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He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient;

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and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint...Judges of the supreme Court...

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Every Bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate, shall, before it become a Law, be presented to the President of the United States; If he approve he shall sign it, but if not he shall return it, with his Objections to that House in which it shall have originated...

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He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors

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Thursday we read through the 1st paragraph of Article 2 Section 1 of the Constitution identifying the expressed powers and expanding on understanding them and the powers inherent with the role of President based on those powers. Today you will review those powers and then finish looking at and understanding the President's expressed powers.

You will first need to make a copy of this padlet to begin. For each column you will read the Constitution clause and then research online to find either a tweet or news article to provide as an example of that power. You will link to the tweet or article and write a brief explanation of the power and how the President is exercising it.

Commander-in-Chief is done for you as an example. Once you are done you will click on the share button and copy the url to post into the Canvas assignment. This assignment is to be completed individually.

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and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.

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...he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices

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The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States;

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The President as Commander, has the inherent power to order the military to carry out operations such as shooting down balloons or moving troops around the world.

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SURFSIDE BEACH, S.C., Feb 4 (Reuters) - A U.S. military fighter jet shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday, a week after it first entered U.S. airspace and triggered a dramatic -- and public -- spying saga that worsened Sino-U.S. relations.

President Joe Biden said he had issued an order on Wednesday to take down the balloon, but the Pentagon had recommended waiting until it could be done over open water to safeguard civilians from debris crashing to Earth from thousands of feet (meters) above commercial air traffic.

"They successfully took it down, and I want to compliment our aviators who did it," Biden said.

Multiple fighter and refueling aircraft were involved in the mission, but only one -- an F-22 fighter jet from Langley Air Force Base in Virginia -- took the shot at 2:39 p.m. (1939 GMT), using a single AIM-9X supersonic, heat-seeking, air-to-air missile, a senior U.S. military official said.

China strongly condemned the military strike on an airship that it says was used for meteorological and other scientific purposes, and which it said had strayed into U.S. airspace "completely accidentally" -- claims flatly dismissed by U.S. officials.

"China had clearly asked the U.S. to handle this properly in a calm, professional and restrained manner," China's foreign ministry said in a statement. "The U.S. had insisted on using force, obviously overreacting."

The balloon was shot down about six nautical miles off the U.S. coast of the Atlantic Ocean, over relatively shallow water, potentially aiding efforts to recover elements of the Chinese surveillance equipment over the coming days, U.S. officials said.

One U.S. military official said the debris field was spread out over seven miles (11 km) of ocean, and multiple U.S. military vessels were on site.

The downing of the balloon came shortly after the U.S. government ordered a halt to flights in and out of three airports in South Carolina -- Wilmington, Myrtle Beach and Charleston -- due to what it said at the time was an undisclosed "national security effort." Flights resumed on Saturday afternoon.

While Saturday's shootdown concludes the military dimension to the spying saga, Biden is likely to continue to face intense political scrutiny from Republican opponents in Congress who argue he failed to act quickly enough.

A senior administration official said after shooting down the balloon, the U.S. government spoke directly with China about the action. The State Department also briefed allies and partners around the world, the official said.

Questions remain about how much information China may have gathered during the balloon's trek across the United States.

The balloon entered U.S. airspace in Alaska on Jan. 28 before moving into Canadian airspace on Jan 30. It then re-entered U.S. airspace over northern Idaho on Jan. 31, a U.S. defense official said. Once it crossed over U.S. land, it did not return to open waters, making a shootdown difficult.

U.S. officials did not publicly disclose the balloon's presence over the United States until Thursday.

"It's clear the Biden administration had hoped to hide this national security failure from Congress and the American people," said U.S. Representative Mike Rogers, a Republican who leads the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee.

Biden's emphasis on Saturday that -- days ago -- he ordered the balloon shot down as soon as possible could be an effort to respond to such critics.

Former President Donald Trump, Biden's potential rival in the 2024 election, called earlier this week for the balloon to be shot down, and has sought to portray himself as stronger than Biden on China. The U.S. relationship with China is likely to be a major theme of the 2024 presidential race.

Washington had called the balloon's appearance a "clear violation" of U.S. sovereignty and notified Beijing about the shootdown on Saturday, a U.S. official said.

Still, officials on Saturday appeared to play down the balloon's impact on U.S. national security.

"Our assessment -- and we're going to learn more as we pick up the debris -- was that it was not likely to provide significant additive value over and above other (Chinese) intel capability, such as satellites in low-Earth orbit," the senior U.S. defense official said.

A Reuters photographer who witnessed the shootdown said a stream came from a jet and hit the balloon, but there was no explosion. It then began to fall.

The Pentagon assesses that the balloon was part of a fleet of Chinese spy balloons. On Friday, it said another Chinese balloon was flying over Latin America.

"Over the past several years, Chinese balloons have previously been spotted over countries across five continents, including in East Asia, South Asia and Europe," the U.S. official said.

The suspected spy balloon prompted Secretary of State Antony Blinken to postpone a visit to China this week that had been expected to start on Friday.

The postponement of Blinken's trip, which had been agreed to in November by Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, was a blow to those who saw it as an overdue opportunity to stabilize an increasingly fractious relationship between the two countries.

China is keen for a stable U.S. relationship so it can focus on its economy, battered by the now-abandoned zero-COVID policy and neglected by foreign investors alarmed by what they see as a return of state intervention in the market.

Reporting by Randall Hill in Surfside Beach, South Carolina, and Phil Stewart, Steve Holland, Jeff Mason and David Shepardson in Washington; Additional reporting by Ryan Woo in Beijing; Writing by Phil Stewart and Diane Bartz; Editing by Daniel Wallis, Marguerita Choy, Leslie Adler, Sandra Maler and William Mallard

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Phil Stewart

Thomson Reuters

Phil Stewart has reported from more than 60 countries, including Afghanistan, Ukraine, Syria, Iraq, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, China and South Sudan. An award-winning Washington-based national security reporter, Phil has appeared on NPR, PBS NewsHour, Fox News and other programs and moderated national security events, including at the Reagan National Defense Forum and the German Marshall Fund. He is a recipient of the Edwin M. Hood Award for Diplomatic Correspondence and the Joe Galloway Award.

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U.S. fighter jet shoots down suspected Chinese spy balloon

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SURFSIDE BEACH, S.C., Feb 4 (Reuters) - A U.S. military fighter jet shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina on Saturday, a week after it first entered U.S. airspace and triggered a dramatic -- and public -- spying saga that worsened Sino-U.S. relations.

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The President as Chief Diplomat, has the expressed power to make treaties with other countries. For example, the Panama Canal Treaty.

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Building the canal through the jungles of Panama in 1913

How many times have you taken a shortcut through a neighbor's backyard? The U.S. created a 51-mile shortcut between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through a distant neighbor's "backyard" and called it the Panama Canal. Of course, the U.S. got permission from Panama first, back in 1904. President Jimmy Carter Signed the Panama Canal Treaty
September 7, 1977

On September 7, 1977, President Jimmy Carter signed the Panama Canal Treaty and Neutrality Treaty promising to give control of the canal to the Panamanians by the year 2000.

Why was this shortcut for ships needed, and how did the U.S. build one through the jungles of Panama?

page 1 of 2

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President Jimmy Carter Signed the Panama Canal Treaty

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Building the canal through the jungles of Panama in 1913 How many times have you taken a shortcut through a neighbor's backyard? The U.S. created a 51-mile shortcut between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through a distant neighbor's "backyard" and called it the Panama Canal. Of course, the U.S.

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The President has the expressed power to pardon people for crimes they have committed. For example, Alex Adjmi was granted a full pardon. The White House said Adjmi was convicted of a financial crime in 1996 and served 5 years in prison.

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Yuliya Talmazan, Rachel Elbaum and Sara Mhaidli

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Full list of Trump’s last-minute pardons and commuted sentences

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The list, made public early Wednesday morning, included his former chief strategist and longtime ally Steve Bannon.

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The president has the expressed power to nominate and appoint judges. For example, Neil Gorsuch was appointed a Supreme Court judge in 2017.

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During his one term in office, President Donald Trump (R) nominated 274 individuals to federal judgeships. Trump made 245 judicial appointments. Of those appointments, 234 were Article III judges. Trump withdrew eight nominees and 143 received no vote from the Senate.

This page provides an overview of the federal judicial nominees appointed by President Trump. This page also provides additional procedural and historical context about Trump's judicial nominees and the nomination records of previous presidents, including the following information:

List of judges

The following is a table of President Trump's nominations for federal judgeships. Among the most notable of these are Supreme Court justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett.

Name

Nominated to:

First nomination date

Hearing date

Nomination withdrawn

Confirmation date

Senate confirmation vote

Supreme Court nominees appointed by Trump

Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed as the 115th associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court by a vote of 52-48-0 on October 26, 2020.

President Donald Trump (R) nominated Barrett to succeed Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the U.S. Supreme Court on September 29, 2020.

On October 22, 2020, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 12-0 along party lines to report Barrett's nomination to the Senate floor for a vote. The Judiciary Committee had held four days of confirmation hearings from October 12 to 15, 2020.

Trump said the following regarding Barrett's nomination: "Her qualifications are unsurpassed - unsurpassed - and her record is beyond reproach."

When Barrett was nominated, she was serving as a federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit. She was appointed to that court by President Trump (R). Before that, Barrett was a professor of law at Notre Dame Law School.

See also: Supreme Court vacancy, 2018: An overview

Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed as the 114th associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court by a vote of 50-48-1 on October 6, 2018.

President Donald Trump nominated Kavanaugh to succeed Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy on the U.S. Supreme Court on July 9, 2018.

On September 28, 2018, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 11-10 along party lines to report Kavanaugh's nomination to the Senate floor for a vote. The Judiciary Committee had held four days of confirmation hearings from September 4 to 7, 2018, and an additional fifth day of hearings on September 27, 2018, regarding allegations of past sexual misconduct by Kavanaugh which he denied.

Trump said the following regarding Kavanaugh's nomination:

"

Judge Kavanaugh has impeccable credentials, unsurpassed qualifications, and a proven commitment to equal justice under the law. A graduate of Yale College and Yale Law school, Judge Kavanaugh currently teaches at Harvard, Yale, and Georgetown. Throughout legal circles, he is considered a judge's judge, a true thought leader among his peers. He is a brilliant jurist with a clear and effective writing style, universally regarded as one of the finest and sharpest legal minds of our time. And just like justice Gorsuch, he excelled as a clerk for Justice Kennedy.

"

When Kavanaugh was nominated, he was serving as a federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals on the D.C. Circuit. He was appointed by President George W. Bush (R). Prior to his appointment, Kavanaugh served in the Bush administration.

See also: Supreme Court vacancy, 2017: An overview

On January 31, 2017, President Donald Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch to succeed Justice Antonin Scalia on the U.S. Supreme Court. Scalia was a member of the U.S. Supreme Court for three decades. President Trump said regarding the nomination,

"

I am proud to announce the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch for Justice of the Supreme Court ... This has been the most transparent and most important Supreme Court selection process in the history of our country and I wanted the American people to have a voice in this nomination. Judge Gorsuch has a superb intellect, an unparalleled legal education, and a commitment to interpreting the Constitution according to its text. He will make an incredible Justice as soon as the Senate confirms him.

"

Confirmation hearings on Gorsuch's nomination before the Senate Judiciary Committee were held from March 20-23, 2017. On April 3, 2017, voting 11-9 on party lines, the Senate Judiciary Committee reported Neil Gorsuch's nomination to the full U.S. Senate. That same day, Senate Democrats announced that they had a sufficient number of votes to sustain a filibuster against the nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the U.S. Supreme Court. In anticipation of an expected filibuster, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) indicated that he was prepared to restrict the use of filibusters on Supreme Court nominations, referred to as the nuclear option. The Senate voted on April 6, 2017, to end the use of filibusters on all presidential nominations and proceeded to vote to end debate on the Gorsuch nomination. Gorsuch was confirmed on a recorded 54-45 vote of the Senate on Friday, April 7, 2017, and he received his commission on Monday, April 10, 2017.

Historical context

Appointments by current president

Since taking office, President Joe Biden (D) has nominated 183 individuals to federal judgeships on Article III courts. As of October 17, 2023, 146 of the nominees have been confirmed.

Ballotpedia publishes the federal vacancy count report tracking vacancies, nominations, and confirmations to all United States Article III federal courts each month. In the most recent report covering activity in September 2023, there were 70 Article III vacancies in the federal judiciary. To learn more about current vacancies in the federal judiciary, click here.

The following chart from the monthly federal vacancy count report for October 1, 2023, details the number of appointments made by President Biden to each type of Article III federal court since taking office. This chart is updated at the start of each month with new appointments data.

View other episodes

How do President Trump's federal judicial appointments compare to previous presidents? Click to watch

here.

Appointments since Theodore Roosevelt

See also: Federal judicial appointments by president

The following chart shows the total judgeship appointments made by each president from 1901 to 2021.

The following chart shows the judgeship appointments by court made by each president from 1901 to 2021. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is abbreviated as USCAFC. The U.S. Court of Federal Claims, previously known as the U.S. Court of Claims, is abbreviated USCFC.

The following chart shows the average number of judicial appointments per year in office by presidents from 1901 to 2021.

The chart below shows the number of appeals court judges confirmed by the U.S. Senate through October 1 of the third year of each president's term in office. At this point in the term, President Trump had the most appeals court appointments with 43.

The chart below shows the number of district court judges confirmed by the U.S. Senate through October 1 of the third year of each president's term in office. At this point in the term, President Clinton had the most district court appointments with 135.

Senate limits post-cloture debate on presidential nominees, 2019

On April 3, 2019, the Senate voted to change the body's precedent and reduce post-cloture debate allowed on executive nominees below the Cabinet-level and federal district court nominees from 30 hours to 2 hours. Two separate votes on executive nominees and judicial nominees passed 51-48. All but two Senate Republicans- Susan Collins (R-Me.) and Mike Lee (R-Ut.)-voted for the changes, while all Senate Democrats who voted opposed the changes. To enact the changes, the Senate used the nuclear option rather than changing its standing rules.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said his caucus pursued the change due to obstruction by Senate Democrats. He said, "The all-encompassing, systematic nature of this obstruction is not part of the Senate's important tradition of minority rights. It is a new departure from that tradition. And this break with tradition is hurting the Senate, hamstringing our duly elected president, and denying citizens the government they elected." He also said that many Democrats privately supported the change and would certainly favor it if they controlled the White House.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) criticized the change, particularly with regard to judicial nominees. He said, "Two hours for a lifetime appointment is unacceptable. Two hours for a lifetime appointment with huge influence on people's lives is unacceptable. It's ridiculous."

Senate Democrats also said McConnell pursued similar tactics while in the minority. Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) said, "[McConnell] seems to have completely forgotten the Obama administration. He led the most famous blockade that's ever happened in the Senate. And that was the blockade of Merrick Garland ... it was shameful."

McConnell responded by criticizing Senate Democrats for using the nuclear option to lower the cloture threshold from 60 votes to 51 votes in 2013. He said, "I said at the time I didn't like the way it was done. And I thought maybe the other side would rue the day they did it. Amazingly enough, about a year and a half later I'm majority leader. Funny how these things change, isn't it?"

Definitions

Nuclear option: The nuclear option, also known as the constitutional option, is a procedure that allows the majority party to change a Senate rule or precedent with a simple majority vote. Normally, the Senate needs a two-thirds vote to invoke cloture on a resolution to change its standing rules. Prior to 2019, the nuclear option was deployed by Senate Majority Harry Reid (D-Nev.) in 2013 to reduce the cloture threshold for presidential nominees other than Supreme Court nominees from 60 votes to 51 votes. In 2017, McConnell used the nuclear option to reduce the cloture threshold for Supreme Court nominees to 51 votes. Read more about the nuclear option here.

Cloture: Cloture is a process that allows senators to end debate on legislation, nominations, resolutions, and other business before the body. Before 1917, debate was not limited by Senate rules, which could allow a small number of senators to delay, or filibuster, priorities supported by a majority of senators. After a filibuster in 1917 impacted the country's ability to arm ships during World War One, the Senate amended its rules to allow debate to be shut off by a two-thirds vote of those senators present to vote. Over time, the threshold for invoking cloture was reduced from two-thirds of the body to three-fifths. In 2013 and 2017, cloture was reduced to a simple majority for presidential nominations, but the three-fifths threshold for legislation stayed in effect. As of 2019, time-limited debate was allowed after cloture was invoked, typically giving minority senators the ability to voice their opposition to a measure or nominee before a final passage vote. Read more about cloture here.

Ballotpedia analysis

On April 5, 2019, Ballotpedia released an analysis of the changes in debate rules and the possible effects on federal judicial vacancies.

To see our full analysis, click here.

External links

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Federal judges nominated by Donald Trump

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Ballotpedia: The Encyclopedia of American Politics

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The president has the expressed power to update the State of the Union. For example, during Trumps 3rd State of the Union Address he discusses topics such as the economy and healthcare.

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President Donald Trump delivered his third State of the Union Address before a joint session of Congress on February 4, 2020. Members of the United States House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, along with hundreds of distinguished guests, attended the nationally televised address in the House chamber.

"The vision I will lay out this evening demonstrates how we are building the world's most prosperous and inclusive society," the President said during his opening remarks. "One where every citizen can join in America's unparalleled success and where every community can take part in America's extraordinary rise."

In his speech, President Trump discussed a variety of topics, such as the economy, healthcare, education, global affairs, and national security. He also mentioned a variety of distinguished guests who were in the audience during his speech, such as Janiyah Davis, a fourth-grader from Philadelphia who the President awarded with a scholastic scholarship that evening.

"America is a land of heroes. This is a place where greatness is born, where destinies are forged, and where legends come to life," the President said as he concluded his speech. "America is the place where anything can happen. America is the place where anyone can rise. And here, on this land, on this soil, on this continent, the most incredible dreams come true."

While this is the fourth time President Trump has addressed a joint session of Congress, this is his third State of the Union Address. There is typically no State of the Union Address by a new president in their first year in office. President John F. Kennedy is the only exception, as he delivered a State of the Union Address during his first year in office in 1961.

Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution requires the President to "give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient." While the Constitution does not specify how often such an address should be given, presidents traditionally deliver the State of the Union Address once a year.

Find out more about the history of the State of the Union Address from the House Historian's website.

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President Donald Trump delivers his third State of the Union Address

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President Donald Trump delivered his third State of the Union Address before a joint session of Congress on February 4, 2020. Members of the United States House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, along with hundreds of distinguished guests, attended the nationally televised address in the House chamber.

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The president has the expressed power to decide whether he wants to either sign or veto a bill. For example, in 2017 Trump signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act.

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list of laws subjected to signing statements 2001-present

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The president has the expressed power to get the opinions of the other departments. For example, Biden held a Cabinet meeting to speak about implementing laws.

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computer science and information technology

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Biden convenes Cabinet meeting to tout summer accomplishments | CNN Politics

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President Joe Biden on Tuesday urged his Cabinet secretaries to swiftly implement key pieces of legislation as he seized the opportunity to tout his administration's recent legislative successes just two months before the midterm elections.