Article Two of the United States Constitution

**Article Two of the United States Constitution** creates the executive branch of the United States government.  The executive branch includes the President; the Vice President; the Cabinet; executive departments, like the Department of State; independent agencies, like the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA); and other things like  and .

## Section 1: President and Vice President
### Clause 1: Executive Power
Section One begins by giving  executive power to the President only.  This is part of the separation of powers that the Founding Fathers built into the Constitution.   To prevent any part of the government from getting too powerful, they split the power between three branches.  This clause gives executive power to the President.  Another  in Article One of the Constitution gives federal legislative (law-making) power to the United States Congress only.  No branch is allowed to do a job that the Constitution has given to another branch.  For example, the President cannot make laws; that is the Legislature's job.
* Since it was passed in 1804, electors are only allowed to vote for one Presidential candidate and one Vice President.  They do not have to vote for someone from a different state.  
* If no Presidential candidate gets a majority of votes, the House chooses from the top three candidates (not five).  
* The Vice President to get a majority of votes to be elected.  If no Vice Presidential candidate gets a majority, the Senate chooses from the two candidates who got the most votes.  
* To be the Vice President, a person must meet the Constitution's requirements for being President (see Clause 5: Qualifications for office).

### Clause 4: Election day
Article Two allows Congress to set a national Election Day.

#### Changes
This clause was partially changed by the Twenty-fifth Amendment in 1967.  That Amendment creates a process for filling a vacancy in the office of the Vice President.
* The President himself says he cannot discharge his duties (he cannot do his job); OR 
* The Vice President, and most of the Cabinet, agree that the President cannot do his job. 
If the President declares himself unable to discharge his duties, he can take the Presidency back at any time.  For example, in 2002, George W. Bush became the first President to  use the Disability Clause.  He gave power to his Vice President for about two hours while he had a medical test which required anesthesia.  Once he felt ready to be President again, Bush took back the Presidency.

If the Vice President and the Cabinet say a President is unable to do his job, the President can still try to take control back.  However, if the Vice President and the Cabinet still think the President cannot do his job, they can challenge the President's return.  If two-thirds of both the House and Senate agree, the President is declared unable to discharge his duties and the Vice President stays in control of the Presidency.

## Section 2: Presidential powers
Section 2 talks about the powers that Article Two grants to the President.

### Clause 1: Command of military; Opinions of cabinet secretaries; Pardons
 as Commander-in-Chief, with his military leaders during World War II.(Left to right: General Douglas MacArthur; Roosevelt; Admiral William D. Leahy; & Admiral Chester W. Nimitz)|alt=Three men are seated in lounge chairs. One is standing, holding a long stick and pointing to the location of Japan on a wall map of the Pacific.]]

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 President may grant pardons or reprieves to people who were convicted of crimes (except when the person was impeached).

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  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).

#### Appointments
The President may also choose judges, ambassadors, consuls (diplomats), ministers, and other officers; but again, he needs the advice and consent of the Senate.

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.

### Clause 3: Recess appointments
Clause 3 has to do with Senate recesses (times when the Senate is not meeting).  (" of the Union" basically means "The  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 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  them as equals, and is not more powerful or important than they are, like a King would be.  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.  This clause in the Constitution is sometimes called the *Take Care Clause*, or the *Faithfully Executed Clause*.

This clause gives the President power, limits, and a , all at the same time:pp.&nbsp;3–4
* It gives him the *power* to carry out the laws in any way that is legal and follows the Constitution
* It gives him the *limit* of not being able to ignore the laws.  He cannot refuse to  a law or follow part of the Constitution
* It gives him the *duty* to carry out the laws (even if he disagrees with them).  It also gives him the duty to make sure the rest of the government (including state governments) carry out the laws too

Supreme Court cases have focused on the duties and limits the Take Care Clause puts on the President.  For example:
* The President cannot stop enforcing, change, or ignore whatever laws he does not like.  This is unconstitutional because it basically gives him power over lawmaking, and the Constitution gives that power only to Congress
* When Congress passes a law that approves money for a program, the President, or executive departments, cannot refuse to spend the money on that program.  They cannot spend the money on anything else, because this would go against a law made by Congress.

### Clause 6: Officers' commissions
The President commissions "all the Officers of the United States."  (This means he gives these officers the power to do their jobs.)  These include officers in both the military and foreign service (people who work for the United States government in other countries, like Ambassadors).  The Senate may also choose to prevent the person from holding any federal office in the future.  These are the only punishments that an impeachment proceeding can give.  Its impeachment powers give Congress a way to make sure that no executive officials or judges are getting corrupt.

### "High crimes and misdemeanors" 
 said impeachment is for "abuse or violation of [the] public trust."]]
The Constitution says clearly that officials can be impeached for treason or bribery.  But it does not say exactly what "High crimes and Misdemeanors" includes or does not include.  However, in British history, "high crimes and misdemeanors" could include many different things (even losing a ship by not tying it up).

Congress has made the meaning of "high crimes and misdemeanors" clearer by who they have chosen to impeach, and why.  Since the Constitution was ratified, the House of Representatives has impeached 19 people - mostly judges, but also three Presidents.  All but three of these 19 were impeached for crimes other than treason or bribery.  For example:
* President Andrew Johnson was impeached in 1868 for breaking a federal law (he was acquitted by the Senate)
* President Bill Clinton was impeached in 1998 for perjury and obstruction of justice (he was acquitted)
* President Donald Trump was impeached twice. His first impeachment was in 2019 for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress and his second impeachment was in 2021 for incitement of insurrection (he was acquitted by the Senate both times)
* The judges were mostly impeached for:
** Being unfair, not being impartial, and making rulings that broke laws
** Abusing their power
** Being corrupt
** Tax evasion and lying about how much money they had

## Notes
## References