Is the American presidency too powerful Why or why not - Essay Example

American presidency American presidency American presidency is too powerful. The constitutional power grantedto the presidency surpasses the power of the bureaucracy. Being at the top of the hierarchy of leadership, the presidency stands out as the most powerful position that one can have. The president is a single individual who can send a single message and be perceived to be reasonable as opposed to the Congress that is a group of quibelling individuals. The presidency’s powers are bestowed upon the acting president in a myriad of ways.

The veto power enables the president to outstand the Congress power. A president has the constitutional power to either assent or dissent a bill that has been approved by the Congress. The president acts as the last ‘process’ through which a bill passes before being adopted as a law. All the citizens in America are governed by the same standard laws and, apparently, they are under the spell of the presidency. Despite the Congress having similar powers of revoking a presidency’s initiative, it is the Congress that is constitutionally required to make laws.

Intrinsically, the presidency has trivial contravention in the making of laws (Lowi 2012, p.177). Moreover, the presidency is better positioned if its party dominates both houses. The presidency’s influence in the appointment of the bureaucratic positions is a vital element. In order to mitigate the conflicts of opinion in between the presidency and the Agencies, the presidency can appoint his top supporters into the bureaucratic appointments. In essence, the presidency will be commanding power through the automatic support that is anticipated from his supporters in the bureaucracy (Lowi 2012, p.195). The support grants his excessive powers.

Even with least congressional and public support, the presidency’s powers are still a notch higher. The presidency has the option of expanding the roles of the direct presidential governance and executive orders. Similarly, the presidency has the capacity to increase the control of the White House over the federal the bureaucracy (Lowi 2012, p. 195). This tactic of power works in the presidency’s advantage by enabling it influence the decisions of the bureaucracy, indirectly Executive agreements are excessive powers granted to the presidency.

In the normal diplomatic powers of the presidency, more than two-thirds of the senate is required to have vote for a treaty before it becomes legally practicable. However, in executive agreements, there is neither regulation nor restrictions encountered by the presidency (Lowi 2012, p.175). This power is exclusive to the presidency and makes it way too strong for any feasible comparison. The presidency has the power of life and death of persons. The constitution bestows upon the presidency the power to pardon, grant reprieves and even reduce the severity of one’s sentence.

This power does not need any requisite advice or consent from any executive agency or house (Lowi 2012, p.175). Therefore, the presidency can decide to use it discriminatively to advantage his supporters, friends and family who are found on the wrong side of the law American presidency is too powerful. The constitution sets out the powers of the president to be above the Congress. The presidency; assents bill, which is the major task of the Congress; initiates executive agreements, which does not require voting nor advice; expands the powers of the executive; has the power of death and life over detained lawbreakers and the capacity to appoint his preferred candidates in the bureaucracy.

As much as the Congress and Bureaucracy attempts to control the powers of the presidency, the constitutional powers of the presidency always surpass the rest, making the presidency the most powerful position in the nation.ReferencesLowi, T. J. (2012). American government: Power and purpose. New York: W. W. Norton & Co.