Constitutions serve as the sturdy foundations for any political system and directly shape the day-to-day running of government. Constitutions also outline the powers and limitations invested in key branches of government. In both the UK and US, these include the powers of the Executive, Legislature, and Judiciary. However, below we will take a closer look at the nature of this power and how it is outlined in each constitution. If you are feeling pretty familiar with the US and UK constitutions, let's take a deep dive into several significant constitutional powers.
Constitutional powers of the president
The president of the United States has several powers outlined in the US Constitution called constitutional powers.
Constitutional powers
Outlined in a constitutional document, constitutional powers describe the powers, roles, limitations and structures invested in each branch of government.
Constitutional powers are as follows:
- Creating treaties which the Senate can approve
- Signing and vetoing bills
- Implementing the laws the Congress has passed
- Taking on the role of Commander-in-Chief during war
- Deploying military troops to protect the nation
- Entertaining guests, such as world leaders and members of Royal Families from around the world
- Providing recognition to foreign nation-states
- Acting as a leader for the political party they represent
- Providing Presidential pardons
- Selecting and appointing Justices of the Supreme Court, Members of the Cabinet, and other officials within higher powers of the position
- Addressing the public regarding the political matters of the United States
- Representing the interests of the US population
Currently, these constitutional powers are invested in the sitting President of the United States, Joe Biden.
The Powers that the president does not have
While the US constitution invests several critical powers within the presidency, the US president does not have unlimited and unchecked power. Therefore, to ensure that there was no unchecked executive, the Founding Fathers assured that the US constitution outlined explicit limitations on the power of the presidency. Some actions that the president cannot take are listed below:
- The president cannot make a declaration of war.
- The president cannot create laws that work in favour of the president's personal interests.
- The president cannot interpret laws in a manner that works in favour of the president's personal interests.
- The President must have their appointments to Supreme Court, Cabinet etc., scrutinised by Congress.
Inherent powers in the Constitution
What are some inherent powers in the US Consitution?
Inherent powers of the US president
So far, we've highlighted many of the US president's powers. However, it doesn't stop there. While the US Constitution explicitly outlines a number of the president's powers, inherent powers further increase the authority of the US president.
You may find yourself asking – what are inherent powers?
Inherent powers
The US president holds inherent powers, which the US Constitution has not explicitly outlined.
How did these inherent powers arise?
Inherent powers arose due to the Vesting Clause, which can be found in Section 1 Article 2 of the Constitution, which states that:
The executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States.
– Section 1 Article 2, US Constitution
This mention of 'executive power' within the US constitution has been interpreted and exercised throughout the history of the US to increase the power of the president. These powers are viewed as being an extension of the powers explicitly granted within the Constitution. They allow the US executive to take the necessary action to complete essential tasks.
Inherent powers can allow US presidents to act quickly in response to national emergencies. These include Abraham Lincoln's response to the American Civil War, Franklin D. Roosevelt's actions during the Great Depression and World War II and finally, George W. Bush's response to the 9/11 terror attack in 2001.
Air-Traffic controllers strike
On 3 August 1981, 13,000 members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization went on strike, causing the cancellation of 7,000 flights. On the same day, President Ronald Reagan declared the strike illegal and threatened those who did not return to work within 48 hours with the loss of their job.
Consequently, Reagan fired 11,359 workers who had refused to return to work. Although a criticised political action, Reagan's use of his inherent presidential powers significantly increased the long-term abilities of later US presidents.
However, can anyone in the legislative, executive, or judicial branches exercise such powers?
In the US, the Judiciary holds the constitutional power to review these inherent powers. Below is an example of how the US Supreme Court has acted as a check and balance on the inherent powers of the US president.
Youngstown Sheet and Tube Co. v. Sawyer
In 1950, in response to the Korean War, President Harry Truman exercised his inherent presidential powers by forcing the US' steel mills to remain open. In doing so, Truman overruled a strike the United Steelworkers of America planned because he was fearful that it would be harmful to the war effort.
In June 1952, the Supreme Court ruled that President Truman lacked the constitutional authority to seize the steel mills. Justice Hugo Black stated: 'He [Truman] cannot overtake Congress' role to create new laws.'
Inherent powers of US Congress
There are a few examples of inherent congressional powers in the US. These include:
The power to control the borders of the United States
The power to grant or deny diplomatic recognition for other countries
The power of acquisition for new territories of the United States
The power to defend the United States' government from revolutions.
Fig. 1 The US Capitol has housed Congress since 1800
Examples of separation of powers in the Constitution
In the US, the separation of powers means that there are three distinct branches of government:
The Executive
The Legislature
The Judiciary
Fig. 2 Separation of Powers
The US Constitution outlines the powers of each of these government branches. Additionally, the separation of powers allows each branch of government to oversee and conduct checks and balances on the actions of the other two government branches.
Powers of the Legislature
The Legislature, often referred to as Congress, undertakes the following tasks:
- Creating and implementing laws
- Implementing taxes and allowing for borrowing of money, and creating budgets
- Initiating investigations into prominent US political officials, such as the president, during an impeachment process
- Declaring war
- Providing scrutiny of the presidential appointments such as Supreme Court Justices and Cabinet Members
- The Senate may implement treaties
- The Senate may have the authority to withdraw the powers of certain officers in the Executive and the Judiciary.
- The Legislative could also prevent the veto of the president from occurring
Powers of the Executive
The Executive comprises the president, vice president, cabinet, executive departments, independent agencies, boards, commissions, and committees. This branch of government undertakes the following tasks:
The Executive has the power to place a veto on the laws the legislature created
The Vice President has higher authority than the Senate: i.e. if they do not agree with the Senate's actions, they can put an end to it.
Making essential declarations, such as announcing a national lockdown
Promoting any regulations that are lawful in nature or any other order the Executive gives
Using the State of the Union address to sway the other branches of the government into following them.
Appointing the ambassadors, department heads of the executive, federal judges, and the other officers
Providing presidential pardons
Enforcing the law of the United States
Power of the Judiciary
The US Judiciary includes the Supreme Court. This branch of government undertakes the following tasks:
- Deciding the law that the Congress should implement in the case brought to the court
- Deciding if a law is proving to be unconstitutional
- Deciding how Congress should apply the law when disputes occur
- Deciding on how a law occurs should be used when creating a testimony and evidence
- Deciding on how a law should be implemented so that the policies remain the same for everyone within society despite their position
Enumerated powers in the Constitution
Enumerated powers in the Constitution may sound very complicated, but they're pretty simple. Essentially, it's a list of things that the Constitution states that congress is allowed to do. Article I, Section 8 of the US Constitution lists these enumerated powers for Congress. The most important ones are:
- Taxing the general public as well as spending the money to increase the general welfare of the society
- Regulating commercial transactions with other states globally
- Establishing laws around bankruptcy, citizenship and naturalisation
- Establishing the legal ways in which money and profit could be made
Emergency powers in British Constitution
The concept of emergency power allows governments to take action in a national emergency.
In the UK, there are three ways of implementing these powers:
- Creating regulations to be implemented without creating an act of Parliament
- Taking action which is normally forbidden
- Taking action without any compliance with the normal duties of the government
The Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 states that emergency powers can be implemented in the following situation: 'If there's significant harm to human health.'
The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 (CCA) states that emergency powers can only be implemented in 'an emergency, which is catastrophic'.
Having understood the powers of the US and the UK constitutions, the next step would be to look at the Key takeaways.
Power in Constitutions - Key takeaways
- According to the US Constitution, the President has several powers, mostly related to appointing individuals to prominent positions within the executive. However, they do not have the power to declare war as this is a power held by the legislative.
- Due to the Vesting Clause, the president also has several inherent powers within the Constitution. According to some, ex-President Reagan had misused these powers in the Air-Traffic Controllers Strike.
- The Separation of Powers means there is a Legislature, Executive, and Judiciary. All three bodies undertake various tasks.
- Aside from the powers listed within the Separation of Powers, there are several enumerated powers.
- Lastly, there are several emergency powers in the British Constitution listed in The Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 and The Civil Contingencies Act 2004 (CCA).
References
- Fig. 1 The US Capitol has housed Congress since 1800 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_Capitol_east_side.JPG) by Martin Falbisoner (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Martin_Falbisoner) licenced by CC-BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en) on Wikimedia Commons
- Fig. 2 Separation of Powers (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Separation_of_Powers.jpg) by Viva La France! Support Our Revolution! (http://frenchrevolutionbales.weebly.com/separation-of-powers-checks-and-balances.html) licenced by CC-BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en) on Wikimedia Commons
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