This document summarises the executive branch in USA Politics and links the power of the President (if any) with the executive. It also provides a summary of EXOP (Executive Office of the President) and gives a small comparison with the UK.
What does EXOP do and why does it show presidential power?
EXOP- Executive Office of the President is there solely for the President (Congress has no say over
it), NON CONSTITUTIONAL
UK equivalent is No.10 office (Dominic Cummings Boris Johnson)
EXOP
-created in 1939 to stop the president from being overwhelmed
-grown in size as the power of the federal government has grown
-2000 staff (includes their closest advisors) and wants to ensure the government is moving in the
direction the President wants
-West Wing
-offers policy advice e.g. OMB (REFERRAL TO THE BUDGET DEPARTMENT) on financial
matters
-manages the President’s diary/life- headed by the chief of staff who manages the presidents diary acts
as a gate keeper to decide who gets to see the president
-Oversees departments (OMB checks spending Director of National Intelligence oversees the CIA and
FBI)
-Works with Congress to pass legislation- The Office of Legislative Affairs
-expanded with offices with specific jobs to work on some of the Presidents priorities
-appointments do not have to be ratified by the Senate
TOO MUCH POWER
-The growth of EXOP has posed a threat to the traditional power of cabinet members and their
departments (EXOP mirroring cabinet hence threat imposed e.g. someone mirroring the secretary of
state of foreign affairs)
-EXOP is closer to the President than the cabinet, both physically and a working relationship
-Under George W Bush foreign policy was directed from the West Wing (by Condoleezza Rice,
national security advisor) and Dick Cheney (VP) rather than by the State Department/ Presidents often
talk of cabinet members ‘going native’ and moving away from President ideas and towards the
conventual thinking of their departments
-Obama creation of ‘policy czars’ showed that decision making would be directed from the WW not
from departments- czars often came into conflict with departments and found they had little formal
pwioer to make departments follow their direction
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