to Congress or to the federal courts. That is, they have claimed the power of executive privilege.

A reprieve is the postponement of the execution of a sentence.

A pardon is legal forgiveness of a crime.

The President’s power to grant reprieves and pardons is absolute, except in cases of impeachment, where they may never be granted. These powers of clemency (mercy or leniency) may be used only in cases involving federal offenses.

It also includes the power of commutation, or the power to reduce a fine or the length of a sentence imposed by a court.

The pardoning power also includes the power of amnesty, which is in effect a blanket pardon offered to a group of law violators.

Or the President can veto the bill, and the measure must then be returned to Congress. The word veto comes from the Latin meaning "I forbid."

The fourth option, the pocket veto, can be used only at the end of a congressional session. If Congress adjourns within ten days (not counting Sundays) of sending a bill to the White House and the chief executive does not act on it, the measure dies.

A treaty is a formal agreement between two or more sovereign states.

When the President receives the diplomatic representatives of another sovereign state, the President exercises the power of recognition. That is, the chief executive, acting for the United States, acknowledges the legal existence of that country and its government.

The official recalled is declared to be persona non grata, an unwelcome person.