Lately, there has been some concern as to what explicit powers were given to The (Executive Branch) United States President by The Constitution; let’s take a look:
- The President shall be 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; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to Grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.
- He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.
- The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.
Then there are presidential duties:
- He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information on the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States.
And lastly, a United States President can be impeached (removed from office) for any of the below reasons:
- The President, Vice President and all Civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.
Further Reading:
The Powers of The United States Congress
The Powers of The United States Federal Courts
Presidential Oath:
“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
I know a lot of people are concerned with the fact that our current president has appointed approximately thirty so-called Czars to his cabinet. I pulled out the below paragraph from above, which speaks to the (constitutional) procedure upon which The President is suppose to follow when making appointments:
“… and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior officers as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.”
So, the way I am interpreting it is, either the appointment of these czars have, through law, been made proper by The Congress, or The President has side-stepped The Senate confirmations that our founders called for in The Constitution. At this point, I am not sure which it is.
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Here is an excellent and informative article, by Judge Andrew Napolitano:
What Can Obama’s Czars Legally Do? Which answers the above question, as to the constitutionality of these so-called czars.