The Imperial Presidency

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Imperial Presidency

Imperial presidency describes a president that abuses their power and disregards the rights of Congress. The term was used by Arthur Schlesinger in his 1973 book ‘Imperial Presidency’.

Imperial president

An imperial president has large powers over foreign policy, including powers to deploy armed forces abroad.
An imperial presidency is where checks and balances fail to be effective.
- An imperial president will increase the number of staff within the Executive Office, who are not subject to Senate confirmation.
- An imperial president will only be held accountable through impeachment or at a presidential election.
An imperial president will operate with secrecy and may be involved in illegal activity.

Against imperial presidency

Many executive controls have been introduced since President Nixon’s Presidency, such as the Government Accountability Office.
The Executive Office is a relatively small part of the Federal Bureaucracy.
Members of the Executive Office change with each president, meaning that there is no continuity of the same individuals in executive roles.

Against imperial presidency

Presidents that have acted illegally in the past have been forced to resign.
- President Nixon was forced to resign in 1974 after the Watergate Scandal.
The presidency has been termed the ‘imperilled presidency’ meaning it is ineffective because of limits by Congress on the president’s power.
- The 1973 War Powers Act says that presidents need approval from Congress to use the armed forces.

President's Accountability to Congress

Factors such as the party in control of Congress and the use of imperial powers by the president affect a president’s accountability.

Congress control

Congress’ scrutiny of the president is greater when there is a divided government, and Congress and the presidency are controlled by different parties.
A divided government will make it harder for a president to pass their legislative proposals into law through Congress.
If the President’s opposition party is in control of the Senate, the president may find it harder to have their judicial and executive nominations confirmed, and treaties ratified.

Examples of Congress control

President Obama could not have his judicial nomination, Merrick Garland, confirmed to the Supreme Court because the Republicans had control of the Senate.
- The Republicans refused to hold a hearing or vote on the nomination.

Use of imperial powers

A president that uses their imperial powers to act without approval from Congress is less accountable.
Presidents use vetoes to reject legislation passed by Congress.
Presidents carrying out foreign policy and deploying armed forces abroad without approval of Congress.
Presidents using executive orders which enable the president to carry out government actions without the approval of Congress.

Examples of imperial powers

President Obama used 12 regular vetoes, particularly towards the end of his term.
President Trump used executive orders to withdraw the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership and to temporarily ban refugees from seven majority Muslim countries such as Iran and Iraq.