By Pamela Hilliard Owens
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With so much “disinformation” and “misinformation” out there these days, I thought it would be a good time for this retired government teacher (that would be me) to remind all of us what each of the three branches of government actually does!
Because people perceive the election of the president every four years to be of such importance, it is easy to forget that the executive branch is mentioned second in the Constitution.
Our country is intended to be a country of laws and therefore the Legislative Branch, which actually makes the laws, is listed first in the Constitution.
There were actually other political reasons why, during the Constitutional Convention of 1787 that it was decided that Congress should be listed first.
Of course, the framers also wanted to make sure that the president did not have too much power; they had just fought a war against a monarchy, and they weren’t interested in having another one.
The Executive Branch, whose job it is to enforce the laws, is listed second.
The Judicial Branch, with its purpose to interpret the laws is listed third.
Each branch of the government is intended to be both a check of and a balance to the other two branches, however, each of the three branches is supposed to be “co-equal,” meaning no branch is more important than another.
Because the president is the head of the country and has so much visibility, people think she or he has the most power. That is not true. Except for executive orders, which can immediately be undone by the next president, there is almost nothing the president can do alone; everything has to come from Congress first.
The president *is* the Head of State, the Leader of the Federal government, and the civilian Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. Through the Electoral College, American citizens vote for the president and vice-president via free, fair, and confidential ballots. The president serves a four-year term and can only be elected twice.
Until relatively recently, the president and vice-president did not always run for office together. In the 19th century, candidates for the two offices were sometimes even from different political parties!
The vice-president is there to support the president and the only actual job of the vice-president is to preside over the Senate. The vice-president is also the person who becomes president if the president is unable to serve for any reason. Unlike the president, the vice-president can be elected to an unlimited number of four-year terms and can serve under different presidents.
The President’s Cabinet is made up of the vice-president and other high-level advisors to the president. Except for the vice-president, all cabinet members are nominated by the president and must be approved by the Senate in a simple majority vote.
Like all politicians, presidential candidates make a lot of promises on the campaign trail. However, those promises can only come to fruition if approved by Congress by voting on bills that are then signed by the president.
The executive branch of almost all states works much the same way. The governor is the head and leader of the state and in charge of the state’s National Guard. Again the governor can do little without the cooperation of the state legislature.
As we fight for our very democracy in the upcoming two elections, it helps to remember what the jobs and responsibilities are for each branch of the government, and just as importantly, remind the candidates what their jobs would be if they won, and highest of the list, that they work for us, not the other way around.
How Much Do You Know About the Executive Branch of the U.S. Government?