Quiz on Presidential Powers and Legislative Leadership

In selecting members of the White House staff, Presidents primarily seek people who

• give the White House ideological balance

• are personally loyal to the President

• have extensive governmental experience

• will help the President develop a good working relationship with Congress

• can bring a nonpartisan perspective to policy deliberations

Even with large majorities of their own party in Congress, presidents experience difficulty in exercising legislative leadership because

• the president must compete against state governors for influence

• the weak nature of political parties hampers the president’s ability to control Congress

• the president’s use of the veto is ineffective with Congress

• individual members of Congress attract greater publicity when challenging the president

• the president seldom addresses the same issues as members of Congress

Executive agreements have been cited as evidence that

• modern presidents often try to avoid legislative checks and balances on their authority

• the executive branch has become too large and bureaucratic

• presidents have less power in handling foreign policy than in handling domestic policy

• interest groups have too much power in the contemporary governmental system

• the courts have few means of limiting presidential power

The president cannot veto which of the following?

• Joint resolutions that propose constitutional amendments

• Laws overturning United States Supreme Court decisions

• Legislation regulating congressional salaries

• Legislation affecting foreign policy

• Bills that originate in the Senate

The Senate must confirm all of the following presidential appointments EXCEPT

• United States attorneys

• United States Supreme Court justices

• White House staff

• heads of executive agencies

• federal judges

Which of the following is the primary reason for the tensions that exist between the legislative and executive branches of the federal government?

• Each branch sets and approves the other’s budget.

• The branches are staffed with many of the same people.

• The branches have different constituencies with different interests.

• The branches are responsible for the selection of Cabinet-level officials.

• Each branch has the constitutional power to levy taxes.

On February 9, 2016, President Barack Obama released his budget proposal for the 2017 fiscal year. Facing a Republican Congress, many declared the plan “dead on arrival.” Among the cited issues was Obama’s request for $582.7 billion in discretionary spending for defense, which many Republicans believed was not enough. Which of the following most accurately explains the interaction between the president and the Congress regarding the defense budget?

• The Congress has the enumerated power to raise revenue, but it is forced to work with the president because the president has the power to determine spending for each department in the upcoming fiscal year.

• The president can create a budget for defense spending, but Congress has the power to execute laws and operate the government, which can affect how much money is actually spent.

• Congress passes a budget for the entire federal government, including defense, but it must consider the president’s proposal because the president may veto the bill.

• The president introduces a specific budget bill for defense spending, but Congress uses its power of legislative oversight to set up a negotiation process with the president.

In 2012, after negotiations on a bill in Congress failed, President Obama issued an executive order that protected from deportation individuals illegally brought to the United States as children by their parents. The president took this action because

• the executive order would require Congress to bring a bill regarding illegal immigration to the floor for a vote

• disagreement between congressional leaders and the president on the issue meant that a compromise on a bill was not likely

• the president was reacting to a Supreme Court decision that required him to do something to protect these individuals

• the Constitution clearly gives the president control over the legal status of immigrants in the United States

Which of the following situations best reflects the author’s concern about an “imperial” presidency?

• The Senate ratifying treaties without executive approval

• The president issuing an increasing number of executive agreements

• Congress declaring war independent of the president

• The president appointing a new secretary of education