Article II U.S. Constitution--Executive Department - GovInfo

ARTICLE II

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT

CONTENTS

Page Section 1. The President ........................................................................................................... 413

Clause 1. Powers and Term of the President ................................................................... 413 Nature and Scope of Presidential Power ................................................................... 413 Creation of the Presidency .................................................................................. 413 Executive Power: Theory of the Presidential Office .......................................... 415 Hamilton and Madison ................................................................................. 416 The Myers Case ............................................................................................. 418 The Curtiss-Wright Case .............................................................................. 418 The Youngstown Case ................................................................................... 420 The Practice in the Presidential Office ....................................................... 422 Executive Power: Separation-of-Powers Judicial Protection ............................ 422 Tenure .......................................................................................................................... 425

Clauses 2, 3 and 4. Election .............................................................................................. 426 Electoral College .......................................................................................................... 427 ``Appoint'' ............................................................................................................... 428 State Discretion in Choosing Electors ................................................................ 429 Constitutional Status of Electors ........................................................................ 430 Electors as Free Agents ....................................................................................... 431

Clause 5. Qualifications ..................................................................................................... 433 Clause 6. Presidential Succession ..................................................................................... 435 Clause 7. Compensation and Emoluments ....................................................................... 435 Clause 8. Oath of Office ..................................................................................................... 436 Section 2. Powers and Duties of the President ....................................................................... 436 Clause 1. Commander-in-Chiefship; Presidential Advisers; Pardons ............................ 436

Commander-in-Chief ................................................................................................... 437 Development of the Concept ................................................................................ 437 The Limited View ......................................................................................... 437 The Prize Cases ............................................................................................. 438 Impact of the Prize Cases on World Wars I and II .................................... 439

Presidential Theory of the Commander-in-Chiefship in World War II--and Beyond ........................................................................................................................... 440 Presidential War Agencies ........................................................................... 441 Constitutional Status of Presidential Agencies .......................................... 441 Evacuation of the West Coast Japanese ..................................................... 442 Presidential Government of Labor Relations ............................................. 443 Sanctions Implementing Presidential Directives ....................................... 444 The Postwar Period ...................................................................................... 445

The Cold War and After: Presidential Power to Use Troops Overseas Without Congressional Authorization ................................................................................... 447 The Historic Use of Force Abroad ....................................................................... 448 The Theory of Presidential Power ...................................................................... 450 The Power of Congress to Control the President's Discretion .......................... 451

The President as Commander of the Armed Forces ................................................. 453

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Section 2. Powers and Duties of the President--Continued Clause 1. Commander-in-Chiefship; Presidential Advisers; Pardons--Continued The Commander-in-Chief a Civilian Officer ...................................................... 455 Martial Law and Constitutional Limitations ............................................................ 456 Martial Law in Hawaii ........................................................................................ 458 Articles of War: The Nazi Saboteurs .................................................................. 459 Articles of War: World War II Crimes ................................................................ 461 Martial Law and Domestic Disorder .................................................................. 461 Presidential Advisers .................................................................................................. 462 The Cabinet .......................................................................................................... 462 Pardons and Reprieves ............................................................................................... 463 The Legal Nature of a Pardon ............................................................................ 463 Scope of the Power ............................................................................................... 465 Offenses Against the United States; Contempt of Court ........................... 465 Effects of a Pardon: Ex parte Garland ........................................................ 466 Limits to the Efficacy of a Pardon ............................................................... 468 Congress and Amnesty ............................................................................................... 468 Clause 2. Treaties and Appointment of Officers .............................................................. 469 The Treaty-Making Power .......................................................................................... 469 President and Senate ........................................................................................... 469 Negotiation, a Presidential Monopoly ......................................................... 470 Treaties as Law of the Land ............................................................................... 471 Origin of the Conception .............................................................................. 472 Treaties and the States ................................................................................ 472 Treaties and Congress .................................................................................. 474 Congressional Repeal of Treaties ................................................................ 477 Treaties versus Prior Acts of Congress ....................................................... 478 When Is a Treaty Self-Executing ................................................................. 479 Treaties and the Necessary and Proper Clause ......................................... 480 Constitutional Limitations on the Treaty Power ............................................... 482 Interpretation and Termination of Treaties as International Compacts ................ 487 Termination of Treaties by Notice ............................................................... 487 Determination Whether a Treaty Has Lapsed ........................................... 491 Status of a Treaty a Political Question ....................................................... 491 Indian Treaties ..................................................................................................... 492 Present Status of Indian Treaties ............................................................... 493 International Agreements Without Senate Approval ............................................... 494 Executive Agreements by Authorization of Congress ....................................... 495 Reciprocal Trade Agreements ...................................................................... 496 The Constitutionality of Trade Agreements ............................................... 496 The Lend-Lease Act ...................................................................................... 497 International Organizations ......................................................................... 498 Executive Agreements Authorized by Treaties .................................................. 498 Arbitration Agreements ................................................................................ 498 Agreements Under the United Nations Charter ........................................ 499 Status of Forces Agreements ....................................................................... 500 Executive Agreements on the Sole Constitutional Authority of the President .................................................................................................................... 500 The Litvinov Agreement ............................................................................... 503 The Hull-Lothian Agreement ....................................................................... 503 The Post-War Years ...................................................................................... 504 The Domestic Obligation of Executive Agreements .......................................... 504 The Executive Establishment ..................................................................................... 507

ART. II--EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT

411

Section 2. Powers and Duties of the President--Continued Clause 2. Treaties and Appointment of Officers--Continued Office ..................................................................................................................... 507 Ambassadors and Other Public Ministers .................................................. 507 Presidential Diplomatic Agents ................................................................... 509 Appointments and Congressional Regulation of Offices ................................... 512 Congressional Regulation of Conduct in Office .......................................... 516 The Loyalty Issue .......................................................................................... 517 Financial Disclosure and Limitations ......................................................... 518 Legislation Increasing Duties of an Officer ................................................ 519 Stages of Appointment Process ........................................................................... 519 Nomination .................................................................................................... 519 Senate Approval ............................................................................................ 519 When Senate Consent Is Complete ............................................................. 520 Commissioning the Officer .................................................................................. 521 Clause 3. Vacancies during Recess of Senate ................................................................... 521 Recess Appointments ........................................................................................... 521 Judicial Appointments .................................................................................. 522 Ad Interim Designations .............................................................................. 522 The Removal Power ............................................................................................. 522 The Myers Case ............................................................................................. 522 The Humphrey Case ..................................................................................... 525 The Wiener Case ........................................................................................... 526 The Watergate Controversy ......................................................................... 527 The Removal Power Rationalized ................................................................ 528 Other Phases of Presidential Removal Power ............................................ 531 The Presidential Aegis: Demands for Papers .................................................... 532 Private Access to Government Information ................................................ 534 Prosecutorial and Grand Jury Access to Presidential Documents ............ 535 Congressional Access to Executive Branch Information ............................ 538

Section 3. Legislative, Diplomatic, and Law Enforcement Duties of the President ............. 539 Legislative Role of the President ............................................................................... 540 The Conduct of Foreign Relations .............................................................................. 540 The Right of Reception: Scope of the Power ...................................................... 540 The Presidential Monopoly .................................................................................. 541 The Logan Act ............................................................................................... 541 A Formal or a Formative Power .................................................................. 542 The President's Diplomatic Role .................................................................. 542 Jefferson's Real Position ............................................................................... 543 The Power of Recognition .................................................................................... 544 The Case of Cuba .......................................................................................... 545 The Power of Nonrecognition ....................................................................... 546 Congressional Implementation of Presidential Policies .................................... 547 The Doctrine of Political Questions .................................................................... 548 Recent Statements of the Doctrine .............................................................. 550

The President as Law Enforcer ......................................................................................... 553 Powers Derived from This Duty ................................................................................. 553 Impoundment of Appropriated Funds ....................................................................... 555 Power and Duty of the President in Relation to Subordinate Executive Officers . 559 Administrative Decentralization Versus Jacksonian Centralism .................... 560 Congressional Power Versus Presidential Duty to the Law ............................. 561 Myers Versus Morrison ........................................................................................ 562 Power of the President to Guide Enforcement of the Penal Laws .......................... 563

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Section 3. Legislative, Diplomatic, and Law Enforcement Duties of the President--Continued The President as Law Enforcer--Continued The President as Law Interpreter ............................................................................. 564 Military Power In Law Enforcement: The Posse Comitatus ................................... 565 Suspension of Habeas Corpus by the President ....................................................... 566 Preventive Martial Law .............................................................................................. 566 The Debs Case ...................................................................................................... 567 Present Status of the Debs Case ......................................................................... 568 The President's Duty in Cases of Domestic Violence in the States ........................ 569 The President as Executor of the Law of Nations .................................................... 569 Protection of American Rights of Person and Property Abroad .............................. 570 Congress and the President versus Foreign Expropriation .............................. 571 Presidential Action in the Domain of Congress--Steel Seizure Case ..................... 572 The Doctrine of the Opinion of the Court .......................................................... 573 The Doctrine Considered ..................................................................................... 573 Power Denied by Congress .................................................................................. 576 Presidential Immunity from Judicial Direction ........................................................ 578 The President's Subordinates .............................................................................. 582

Section 4. Impeachment ............................................................................................................ 583 Impeachment ............................................................................................................... 583 Persons Subject to Impeachment ........................................................................ 584 Judges ................................................................................................................... 584 Impeachable Offenses .......................................................................................... 586 The Chase Impeachment .............................................................................. 587 The Johnson Impeachment .......................................................................... 588 Later Judicial Impeachments ...................................................................... 589 The Nixon Impeachment .............................................................................. 589 Judicial Review of Impeachments ...................................................................... 590

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT

ARTICLE II

SECTION 1. The executive Power shall be vested in a Presi-

dent of the United States of America. He shall hold his Office

during the Term of four Years and, together with the Vice

President, chosen for the same Term, be elected, as follows:

NATURE AND SCOPE OF PRESIDENTIAL POWER

Creation of the Presidency

Of all the issues confronting the members of the Philadelphia Convention, the nature of the presidency ranks among the most important and the resolution of the question one of the most significant steps taken. 1 The immediate source of Article II was the New York constitution in which the governor was elective by the people and thus independent of the legislature, his term was three years and he was indefinitely re-eligible, his decisions except with regard to appointments and vetoes were unencumbered with a council, he was in charge of the militia, he possessed the pardoning power, and he was charged to take care that the laws were faithfully executed. 2 But when the Convention assembled and almost to its closing days, there was no assurance that the executive department would not be headed by plural administrators, would not be unalterably tied to the legislature, and would not be devoid of many of the powers normally associated with an executive.

Debate in the Convention proceeded against a background of many things, but most certainly uppermost in the delegates' minds was the experience of the States and of the national government under the Articles of Confederation. Reacting to the exercise of powers by the royal governors, the framers of the state constitutions had generally created weak executives and strong legislatures, though not in all instances. The Articles of Confederation

1 The background and the action of the Convention is comprehensively examined in C. THACH, THE CREATION OF THE PRESIDENCY 1775?1789 (Baltimore: 1923). A review of the Constitution's provisions being put into operation is J. HART, THE AMERICAN PRESIDENCY IN ACTION 1789 (New York: 1948).

2 Hamilton observed the similarities and differences between the President and the New York Governor in THE FEDERALIST, No. 69 (J. Cooke ed. 1961), 462?470. On the text, see New York Constitution of 1777, Articles XVII-XIX, in 5 F. THORPE, THE FEDERAL AND STATE CONSTITUTIONS, H. Doc. No. 357, 59th Congress, 2d sess. (Washington: 1909), 2632?2633.

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