President of the United States

President of the United States, elected official, head of the executive branch of the U.S. government. The office of president derives its authority from the U.S. Constitution. In order to avoid concentration and abuse of political power, the Constitution established a system of checks and balances whereby power in the U.S. government is divided among the Congress, an independent judiciary, and the president. Defined by the Constitution in less detail than the other two branches, the presidency was given its fundamental form and character by George Washington, but its role and the range of its powers have changed with the nation and with the men who have held the office. To date, no woman has yet been elected to the presidency.

The president's basic roles and duties include being the country's chief executive in charge of enforcing federal law, commander in chief of the armed forces responsible for the country's defense, the formulator of foreign policy, lawmaker, head of a political party, a popularly elected leader, and head of state.

In most cases, presidents have been nominated by one of the major political parties and have won the presidency in contested elections. A majority of popular votes generally translates into a majority of votes in the electoral college. The electoral college consists of 538 delegates, selected by state and according to the number of representatives and senators in that state. To win the presidency, the successful candidate must have 270 electoral votes. The electoral vote is the last formal step in the process of a president's election and can almost always be determined by the outcome of the popular vote. A person can also become president by succeeding to the presidency from the vice presidency. And, in the event no candidate in an election receives a majority of electoral votes, the president is elected by a vote of the House of Representatives. To be eligible for president, one must be a natural-born citizen, at least 35 years of age, and living in the United States 14 years. In the event the office is vacant between elections, succession to the presidency is to the vice president, followed by the Speaker of the House, the president pro tempore of the Senate, then to the various secretaries of the president's cabinet beginning with the secretary of state. Presidents serve for a term of 4 years and, since the 22nd Amendment in 1961, no one can serve more than two terms. Presidents may also be removed from office. The process requires first that a president be impeached, that is, charged with some offense or offenses. The president is then tried by the Senate, the chief justice of the Supreme Court presides, and the outcome is determined by vote. A two-thirds majority is required for conviction.

The office of the presidency is supported by a vast bureaucracy consisting of 14 departments, more than 100 separate agencies, and more than 5 million civilian and military employees. The executive departments are headed by secretaries, who are members of the president's cabinet. They include the Secretaries of State, the Treasury and Defense, Justice (headed by the Attorney General), the Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Energy, Education, and Veterans' Affairs. Among the more important agencies in the executive branch are the Council of Economic Advisers, the National Security Council, the Office of Management and the Budget, the Federal Reserve System, and the Federal Communications Commission. The president also has the power to appoint judges to the federal bench, including the Supreme Court, though these appointments must be approved by the Senate.

Up to the Civil War, strong personalities defined and strengthened the office of president. Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, and Abraham Lincoln greatly enhanced the power of the office. In the decades between the end of the Civil War (1865) and the Spanish American War (1898), Congress became the dominant branch of government. But the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt (1901–9) marked the beginning of the rise of America as a major military power and player on the international political scene. With this change, a greater measure of power and prestige returned to the presidency. The trend increased under Woodrow Wilson (1914–18), who led the country through its involvement in World War I and culminated in the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–45), the most powerful president of modern times. The end of World War II found the United States at the pinnacle of international power and prestige and the presidency, though a troubled office, has retained its place as the focus of power and decision making within the government. But there have been setbacks and there continues to be debate over the limits of presidential power. At the heart of the debates have been the legacies of Roosevelt's presidency, Truman's decision to use the atomic bomb, the debacle of the Korean War and defeat in the Vietnam War, the Watergate scandal, and the Iran-contra scandal.