Presidential Requirements and Succession

Section 1: Presidential Qualifications and Succession

• The salary of the President is determined by Congress and cannot be altered during their term.
• Established after JFK's death in 1963, the Twenty-Fifth Amendment in 1976 outlines presidential succession.
• Presidential succession determines who fills the President's role in case of a vacancy and the order in which government officials replace the President.
• A president must ensure faithful execution of US laws and be a natural-born citizen.
• If the president is unable to perform their duties, the Vice President takes over, followed by the President Pro Tempore and the succeeding order.
• Becoming president requires more than just being a US citizen or being 35 years old; it demands leadership skills, education, and experience.
• The constitutional requirements for president are being a natural born citizen, at least 35 years old, and a resident of the US for at least 14 years.
• Informal requirements for president are experience in government, access to large amounts of money, and intelligence.
• The Twenty-second Amendment limits the President to two terms.
• A vice president who takes over the presidency can serve up to two additional terms if they served two years or less of the former president's term.
• The Twenty-Fifth Amendment establishes the order of presidential succession when the vice presidency is vacant.
• The Vice President becomes President in case of removal, death, or resignation of the President.
• When there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President nominates a Vice President who takes office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.
• The first four officers in the line of succession to the presidency are: Vice President, Speaker of the House, President pro tempore of the Senate, and Secretary of State.
• Presidential candidates who represent moderate views usually win elections due to their appeal to a wide range of voters.
• The Vice President presides over the Senate and votes in Senate in case of a tie.
• Under the 25th amendment, the Vice President decides whether the president is disabled and acts as president should that happen.
• Direct Popular Election would reform the electoral college so people would directly elect the President and Vice President.
• The Presidential oath of office states that they will faithfully execute the office of President, and will preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.

Section 2: Electors and the Electoral College

• "Elector" refers to individuals in each state, equal in number to its senators and representatives in Congress, who meet in their states to cast votes for two presidential candidates.
• "Electoral vote" refers to the votes that come from electors in each state.
• The election of 1800 suggests that Founders did not anticipate the effects of political parties on presidential elections, as the Federalists and Democratic-Republicans were the first political parties to fight each other.
• The Electoral College has performed well as the winner of the electoral college has matched the popular vote as well.
• The election method has been modified so that there must be an elected President and Vice-President.
• Ceremonial events when a new president takes office: Held outside in Washington DC if weather permits; The Chief Justice administers the Oath of Office; The President gives the inaugural speech; Parade goes from the Capitol to the White House.
• The Electoral College was established in Article II Section 1, providing that each state choose electors as state legislatures set up and that each state would have as many electors as it has senators and representatives in Congress.
• The Twelfth Amendment requires electors to cast separate ballots for president and vice president.
• If no candidate receives a majority of the electoral votes, the House chooses from the three candidates who have the largest number of electoral votes.
• If no candidate for vice president gets a majority of electoral votes, the Senate chooses from the top two candidates for vice president.
• Presidential candidates spend more time in states with larger populations as they often have more electoral votes.
• "Winner take all" means that if a candidate wins the largest number of popular votes in a state, that person receives all the state's electoral votes.
• An elector broke custom and voted independently as they pledged to vote for a certain candidate and are now considered a faithless elector.
• Voters cast their ballots for president every four years on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November.
• The formal election by the electoral college begins on Monday following the second Wednesday in December, when electors meet in the state's capital and cast their votes.
• On January 6 both houses of Congress meet in the House of Representatives to open and count the ballots.
• The electoral college includes 538 electors - A number determined by the total House and Senate members plus 3 for the District of Columbia.
• John Quincy Adams (1824), Rutherford B. Hayes (1876), Benjamin Harrison (1888), George W. Bush (2000), and Donald Trump (2016) are presidents who lost the popular vote but won the electoral college.
• Third-Party Candidates can win enough electoral votes to prevent either major-party candidate from receiving a majority of the votes.
• If the House of Representatives must decide a presidential election, each state casts one vote and the candidate with 26 or more votes is elected.

Section 3: The President's Cabinet

• The advisory body of the president is called the Cabinet.
• The president appoints the secretaries that head the 14 major executive departments.
• Each appointee must be approved by the Senate.
• The 14 secretaries, the vice president, and several other top officials make up the Cabinet.
• Cabinet secretaries are both advisors and administrators or large bureaucracies.
• A "leak" happens when a president-elect deliberately discloses information to the media.
• The Senate decides on approving presidential nominations, so the politics in the Senate could impact who is approved to serve as a Cabinet member.
• Presidents may end up asking and relying on others for advice as opposed to the Cabinet.
• Factors that limit the role of the cabinet as an advisory body affect the relationship between cabinet officers and the presidents they serve.
• Cabinet secretaries administer a large executive department and do not serve as an insider in the White House.
• The inner circle of cabinet members often have more direct contact with the president: Secretaries of State, Defense, Treasury, and the Attorney General.
• Cabinet members with less direct contact with the president: Secretaries of Agriculture, Veterans Affairs, Labor, and Interior.
• Robert Weaver: Appointed by Lyndon B. Johnson, he was the first African American department secretary to lead the HUD (Housing and Urban Development).
• Frances Perkins: Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed her as the first woman to the cabinet as the Secretary of Labor.
• Presidents consider if their appointee has a background that is compatible with the department they will head.
• Presidents also consider satisfying powerful interest groups that have a stake in a department's policies.
• They also want their appointees to have high-level administrative skills and experience.
• Presidents also consider race, gender, and ethnic backgrounds.
• If the cabinet declines by failing to advise the president, they are no longer acting as a strong check balance as they give the president more power to act on their will on the law without any advice.
• Presidents can choose cabinet members that are loyal to them, in the same political party as them, and work closely with the President to increase their value as advisors.
• Inner Cabinet: Officials who work closely with the President, such as the secretaries of state, defense, treasury, and attorney general.
• No president commands the complete loyalty of cabinet members.
• Cabinet members often have career officials in their department, members of Congress, and special interest groups where each require loyalty.
• Difficulty of maintaining the secrecy when 14 cabinet secretaries are involved in a discussion of sensitivity has reduced the usefulness of the cabinet.

Section 4: Executive Office of the President (EOP)

• "Central clearance" is when the OMB (Office of Management and Budget) reviews all legislative proposals executive agencies prepare.
• The "National Security Adviser" is a special assistant for national security affairs who directs the NSC (National Security Council) staff.
• The "press secretary" is responsible for gathering and disseminating information to the president, the White House staff, and the media
• Reorganization Act of 1939 made the Executive Office Necessary due to White House assistants feeling overwhelmed that they cannot coordinate all the new programs.
• Unlike cabinet members, the president appoints the White House staff without Senate confirmation, and key aides are usually long-time personal supporters of the President.
• The president can fire the White House staff, but only Congress can dismiss a member of the cabinet.
• The cabinet is well-versed in poll ratings and focused on the president's historical legacy.
• The cabinet has more access to the president than the White House staff. The White House staff has greater access to and more influence on the president than the cabinet.
• The White House Office advises the President, does not need Senate Appoval, no set number of staff, appointed by President, sole loyalty to the President , not subject to Congressional oversight.
• The Cabinet is subject to Congressional oversight, congressional oversight can add or abolish agencies, appointments need 2/3 approval from Senate can have split loyalty and meet with the president less frequently.
• Key functions are shared between the White House and the cabinet such as; Advising the President, have constitutional basis
• The Executive Office of the President (EOP) consists of individuals and agencies that directly assist the president.
• The EOP implements presidential decisions, gains more control over the executive branch, and provides specialized advice/information for decision making.
• The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) indicates what programs the federal government will pay for and how much it will spend on them.
• The National Security Council (NSC), created in 1947, advises the president and coordinates American military and foreign policy which is headed by the president, secretary of state, and secretary of defense.
• Every president has reorganized the EOP by adding new agencies or expanding new ones in response to problems.
• Presidents need experts to advise them on how to deal with national problems.
• Today's federal programs require several executive departments and agencies to work together.
• The three oldest agencies in the EOP: Office of Management and Budget, the National Security Council, and the Council of Economic Advisers.
• The Reorganization Act of 1939 created the Executive Office of the President.
• Franklin Roosevelt established the White House Office, intending it to be a small group of advisors working directly with the president on day-to-day matters.
• The Homeland Security Council coordinates all federal agencies working to counter terrorism in the US.
• Duties of White House Staff include: Gathering information and providing advice, policy experts, Top Staff Members act as enforcers, others present the president's views to the Outside world, and key aides decide what reports and memos get to the President.