Presidential Power

Presidential power is rooted in the Constitution. Established in Article II, the president's expressed powers, as defined by Sections 2 and 3 of Article II, fall into several categories:

• Military: Article II, Section 2, provides for the power as "Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States." According to the U.S. Constitution, the president is commander-in-chief of the nation's armed forces, which makes him the highest-ranked person of the military. Although it is only Congress that can declare war, over time, presidents have taken a broad view of their authority under the Constitution that has helped them to justify some of their actions not directly expressed in the Constitution. In 1973, Congress passed the War Powers Resolution as a response to presidential unilateralism (when the president decides to engage troops without approval from Congress nor notification of Congress after the fact), but presidents have generally ignored it.
• Judicial: Article II, Section 2, also provides the power to "grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment" which means that the president has the power to set free any person who has committed a federal crime, except in cases of impeachment.
• Diplomatic: Article II, Section 2, also provides the power "by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties." As the president cannot make law, it takes ratification by the Senate to make it law. However, the president is often the person to get the ball rolling and then turns it over to others to work out the details both with the foreign nation and the Senate. Article II, Section 3, provides the power to "receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers." President Thomas Jefferson helped to establish the principle that this provision of the Constitution means that the president is the only "channel of communication between the United States and foreign nations." This presidential power to recognize (or not recognize) ambassadors and other public ministers has been used as a policy tool to influence other nations. For example, Woodrow Wilson's refusal to recognize the 1913 provisional government of Mexico contributed to its downfall.
• Executive: Article II, Section 3, authorizes the president to ensure that all laws are faithfully executed; Section 2 gives the chief executive the power to appoint, remove, and supervise all executive officers and to appoint all federal judges.
• Legislative: Article I, Section 7 and Article II, Section 3, gives the president the power to participate authoritatively in the legislative process. The president's legislative powers include the ability to veto legislation, set the agenda of public policy (a system of laws, regulatory measures, courses of action, and funding priorities that guide a nation), and the ability to write executive orders (a rule or order issued by the president to indicate how he wants a law to be enacted by the bureaucracy).

The Constitution further directs the president to "take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed." Presidents have interpreted this as a broad definition that allows them to take a larger role, particularly in times of national emergency, but the Constitution has proven flexible enough to adapt to changing understandings of presidential power.