The Executive Branch What is the job of

The Executive Branch

What is the job of the Executive Branch? n The Executive Branch is responsible for executing (or carrying out) the laws made by the Congress.

Executive Branch The qualifications to be President are; 1. 35 years of age. 2. A natural born citizen of the United States. 3. Must have lived in the United States for at least 14 years.

Executive Branch ~ President Term of office: n The term of office for the President is 4 years. n A President may only serve 2 terms in office. n 22 nd Amendment limits terms to 2.

Executive Branch Structure and Leadership n The Executive branch consists of the n n n President Vice-President of the United States White House Staff special advisory groups to the President and the Cabinet.

Executive Branch Structure and Leadership The Cabinet § Serves as a group of advisors to the President. § There are currently 15 members of the Cabinet § Each of these members is the head of a department § Their title is “Secretary” § They are appointed by the President, but the Senate must approve their appointment

Executive Branch Departments (Cabinet) Departments: 1. State, 2. Treasury, 3. Defense, 4. Interior, 5. Justice, 6. Agriculture, 7. Commerce, 8. Labor, 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Energy, Education, Veterans’ Affairs, Homeland Security.

Executive Branch Power § Veto or reject bills made by Congress § Command the military forces of the country § Make treaties with foreign nations. § Appoint certain officials. § Grant pardons (legal forgiveness for crimes). A pardon prevents or ends punishment.

Presidential Succession This is the plan for what happens if the president dies or can’t perform the duties of his office. n If the president can’t perform his duties (for what ever reason), then the vice president takes over until the next election. n If the president is temporarily unable to perform his duties: *Formal notice is given to congress *Vice president fills in for him *President takes back the job when he recovers. Order of succession = 25 th Amendment 1. The Vice-President 2. The Speaker of the House 3. The President pro tempore of the Senate 4. The Secretary of State 5. The Secretary of Treasury…and then the rest of the Cabinet members, in the order in which their cabinet posts were created. n

Electing the President Primary Election - Voters decide which of the candidates within a party will represent that party in the general election. Closed Primary- voters must be registered as party members to vote in that party’s primary. Open Primary- Citizens can vote in either party’s primary without stating their party affiliation. The Nominating Convention - The convention delegates vote to make the party’s choice of candidate official. General Election - The election between the party candidates is referred to the general election. The President-elect and Vice President-elect take the oath of office and are inaugurated on January 20 th.

Electoral College n n n The presidential election is actually decided indirectly through the electoral college. Every state has a certain number of electoral votes based on the size of its population Electoral Votes =# of members sent to the House of Representatives + # of Senators (2) Typically, all electoral votes from each state, (except Maine and Nebraska- which split their votes based on %), go to the candidates who get the most popular votes-even if those candidates win by only a few votes or lack a clear majority votes.

Since electoral votes are generally allocated on an "all or none" basis by state, the election of a U. S President is about winning the popular vote in enough states to achieve 270 electoral votes, a majority of the 538 that are available. . . It is not about getting the most overall popular votes Example: in the 2000 election, the electoral vote winner (Bush) and the popular vote winner (Gore) were different. Bush narrowly won the presidential election, with 271 electoral votes to Gore's 266 with one elector abstaining in the official tally. https: //www. 270 towin. com/ Nominee George W. Bush Al Gore Party Republican Democratic Electoral vote 271 266 States carried 30 20 + DC Popular vote 50, 456, 002 50, 999, 897 Percentage 47. 9% 48. 4%