Get To Know About the Executive Branch of the Federal Government

 

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The National Government of the United States is known as the Federal Government of the United States. The government controls 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and many island possessions. 

The most important thing about the federal government is that it is composed of three branches namely – Legislative, Executive, and Judiciary. In this article, we are going to understand the Executive part of the government.

The executive branch is created by Article Two of the United States constitution and consists of The President, the Vice-president, and other officers chosen by the president. The President is the head of the state as well as the head of the government. He is also the commander-in-chief of the military.

Powers and Functions of the President:

There are different types of power a President has but it is considered that the power of being the commander-in-chief of the armed forces is the most important of all. He cannot declare war as such but has the responsibility to make strategic decisions and command the military. 

Other presidential powers include the direction of US foreign policy. The president is also responsible for the protection of Americans living abroad. He is also responsible for the safety of foreign nationals in the United States.

1. Inherent Powers:

Inherent powers are those powers that a President derives from the constitution.

The loosely worded statement in the constitution, “the executive power shall be vested in the President” and the President ‘should take care that the laws be faithfully executed’ grants the inherent power (which is the power of the state) to the President.

It is said that these are the powers that are assumed by the President as it is not mentioned in the Constitution. The president is the Chief executive who assumes the inherent powers.

2. Emergency Powers:

The President, being head of the state, has the authority to declare a state of emergency. When the government suspends proper working of the legislative, executive, and judicial branch and also alerts citizens to change their day-to-day behavior can act as a sign to implement emergency plans. 

Such decisions are taken by the President during the time of the natural disaster, man-made disaster, declaration of war, and civil unrest.

3. Executive Orders:

An executive order is an order which is directly issued by the President (Head of the Executive branch) at some level of government to help with proper operations and management at that level. These orders have been issued since 1789 and are helpful for the officers to manage the operations within the federal government.

Role of Vice President:

The Vice-president of the United States is also appointed for the same tenure as the President. The Vice-president is the second-highest officer in the executive branch and ranks first in the Presidential line of Succession. 

Being a part of the Executive branch, the Vice-president also acts as the president of the Senate in the Legislative branch.

The Modern Vice presidency is termed to be of greater importance and a position of significant power. The Vice president is an integral part of the president’s administration and also acts as a key advisor, governing partner, and representative of the President.

The vice president has other constitutional roles. The vice president is titled as the president of the senate and authorizes him to preside over the Senate meetings. He is said to be responsible to maintain decorum and order in the meetings and also to interpret the rules to the members.

The Vice president also acts as the president of the impeachment trials of the federal officers. He gets this authority being the president of the Senate. However when the trial is about the President of the United States then the chief justice must preside to the trial. 

The Vice president is the Successor to the president and takes over the power and duties of a President in an event of the removal or death or resignation or inability of the current President.

Written by: Bhavish Doshi

Edited by: Gourav Chowdhury