U.S. Government and Civics / Unit 7: The Presidency and the Federal Bureaucracy
7.3 Informal Powers
Notes
Presidents also use informal powers that are not listed in the Constitution but come from custom, laws and the office's influence.
- Executive orders: directives to federal agencies that carry the force of law. Courts can strike them down, and later presidents can reverse them.
- Executive agreements: deals with foreign leaders that do not need Senate approval.
- Signing statements: written comments on how the president will interpret a law being signed.
- Bully pulpit: using the attention of the office to persuade the public (Theodore Roosevelt's term).
- Executive privilege: keeping some communications secret. ***United States v. Nixon* (1974): the privilege is not absolute**; Nixon had to turn over the Watergate tapes.
- War Powers Resolution (1973): the president must notify Congress within 48 hours of sending troops into hostilities, and must withdraw them within 60 days (plus 30 to withdraw) without congressional approval.
Practice
A president makes an agreement with another country's leader that does not go to the Senate. This is:
Executive agreements do not require Senate ratification.
In United States v. Nixon, the Supreme Court ruled that:
Nixon had to release the tapes, and he resigned soon after.
Congress passed the War Powers Resolution in 1973 mainly to:
It requires notice within 48 hours and limits deployments to 60 days without approval.
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