Executive Branch

The 7 Coolest Presidents In American History

National Public Radio by Linton Weeks

The executive branch of government, led by the President of the United States, plays a key role in the policymaking process.

Presidential power is both broad (far reaching) in both domestic and foreign affairs. There are limits on what the President can and cannot do.

The President fulfills many roles as our country's most recognized leader. These roles include chief of state, chief executive, chief legislator, commander-in-chief, chief diplomat, chief of party and chief citizen. At times these roles overlap and are not clearly defined.

Executive Branch: Roles and Powers

Words to Know

role - expected behavior patterns and responsibilities associated with a particular job.

Chief of State

As the chief of state the President is the ceremonial head of our government. Any time that the President is representing the United States government in a formal observance he is acting as the chief of state.

Photo: President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, and former Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter walk past the statue of President Lincoln to participate in the ceremony on the 50th anniversary of the historic March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, at the Lincoln Memorial on Washington, D.C., August 28, 2013. (Official White House photo by Chuck Kennedy)

Chief Executive

As the chief executive the President is the leader of the executive branch of government. The executive branch employs more than 4 million Americans. The executive branch includes the President's Cabinet, and an extremely large amount of agencies and regulatory groups. This large group of agencies and regulatory groups are known as a bureaucracy. How many Cabinet departments are there? Click the photo to find out.

Photo: President Barack Obama and others listen as chief of staff Jack Lew, center, speaks during a Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House on January 31, 2012. (Official White House photo by Pete Souza)

Chief Legislator

As chief legislator the President is the porposer of the legislative agenda. Wait a second. What did you say? I thought the legislative branch made laws not the executive?

They do, but the President proposes and supports bills that he believes they need to pass. With over 10,000 bills coming to Capitol Hill a year it helps to have someone push for some bills more than others. The President does this every year in a speech called the State of the Union Address.

The State of the Union Address is a speech the President makes every year to both houses of Congress. In this speech the President proposes to Congress what laws he believes they should be working.

Photo: President Barack Obama delivers the 2011 State of the Union Address to a joint session of Congress on January 25, 2011.

Other ways the President influences policymaking as the chief legislator is by-

approving or vetoing bills
appointing officials who carry out the laws
appealing directly to the people

Photo: President Barack Obama hugs Stephanie Davies while visiting shooting victim Allie Young at the University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora, Colo., Sunday, July 22, 2012. Davies helped keep Young alive after her friend was wounded at the movie theater in Aurora. The President traveled to Colorado to visit with patients and family members affected by the shootings. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Commander-In-Chief

As commander-in-chief the President is the leader of the nation's armed forces.

Photo Right: President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, along with members of the national security team, receive an update on the mission against Osama bin Laden in the Situation Room of the White House, May 1, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Photo Below: Alan Pinkerton, Abraham Lincon, and Major General McClernand

Chief Diplomat

Syria? Russia? Iran? As chief diplomat the President of the United States is the architect of America's foreign policy. The President decides how the United States will relate to other countries.

Photo Above: President Barack Obama talks with exhibitors as he tours the Feed the Future Agricultural Technology Expo in Dakar, Senegal, June 28, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza).

Photo Left: President Barack Obama holds a bilateral meeting with His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al sabah, the Amir of Kuwait, in the Oval Office, Sept. 13, 2013 (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza).

Chief of Party

The President represents all of the American people, but there is a specific political party that helped to put them in office. Therefore, the President owes a responsibility to their political party. Presidents are expected to be the chief of their political party. As chief of party the President is the leader of the political party that controls the executive branch of government.

From the Democratic Party website:

"Democrats believe that we're greater together than we are on our own—that this country succeeds when everyone gets a fair shot, when everyone does their fair share, when everyone plays by the same rules. Our party, led by President Obama, is focused on building an economy that lasts—an economy that lifts up all Americans."

Chief Citizen

The President may represent his party, but he still has to consider the needs of all Americans. As chief citizen the President is representative of all Americans.

Photos Above: President Barack Obama visits Oklahoma after a tornado May 26, 2013. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza).

Seven Roles. Many Powers.

Since the Constitution was ratified in 1789, executive power has not remained the same. Our country has increased in size and so has the power we have given the executive branch of our government. Many argue that the President's greatest power is in the protections of executive privilege and executive orders. Executive privilege is the right the President has to keep some information secret from Congress and the courts. Executive orders are official documents of the President through which the President uses to manage the executive branch of government. Executive orders have the full force of the law. The executive branch has the most power during times of war. We call these war time powers. Again, the powers of the executive branch have increased since 1789 and the ratification of the Constitution.

Executive Orders