There are no effective checks on presidential power

‘There are no effective checks on presidential power.’ Discuss (45) Presidential powers are laid out in article II of the constitution, these include a range of formal power such as the power to propose legislation, submit the annual budget, sign legislation, veto legislation, act as chief executive, nominate federal judges and several others. There are also a range of informal powers that have progressively increased in power such as the ability for Presidents to issue executive orders. Although the founding fathers intended to create a government that had a system of checks and balances to prevent tyranny, the effectiveness of these checks in place may not have been as authoritative as intended as the President has ways of getting around the checks in place.

The ability for the President to veto legislation through the use of a regular veto or in some instances a pocket veto indicates the power of the President to be able to bypass Congress’s efforts to pass legislation. Although Congress has the ability to override the veto with a 2/3 majority in both houses and provide a check on presidential power, this has rarely been successful, reflected in only 106 of 1,484 regular presidential vetoes being overridden by congress between the years of 1789 and 2004. Furthermore, the threat of a veto has often been sufficient in bargaining with congress to ensure that the President is not presented with a bill that he is going to veto straight away, thus the effectiveness at which this power is checked can be questioned as the President has a way of getting around the check that is in place by Congress.

One of the powers that the President has is his ability to negotiate treaties although in order for these formal international agreements to come into effect, they must be ratified by 2/3 of the Senate. This means that the President needs to keep the senate fully informed throughout treaty negotiations to ensure that Senate is likely to ratify the treaty through a