Title: The ever-expanding power of the presidency - Washington Times
Headings: The ever-expanding power of the presidency
The ever-expanding power of the presidency
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At the same time, the Congress has been most often accused of creating a power vacuum by failing to sufficiently exert its constitutional powers as the “people’s house” — that branch of the federal government designed to be closest to the people. It is a vacuum which many a president has eagerly filled. In Article II, the Constitution explicitly grants the president far fewer powers than most people believe. A president is constitutionally authorized to sign or veto legislation, command the armed forces, ask for the written opinion of his cabinet, convene or adjourn Congress, grant reprieves and pardons, and receive ambassadors. The president can also propose treaties and nominate judges, subject to the advice and consent of the Senate. That’s it. Those are the only powers granted to the president. But you would hardly know it by studying the modern presidency, and the massive and ever-expanding size of the executive branch of the federal government. It is crucial to remember how wary the founding generation was of a strong executive.