Limitations on Presidential Power

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Limitations: Constitution, Congress and Supreme Court

Limits to a president's power include the Constitution, Congress and the Supreme Court.

Constitution

The Constitution outlines a system of checks and balances whereby each of the three branches of government can check the actions of the others.
The Constitution outlines the checks on the executive exercised by Congress and the Supreme Court.

Congress: legislation checks

Congress has many important checks on the president’s powers over legislation and policy.
Congress can amend the president’s budgetary requests.
Congress can reject, amend and delay the president’s legislative proposals.
Congress can use the power of the purse and its power to declare war to check the president’s role in foreign policy.
Congress can override the president’s veto with a two-thirds majority in both houses.

Congress

Congress can impeach a president, and the Senate can remove them from office.
The Senate can reject nominations to the executive and judiciary made by the president.
The president needs the Senate to ratify any treaty they negotiate, which the Senate can refuse to do.

Supreme Court

The Supreme Court limits presidential power through judicial review, where it can declare laws and executive actions unconstitutional.
In 2006, in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, the Supreme Court ruled that President George W. Bush’s military commissions for Guantanamo Bay detainees were unconstitutional.
In 2014, in NLRB v. Noel Canning, the Supreme Court ruled that President Obama’s use of recess appointments was unconstitutional.

Limitations: Election Cycle, Interest Groups & Media

Limits to a president's power include the election cycle, divided government, interest groups and the media. Presidential power changes throughout their term.

Election cycle

A small mandate from the previous election can weaken the president’s position and their ability to carry out their legislation and policies.
A president in their second term has more constraints on power than in their first term.
- The 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, which limits the president to two terms, makes the president a ‘lame duck’ in their second term where they have less influence because of their limited time remaining as president.

Divided government

A divided government is where one party does not control the presidency, House of Representatives and the Senate.
- A divided government limits the president’s ability to have legislation approved.
- If the Senate is controlled by a different party to the president, presidential appointments to the executive and judiciary will often be more difficult to approve.

Changing nature of power

A president’s public approval changes throughout their term in office.
A president with lower public approval ratings will have less political power than a president who is more popular with voters.
- Bill Clinton’s popularity with voters and his 73% approval rating in 1999 was a reason for the Senate voting against his impeachment.
- President Trump’s approval ratings fell to 36% in 2018.

Interest groups

Interest groups can limit the president’s power by mobilising public opinion against or in favour of their policies.
- The National Rifle Association (NRA) was able to prevent President Obama’s reforms to gun control by mobilising public opinion and lobbying key members of Congress to vote against them.

The media

Media can influence the president’s actions in an era of 24/7 media coverage which scrutinises the president’s actions.
- The media campaign for removing US troops from Afghanistan limited President Obama’s options and put pressure on him to withdraw the US military by the end of 2016.