Qualifications and term
To be president, a person must be a natural-born citizen, at least 35 years old, and a resident of the United States for 14 years. The 22nd Amendment (1951) limits a person to two elected terms. The president's term is four years. If the president dies, resigns or is removed, the Vice President takes over. After that, the line of succession passes to the Speaker of the House, then the president pro tempore of the Senate, then Cabinet officers. The 25th Amendment (1967) sets out procedures for filling a vacancy in the vice presidency and handling presidential disability.
Constitutional powers
Article II gives the president the power to:
- serve as commander in chief of the armed forces (while Congress declares war and funds the military)
- sign or veto legislation
- grant pardons for federal offences
- make treaties with the Senate's two-thirds approval
- appoint ambassadors, judges and executive officers with the Senate's majority consent
- faithfully execute the laws, and report to Congress on the state of the Union
The president also uses executive orders, directives that manage the executive branch and that must rest on authority given by the Constitution or by statute. Courts can strike them down, and Congress can pass laws to override them. The War Powers Resolution (1973) requires the president to report to Congress within 48 hours of sending forces into hostilities and generally to end deployment after 60 days unless Congress authorises it; presidents of both parties have questioned its constitutionality.
Informal powers
The president also has influence beyond the text: agenda-setting through speeches, party leadership, negotiations with Congress and a large staff. The Executive Office of the President includes the White House staff and advisory bodies. The Cabinet consists of the heads of the executive departments (15 in total), whom the president appoints and the Senate confirms.
The bureaucracy
The federal bureaucracy includes Cabinet departments, independent agencies and regulatory commissions. Agencies carry out laws and often write detailed rules under authority delegated by Congress. The Administrative Procedure Act (1946) requires agencies to follow a process, including public notice and comment, when making rules. Since the Pendleton Act (1883), most federal jobs are filled by merit rather than as political rewards (the civil service).
The "iron triangle" idea describes a stable relationship between an agency, a congressional committee and an interest group, each benefiting the others. Scholars note that many policy areas are now shaped by wider "issue networks".
Worked example: from a law to a rule
- Congress passes a law requiring safer drinking water but leaves the technical limits to an agency.
- The agency drafts a proposed rule setting a maximum level of a contaminant.
- The public notice invites comments from citizens, businesses and experts.
- The agency considers the comments and publishes a final rule.
- Affected parties can challenge it in court, and Congress can amend the law or cut funding.
The sequence shows the bureaucracy exercising delegated power under oversight from all three branches.