Title: Constitution 101: Executive Power | Tenth Amendment Center
Headings: Constitution 101: Executive Power
Constitution 101: Executive Power
Mike Maharrey
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Content: Constitution, Constitution 101, Executive Power
Article II of the Constitution defines the role and qualifications of the president. As it does for Congress, the Constitution delegates specific powers and responsibilities to the executive branch – the power of appointment, the power to make treaties with the advice and consent of Congress, veto power, etc. These specific powers are relatively clear and unambiguous. But a question remains: does the president enjoy other non-specified powers as chief executive. The so-called vesting clause leaves this question up for debate. “The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.” Many modern legal scholars claim this clause grants broad, unspecified “executive” authority to the president. They point to the difference in wording between the vesting clause for Congress in Article I and the executive branch vesting clause in Article II to make their case. “All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States”
Proponents of broad executive power claim the omission of the words “herein granted” in the presidential vesting clause infers a broader delegation of authority, whereas Congress remains limited to the enumerated powers in Article I Sec.