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The Executive Branch of the U.S. Government

Executive Bodies

The Executive Branch, which executes and enforces the laws, is headed by the President and the Vice President. In addition, it includes the executive departments, which deal with general topics, and the heads of departments, who are known as Secretaries (Attorney-General in the Department of Justice). Each Department, in turn, is divided into a number of bodies, which are known as agencies, services, commissions, councils, bureaus, authorities, offices, administrations, and boards.

The President nominates the highest executive officials, and the Senate must grant its advice and consent before the nominee takes office. However, under the Constitution, if it is so provided by law, some minor officials may be appointed by the President only, or by the head of a department.

President and Vice President

The President and Vice President are chosen for four-year terms by a group of persons known as the Electoral College. Each state is entitled to choose a number of Electors equal to the number of Representatives and Senators it elects to Congress. Thus, a state will choose no less than three electors- two for the Senators, and one for the minimum of one Representative.

The state may choose its Electors in any way it pleases. However, all the states allow the people to choose all Electors. Forty-eight states use the following system: each candidate nominates a panel of electors. When a voter votes for a candidate, he or she actually votes for the nominated panel. Then, the candidate who wins more votes than any other candidate has his nominated panel appointed. Thus, a candidate who does not necessarily win all the votes will receive all of the state's electors. The exceptions to this system are Maine and Nebraska. These states allow a candidate to nominate one state panel of two electors, plus one elector for each district. Then, the candidate who wins the state has his two-member state panel appointed as electors, while the candidate who wins an individual district has his or her nominee for that district appointed. In all cases, the election for the Electors is held on the same day as Congressional elections.

Regardless of how they are chosen, the Electors all assemble in their own states in December. The manner of the voting by Electors has changed. Firstly, the following is the original system:

* Each Elector casts two votes for President. One of those votes must be for a person not an inhabitant of the same state as the Elector. Then, if a candidate receives the votes of a majority of Electors becomes President, while the runner-up becomes Vice President. If one compares the Presidency to a gold medal, then one may say that the Vice Presidency was like a silver medal.

If, however, no candidate received a majority, then the House of Representatives would choose one of the top five candidates as President. In voting for President, each state casts one block vote. In any case, whichever other candidate holds the greatest number of votes other than the candidate elected President becomes Vice President. In case of a tie for second-place, the Senate elects the Vice President.

* The above system seems to allow for all contingencies, but it did not allow for the development of political parties. Prior to the election of 1800, parties did not nominate candidates. However, in 1800, the Democratic-Republican Party nominated Thomas Jefferson for President and Aaron Burr for Vice President. The pair won a clear majority of the votes. However, both had an equal number of Electoral votes. Though the original intention was clearly for Jefferson to become President and Burr to become Vice President, the House still had to vote to choose one or the other as President. The House votes tied thirty-five times until Jefferson was finally elected President.
* In order to prevent a recurrence, the Twelfth Amendment was passed. Under the Amendment, the electors would vote separately for President and Vice President. In each case, a majority was required for someone to be elected. If no majority was apparent for President, then the House would choose among the top three candidates, again voting by states. Similarly, the Senate would vote between the top two candidates for Vice President.

The District of Columbia chooses Electors like the other states, but the District can in no event choose more Electors than any other state.

The qualifications for President and Vice President are as follows: thirty-five years of age, natural citizenship (citizenship by birth) of the United States, and fourteen years inhabitance of the United States.

Executive Departments

At present, there are fifteen Executive Departments. They are the departments of:

* Agriculture
* Commerce
* Defense (DOD)
* Education
* Energy
* Health and Human Services (HHS)
* Homeland Security
* Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
* The Interior
* Justice (DOJ)
* State
* Transportation (DOT)
* The Treasury
* Veterans Affairs (VA)

Each department is subdivided into several bodies. Additionally, there are certain independent bodies which are not part of any department. These include:

* Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
* National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
* Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
* Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP)
* Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR)

Succession

If the President vacates office for any reason whatsoever, the Vice President becomes President. After the Vice President, the line of succession is as follows:

* Speaker of the House of Representatives
* President pro tempore of the Senate
* Secretary of State
* Secretary of the Treasury
* Secretary of Defense
* Attorney-General (Department of Justice)
* Secretary of the Interior
* Secretary of Agriculture
* Secretary of Commerce
* Secretary of Labor
* Secretary of Health and Human Services
* Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
* Secretary of Transportation
* Secretary of Energy
* Secretary of Education
* Secretary of Veterans Affairs

The Secretaries are included in the order of the creation of their respective departments. The Secretary of Homeland Security has not by law been added to the Line of Succession.

Source: Wikibooks
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