AP U.S. Government and Politics · Lesson 2

The president: powers and checks

Know Know it

Article II gives the president formal powers: commander in chief of the armed forces, the veto, granting pardons, negotiating treaties, appointing officials and judges, and the duty to see that the laws are faithfully carried out. Treaties need two-thirds of the Senate, and major appointments need a Senate majority.

A veto sends a bill back to Congress, which can override it with a two-thirds vote in each chamber. If Congress adjourns and the president leaves a bill unsigned for ten days, the bill dies by pocket veto, and there is nothing to override.

Presidents also use informal powers the Constitution does not list: executive orders that direct the executive branch, executive agreements with foreign leaders that skip the Senate, signing statements that say how a new law will be carried out, and the bully pulpit to rally the public.

Other actors check the president. Congress can override vetoes, reject nominees and treaties, refuse funding, investigate, and impeach: the House charges by majority and the Senate removes by two-thirds. The War Powers Resolution (1973) requires notice to Congress within 48 hours of sending troops into combat and withdrawal within 60 days without approval. Courts can strike down actions, and the Twenty-Second Amendment limits a president to two elected terms.

The office has grown through wars, crises, a larger White House staff, wider use of executive orders and direct appeals to the public through mass media.

Trap An executive order is not a statute

An executive order directs the executive branch under powers the president already has. It is not a law passed by Congress. A later president can cancel it, a court can strike it down, and Congress can pass a law or cut funding to block it.

Worked example Easy

Which of these is an informal presidential power, one not listed in the Constitution?

  1. Vetoing a bill passed by Congress
  2. Granting a pardon for a federal crime
  3. Commanding the armed forces in wartime
  4. Making a pact with a foreign leader without the SenateAnswer

How to solve it

  1. Check each power against the text of the Constitution.
  2. Vetoes, pardons and command of the military are all written there.
  3. Executive agreements grew from practice, so they are informal.

Why each choice is right or wrong

  • A. Incorrect. Vetoing a bill is a formal power written into Article I, Section 7 of the Constitution.
  • B. Incorrect. Granting a pardon is a formal power that Article II gives the president by name.
  • C. Incorrect. Commanding the armed forces is a formal power, since Article II names the president commander in chief.
  • D. Correct. An executive agreement made without the Senate is not named in the Constitution, so it is an informal power.

Explain Explain it

Task verbs: identify, explain

When a question asks how a president acts or is checked, name the power, say who holds it, and tie it to the detail in the scenario. For example: the Senate rejected the treaty, so the president turned to an executive agreement, which needs no Senate vote.

Worked example Medium

A president orders troops into combat abroad without a declaration of war. Under the War Powers Resolution, what must the president do once the troops are sent?

  1. Report to Congress within 48 hoursAnswer
  2. Win a two-thirds vote of the Senate within ten days
  3. Get the approval of the Supreme Court before any troops land
  4. Wait for the House to pass a resolution of support

How to solve it

  1. The War Powers Resolution was passed to limit military action without Congress.
  2. Its reporting rule requires notice to Congress within 48 hours of sending troops.
  3. Without approval from Congress, troops must come home within 60 days.

Why each choice is right or wrong

  • A. Correct. The 1973 law requires the president to notify Congress within 48 hours, which starts a 60-day limit.
  • B. Incorrect. A two-thirds Senate vote is needed for treaties, not for sending troops under the War Powers Resolution.
  • C. Incorrect. The Supreme Court has no role in approving troop deployments before they happen under this law.
  • D. Incorrect. The law does not require a House resolution before acting; it requires notice and later approval.

Explain Your turn

A president cannot get enough Senate votes for a treaty, so she signs an executive agreement with the other country instead. Explain one way this choice helps her and one way an executive agreement is weaker than a ratified treaty.

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A full answer does this

  • Gives an accurate way the executive agreement helps the president
  • Gives an accurate way an executive agreement is weaker than a ratified treaty

Model answer

The agreement helps her because it does not need the two-thirds Senate vote that a treaty needs, so she can act without the votes she lacks. It is weaker because a later president can cancel it more easily than a ratified treaty, so it may not outlast her time in office.

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