The Executive Branchs Leaders the President and the
The Executive Branch’s Leaders – the President and the Vice-President
1) How long can he be in office? a) At first it was an “unwritten rule” – 2 consecutive elected terms b) Who broke the tradition with 4 terms?
c) The 22 nd Amendment (passed in 1951) made the tradition part of the Constitution 1) It says a president can only serve two terms 2) It also says that a vicepresident who then becomes president and gets re-elected can only serve up to 10 years as president
2) Salary (or “compensation” as stated in the Constitution) a)Who sets it? Set by Congress (but they can’t raise it or decrease the salary of the current president) b) What is it now (at first it was $25, 000/year)? Makes about $600, 000 c) S/he also gets $50, 000 a year for “official duty expenses” d) They also get $120, 000 for travel and entertainment e) By the way they still have to pay taxes
f) Other benefit include … 1) Air Force One 2) any other form of transportation (helicopters, limos, cars, etc. ) 3) free medical, dental and health care
4) they also get the White House a) 132 rooms b) a swimming pool c) a bowling alley d) a private movie theater e) tennis courts f) at least 80 house servants
5) they get free office space and a mailing service 6) they have their own personal resort called Camp David – where is it located? 7) $96, 000 a year budget for “office help” 8) they get a nice pension - $99, 500/year (if they die – the spouse gets $20, 000/year)
3) the Qualifications (same for the vice-president) a) 1) 2) a) b) according to the Constitution … they must be a natural born citizen of the US (but do army bases and embassies count? ) must be at least 35 Who was the youngest president (at the age of 42)? Who was the oldest elected president (at the age of 69)?
b) the unwritten “suggested” qualifications 1) Experience in government (Who’s the last president without it? )
3) A potential president also needs moderate political beliefs – radicals need not apply (no hard core Republicans or Democrats) 4) personal characteristics – most elected presidents have been: a) white b) married c) Protestant d) Financially successful 5) a president also has to have a willingness to adapt to change (for example in times of war)
B) What if something happens to the president? 1) How many times has he died? 2) How many times has he been assassinated?
3) What happens if the president is disabled? – no one knew until 1967, when it was formally established by the 25 th amendment 1) It formally approved the line of succession (first suggested in the Presidential Succession Act of 1947) 1) The 25 th amendment also covered what other ways the president can be considered disabled – for example: a) if the president informs Congress of an inability to perform their office (like having surgery) in writing a) if the vice-president and the majority of Congress says that the president is disabled (like if the president is held hostage)
3) How can a president become “undisabled? ” a) The president can retake control by telling Congress s/he’s okay a) However, the cabinet and the vicepresident can refuse to give back control to the elected president by having each house vote 2/3 to keep the v. p. in power
c) Speaking of the Vice. President… 1) must have same qualifications as the president 2) According to the Constitution his only jobs are: a) serve as president of the Senate b) break tie votes in the Senate c) help determine if the president is disabled
3) However the president can give the v. p. special powers like: a) representative/ambass ador status overseas b) defender of the president’s policies (ex: former v. p. Gore defending NAFTA – the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement) c) member of the National Security Council d) military advisor
4) But how much does the v. p. get paid? He makes about $250, 000 a year 5) Finally, of course, the v. p. can take over for the President – How many times has this happened? 8
6) But who takes over the Vice-Presidency if s/he is out of office (for whatever reason – resignation/death/etc. )? a) It has happened 18 times b) the president nominates a new one c) the vice-president must be approved by a majority of both houses of Congress d) Finally, can the vicepresident get fired by the president? e) Can the vice president be impeached?
- Slides: 18