Title: The Executive Branch of US Government
Headings: The Executive Branch of US Government
The Executive Branch of US Government
The President Heads Up the Executive Branch
Fast Facts: The Executive Branch
The Role of the President
The Role of the Vice President
The Roles of the Cabinet Agencies
Watch Now: Checks and Balances in the U.S. Government

Content: Fast Facts: The Executive Branch
The executive branch of the United States federal government is established in Article II, Section 1 of the U.S. Constitution. The President of the United States is the head of the executive branch. The executive branch oversees the implementation and enforcement of all laws passed by the U.S. Congress—the legislative branch. The President of the United States approves and carries the laws passed by the Congress, negotiates treaties, acts as the head of state and commander in chief of the armed forces, and appoints or removes other top government officials. The executive branch also includes the Vice President of the United States and the members of the president’s cabinet. The president’s cabinet is made up of the heads of the 15 major government departments who advise the president on important matters and assist in the preparation of the annual federal budget. As one of the foundational elements of a strong central government as envisioned by America’s Founding Fathers, the executive branch dates to the Constitutional Convention in 1787. Hoping to protect the liberties of individual citizens by preventing the government from abusing its power, the Framers crafted the first three articles of the Constitution to establish three separate branches of government: the legislative, the executive and the judicial.