executive branch

Examples of executive branch in the following topics:

• [PF content: The Executive Branch in Action]

• Regulating Executive Branch Lobbyists

  • Lobbying the Executive Branch is similar to any other branch of the U.S. government and is regulated by laws pertaining to disclosure.
  • Executive branch agencies added a new layer of rule-making to congressional legislation.
  • In many ways, lobbying the Executive Branch is similar to any other branch of the U.S. government and is thereby regulated by laws pertaining to disclosure discussed in Regulation Congressional Lobbyists.
  • However, it is true that many executive branch agencies have the power to write specific rules and are a target of lobbying.
  • Further complicating the relationship between lobbying and the Executive Branch is the fact that it is possible for one level of government to lobby another level.

• Checking the Power of the Governing Party

  • The legislative branch can also check the governing party by starting investigations against the executive branch.
  • If one political party holds the executive branch of government then another political party can check the power of the executive branch by holding a majority of seats in the legislative branch .
  • While the Democratic Party occupied the executive branch, the Republican Party held the majority of seats in the legislative branch.
  • This division of parties between the executive and legislative branches impairs the ability of the president to enact policies, since the legislative branch must first approve these policies.
  • While the checks and balances system between the executive, legislative, and judicial branches prevents any one branch from becoming tyrannical, this system has also been criticized for maintaining the status quo in government rather than promoting changes.

• The Powers of State Government

  • State governments are structured in accordance with state law and they share the same structural model as the federal system; they also contain three branches of government: executive, legislative, and judicial.
  • The legislative branch of the states consists of state legislatures.
  • An elected Governor heads the executive branch of every state.
  • Most states have a plural executive, where several key members of the executive branch are directly elected by the people and serve alongside the Governor.
  • A supreme court that hears appeals from lower state courts heads the judicial branch in most states.

• The Executive Departments

  • The executive departments are administrative organs in the executive branch of the federal government.
  • The executive departments of the United States federal government are executive organs that serve under direct presidential control and act in an advisory capacity to the president.
  • Executive departments are internally led by secretaries, who are also members of the president's Cabinet.
  • These secretaries, or Cabinet members, are the most senior appointed officials in the executive branch of the United States government.
  • The Secretary of State is the highest ranking executive department office, and is currently held by Hillary Clinton.

• The Expansion of Presidential Powers

  • The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces.
  • The president is the head of the executive branch of the federal government and is constitutionally obligated to "take care that the laws be faithfully executed. " The executive branch has over four million employees, including members of the military.
  • Presidents make numerous executive branch appointments--an incoming president may make up to 6,000 before he takes office and 8,000 more during his term.
  • Additionally, federal courts have allowed this privilege to radiate outward and protect other executive branch employees, but have weakened this protection for those executive branch communications that do not involve the president .
  • Most of the nation's Founding Fathers expected the Congress, which was the first branch of government described in the Constitution, to be the dominant branch of government.

• Chief Executive

  • Chief Executive is a term commonly used to refer to Presidential powers given by the Constitution.
  • As Chief Executive the president can: implement policy, supervise the executive branch of government, prepare an executive budget for submission to congress, and appoint and remove executive officials .
  • Head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet.
  • This is in contrast to a presidential system in a democracy, where the head of state often is also the head of government, and most importantly: the executive branch does not derive its democratic legitimacy from the legislature.
  • Since the legislative branch has more power over the executive branch in a parliamentary system, a notable amount of studies by political scientists have shown that parliamentary systems show lower levels of corruption than presidential systems of government.

• Executive Orders

  • In the United States, an executive order is an order or directive issued by the head of the executive branch at some level of government.
  • In the United States, an executive order is an order or directive issued by the head of the executive branch at some level of government.
  • The term executive order is most commonly applied to orders issued by the President, who is the head of the executive branch of the federal government.
  • Presidents have issued executive orders since 1789, usually to help officers and agencies of the executive branch manage the operations within the federal government itself.
  • A Presidential Determination is a document issued by the White House stating a determination resulting in an official policy or position of the executive branch of the United States government.

• The Branches of Government

  • The United States Constitution set out three separate branches of government: the legislature, executive branch, and judiciary.
  • Each branch would have defined powers to check the powers of the other branches.
  • This philosophy heavily influenced the writing of the US Constitution, according to which the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the US government are kept distinct from one another to prevent abuse of power.
  • Article II, Section 1 creates the executive branch which vests its power in the President, who, along with the Vice President, serves a 4-year term.
  • Courts check both the executive and legislative branch through judicial review.

• Vertical Checks and Balances

  • To prevent one branch of government from becoming supreme, to protect the minority from the majority, and to induce the branches to cooperate, government systems employ a separation of powers in order to balance each of the branches.
  • The branch has sole power of impeachment (House of Representatives) and trial of impeachments (Senate), meaning it can remove federal executive and judicial officers from office for high crimes and misdemeanors.
  • The executive branch (President) is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
  • He executes the instructions of Congress, may veto bills passed by Congress, and executes the spending authorized by Congress.
  • The president declares states of emergency, publishes regulations and executive orders, makes executive agreements, and signs treaties (ratification of these treaties requires the vote of two-thirds of the Senate).