The Constitution gives the President the most powers in areas that have to do with national security and protecting the country.
The President is the military's Commander-in-Chief. However, as part of the system of checks and balances in the Constitution, Article One says that only Congress can declare war. Still, the President can take actions like sending soldiers to certain places without needing Congress's approval, or a declaration of war.
The President may ask the "principal (head) officer" of any executive department to give him advice in writing. The Constitution actually does not require a formal Cabinet. However, America's first President, George Washington, organized his principal offices into a Cabinet, and every President has done the same since.
The President may grant pardons or reprieves to people who were convicted of crimes (except when the person was impeached). A "reprieve" cancels or changes a punishment for example, changing a death sentence to a sentence of life in prison.
This part of Section 2 is called the "Advice and Consent Clause". It gives the President powers, but he has to use them with the "advice and consent" (agreement) of the Senate. This is another example of checks and balances in the Constitution.
Here, the Constitution gives the President the power to make treaties with other countries. However, two-thirds of the Senators must agree with the treaty for it to take effect. If two-thirds of the Senate does not agree with the treaty, it is not approved, and there is nothing the President can do about it.
The Constitution does not say how the United States can "end" a treaty. Since the Constitution has passed, the government has done this in a few ways. In 1798, the first time the government wanted to end a treaty (the 1778 Treaty of Alliance with France), Congress passed a law ending the treaty. Other times, in the 1800s, a few Presidents ended treaties after Congress asked them to. The first time a President ended a treaty without Congress's approval was in the 1970s, when President Jimmy Carter ended a treaty with the Republic of China. In a lawsuit called "Goldwater v. Carter", members of Congress asked the Supreme Court to clarify whether a President could end a treaty on his own. The Supreme Court could not agree on a decision, and the case was dismissed (ended without a decision).
The President may also choose judges, ambassadors, consuls (diplomats), ministers, and other officers; but again, he needs the advice and consent of the Senate.
If Congress chooses, it can let the President, heads of executive departments, or the courts appoint less important officials on their own, without needing Congress's approval.
Once the Senate gives advice and consent to the President (approves the President's choice for a job), and that person is given the job, the Senate cannot go back and change its mind. It cannot take away its advice and consent once the person gets the job.
However, after the Senate grants advice and consent, the President "can" change his mind, and decide not to give the job to the person he nominated.
It is not clear whether the President can fire a person who was hired with the advice and consent of the Senate. Congress has limited this power many times. For example, during the Reconstruction Era, President Andrew Johnson wanted to fire people that Congress had approved. Congress passed a law saying he could not do that, but Jackson ignored the law. Later, Congress impeached him, but the Senate did not convict him.
A Supreme Court case called "Bowsher v. Synar" (1986) decided that Congress can fire a person it approved. Congress can do this by repealing the law that gave the President permission to appoint that person.
Clause 3 has to do with Senate recesses (times when the Senate is not meeting). In the past, fast transportation was not available, and it could take a long time for members of Congress to get to Washington, D.C. Because of this, Congress would usually meet only during planned "sessions," so everyone would have time to get there. After the planned sessions were over, the Senate would go into recess, and all the Senators would go home.
During Senate recesses, the President may appoint officers to stand in for the missing Senators. However, these officers are temporary, and their permission to act as Senators expire (end) when the Senate finishes its next session.
Clause 1 of Section 3 is called the "State of the Union Clause". It says that "from time to time," the President must give Congress information on the "State of the Union." ("State of the Union" basically means "The Situation in the United States.")
Originally, Presidents personally delivered State of the Union Addresses to Congress every year. Thomas Jefferson thought this was too much like a King speaking from a throne. Instead, he would send Congress written messages, and clerks (assistants) would read them. Other Presidents did the same for over 100 years, until President Woodrow Wilson went back to speaking in front of Congress. Every President since Wilson has kept doing that .
The purpose of the State of the Union is to make sure the President shares information with Congress, as well as the entire country. This information helps Congress decide whether anything is happening that they need to pass laws for. It also lets the people in the country know what is happening in their government.
The President has the power to suggest to Congress anything he thinks is "necessary [needed] and expedient [appropriate]". This is called the "Recommendation Clause".
The Recommendation Clause is another part of the checks and balances in the Constitution. The President cannot just do anything he thinks is needed; he has to get Congress's approval. If the President gives recommendations to Congress, Congress can approve them. However, if the President gives no suggestions to Congress, Congress has no power to force him to.
Also, just by asking Congress, the President shows that he respects them as equals, and is not more powerful or important than they are, like a King would be. One scholar explains: "The Recommendation Clause empowers the President to represent the people before Congress, by recommending measures for the reform of government, for the general welfare, or for the redress of grievances [for problems to be fixed]."
Clause 3 gives the President the right to call one or both Houses of Congress "on extraordinary Occasions." This clause is meant to allow the government to act quickly in case a major emergency comes up when Congress is not in session. If the two Houses of Congress cannot agree on a date for when to adjourn a special session, the President may adjourn both Houses whenever he thinks it is appropriate.
Presidents have called extraordinary sessions 27 times in history to deal with crises like wars or emergencies with the economy. The last time this happened was in 1948, when President Harry S Truman called a special session to try to get civil rights, Social Security, and health care laws passed.
After airplane travel became common around the 1950s, Congress began meeting year-round. Since that time, no President has had to call a special session.
The President receives (greets and hosts) all foreign Ambassadors. This clause of the Constitution is called the "Reception Clause".
The President must "take care that the laws be faithfully executed [used and followed]." This clause in the Constitution is sometimes called the "Take Care Clause", the "Faithful Execution Clause," or the "Faithfully Executed Clause".
This clause gives the President power, limits, and a duty, all at the same time:
Supreme Court cases have focused on the duties and limits the Take Care Clause puts on the President. For example: