How do Executive Orders Work?
Executive Branch
By: Jakayla Allen & Derrick Sims
An executive order, also known as a proclamation, is a directive handed down directly from a president or governor (the executive branch of government) without input from the legislative or judicial branches. Executive orders can only be given to federal or state agencies, not to citizens, although citizens are indirectly affected by them.
Positions in the Executive Branch
Government Agency and Its Importance
The key positions in the executive branch are the vice president, president, cabinet, key officers in the Executive Office of the President, the heads of the executive agencies and commissioners of the regulatory commissions.
- President- Donald Trump
- VP-Michael R. Pence
- Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson
- Secretary of the Treasury Steven T. Mnuchin
- Secretary of Defense James Mattis
- Attorney General Jeff Sessions
- Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke
- Secretary of Labor Alexander Acost
- Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Benjamin S. Carson, Sr.
- Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao
- Representative of the United States to the United Nations Nikki R. Haley
- And etc.,
The U.S. Census Bureau
- The U.S. Census Bureau provides data about the nation's people and economy.
- Every ten years, the U.S. Census Bureau undertakes a mammoth task: tallying up all the people living in the United States and recording basic information such as age, sex, and race. The founding Fathers thought this data, called the census, was so important they mandated it as part of the Constitution.
How Can the President Influence Government?
Summary of Each Branch
The president influences control over the bureaucracy by:
- appointing agency directors and subheads (with Senate approval)
- issuing executive orders compelling an agency to do/not do something
- increasing or decreasing an agency's budget (through the Office of Management and Budget)
President uses his bully pulpit as a means of communicating with the American people through the media coverage of presidential events
How All Branches Work Together
Most Important Powers
- Being able to veto, or reject, a proposal for a law
- Appoint federal posts, such as members of government agencies
- Negotiate foreign treaties with other countries
- Appoint federal judges
- Grant pardons, or forgiveness, for a crime
- The executive branch is responsible for making sure that the laws of the United States are enforced obeyed. The President is head of the executive branch, he gets help from the Vice President, cabinet members and heads of independent agencies.
- The legislative branch is in charge of making laws. It is made up of the Congress and several Government agencies. Congress has two parts: the House of Representatives and the Senate. Members of the House of Representatives and the Senate are voted into office by American citizens in each state.
All of the branches work together through a system of checks and balances. With this system, it ensures that no single branch becomes more powerful than another. For example, the Executive Branch can veto bills from the Legislative Branch, but the Legislative Branch can override the veto.
Why is the Executive Branch important, what would happen if your branch did not exist?
Cont'd..
Formal and Informal Requirements
The executive branch is important because it is the face of the United States and the only visible branch of government. Given that its the 3rd branch, without it the whole government would be turned upside down.
How the Executive Branch Can Check Other Branches Specifically..
Article of the Constitution that Talks About the Executive Branch
Formal
-background in business and law
-has had other government seats
-highly educated
-college degree
Informal
-native born citizen (of U.S.)
- at least 35 years old
- lived in the country for at least 14 years
- The judicial branch includes criminal and civil courts and helps interpret the United States Constitution. As we learned, the most important part of the judicial branch is the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court's role is to interpret the Constitution and limit the powers of the other branches of government.
The executive branch can check over the legislative branch by proposing legislation, creating an annual budget, can call special sessions of Congress, and lastly the executive branch can veto any legislation.
The executive branch can check over the judicial branch by simply looking at the appointment of federal judges and justices for the judicial branch.
Article II of the Constitution establishes the Executive branch of the federal government. It defines the office of President and Vice President, and an Electoral College to elect them. Article II also sets the requirements needed to be President, establishes the President’s powers, and provides for a President’s removal of office for high crimes and misdemeanors, as well as the removal of any civil officer for similar reasons.
- http://study.com/academy/lesson/executive-branch-of-government-definition-responsibilities-power.html
- https://7thperiodcivics.weebly.com/how-does-the-executive-branch-check-over-the-other-branches.html
- https://people.howstuffworks.com/executive-order.htm
- https://www.brainscape.com/flashcards/the-bureaucracy-672514/packs/1420219
- http://news.psu.edu/story/141197/2009/07/27/research/probing-question-why-census-important
- https://bensguide.gpo.gov/a-executive
- http://www.encyclopedia.com/politics/legal-and-political-magazines/key-sitions-executive-branch
- http://www.pennmc.org/specialprograms/Executive%20Branch%20Position%20Descriptions.pdf