So, you've been elected President of the United States. Congratulations! But if you're thinking of starting a war, making up your own laws, or even cracking a window anytime soon — it won't be as easy as you may think.
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00:00So, you've been elected President of the United States.
00:03Congratulations!
00:04But if you're thinking of starting a war, making up your own laws, or even cracking
00:07a window any time soon, it won't be as easy as you may think.
00:11The President of the United States is also the commander-in-chief of the armed forces,
00:16with sole authority to authorize use of the nation's nuclear arsenal.
00:19The president is also responsible for a great deal of military decision-making, including
00:24signing off on highly sensitive operations.
00:27President Barack Obama, for example, was intimately involved in coordinating the raid
00:31on Osama bin Laden's Pakistan compound, which led to the terror leader's death in a shootout
00:36with SEAL Team 6 operatives.
00:38And on nights like this one, we can say to those families who have lost loved ones to
00:43al Qaeda's terror, justice has been done.
00:47However, despite their position at the top of the military hierarchy, the president cannot
00:52declare war outright.
00:54Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution states that, officially, the power to declare war
00:59lies with Congress.
01:01This rule isn't always followed, though.
01:03Presidents have occasionally sought congressional approval for military operations, such as
01:07President George W. Bush in the aftermath of the 9-11 terror attacks.
01:12But the truth is that military force has often been used without congressional approval,
01:16and debate continues as to how the so-called Declare War Clause ought to be interpreted
01:21in the modern age.
01:23The Secret Service was founded in 1865 by the U.S. Treasury Department, initially to
01:27combat the counterfeiting of U.S. currency.
01:30As the decades passed, the service's responsibilities evolved, and since 1901, it has been the primary
01:36protection force for U.S. presidents, presidential candidates, ex-presidents, and their families.
01:41It is therefore considered a major scandal when the Secret Service is seen to fail.
01:46After the departure of Secret Service's former director, Kimberly Cheeto, new leadership
01:52has taken responsibility for failures.
01:54The Secret Service's responsibility for providing presidential security was established after
01:59the assassination of President William McKinley, and as recent history has demonstrated, this
02:04line of defense remains necessary even today.
02:07Nevertheless, being constantly surrounded by armed Secret Service personnel takes its
02:12toll on the First Family, especially when it comes to their sense of privacy.
02:16Unfortunately, Secret Service protection is mandatory, with presidents and their families
02:21legally bound to be protected by agents at all times.
02:25Since the early Roman Empire, poisoning has been used as a discreet method of assassinating
02:29those in power.
02:31And while death-dealing technology has advanced through the centuries, everyone still has
02:35to eat, and poisoning represents a continued security risk in the 21st century.
02:40There are therefore several security procedures that ensure that a sitting president, their
02:44family, and top White House officials consume food prepared in a secure environment by trusted
02:50chefs.
02:51At the White House, chefs and staff are given a special security clearance, which means
02:55that, once vetted, they are allowed to carry on their work in the kitchen without oversight
02:59by the Secret Service.
03:01Outside Washington, responsibility for ensuring presidential meals are safe and untampered
03:06with, falls to whatever body is overseeing security as a whole.
03:10At Camp David, for instance, meal security is provided by the U.S. Navy, with Navy chefs
03:15preparing the president's meals.
03:17It has even been reported that, in foreign territories and insecure locations, screeners
03:22are employed to monitor how food is prepared and supposedly to taste food for safety when
03:27necessary, though reports of their use remain anecdotal.
03:30It was once said that President Barack Obama offended Republican senators by refusing to
03:35eat a lobster salad at lunch, as there was no screener on hand to verify that it was
03:39100 percent safe.
03:42For many, one of the major perks of success is being able to afford a nice car.
03:46But while the highest political office in the U.S. definitely has some upsides, gearhead
03:51presidents are likely to be left frustrated by their job.
03:54That's because presidents are banned from getting behind the wheel under almost any
03:58circumstances.
03:59It may seem like a harsh rule, but there's a good reason for it.
04:02During a president's administration, they are protected at all times by Secret Service
04:06personnel, whose job it is to be the last line of defense for the president in case
04:10of attack.
04:12Such agents are specially trained in evasive driving maneuvers, which are intended to do
04:16just one thing.
04:17"...safely get the protectee out of the area where the kill zone, if you will, and to move
04:24them to a safe location."
04:26To allow a president, who does not have that training, to drive themselves around would
04:30represent an unnecessary security lapse.
04:33As such, a Secret Service agent remains behind the wheel at all times.
04:38The Secret Service is known to be especially strict when it comes to securing the safety
04:41of the president and the First Family, sometimes to the point at which their precautions may
04:46sound ridiculous.
04:47One such precaution is the Secret Service's strict window policy, which requires that
04:52the First Family refrain from opening windows in the White House while they are resident
04:56or from doing so when traveling by car.
04:58The reasoning for this is fairly obvious.
05:01When you think about it, most windows at the White House and those used on official
05:04vehicles are bulletproof, and so it could pose a serious risk for someone to leave them
05:08open.
05:10This is a rule that has taken its toll on presidential families, however.
05:13Michelle Obama even made reference to it during an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen
05:17Colbert back in 2015.
05:19When asked what she was looking forward to once her husband left office, she replied,
05:23I also want to do little things like, you know, open a window."
05:30One of the primary functions of the presidency is diplomatic, with the president, their family,
05:35and close aides often meeting with foreign leaders and other figures to further the country's
05:39political interests.
05:40Many such meetings involve an exchange of gifts.
05:43On the world stage, giving gifts is largely symbolic, and gifts over a certain value are
05:48considered gifts to the people of the nation.
05:51Smaller gifts, and those given by non-governmental bodies or private citizens, may be retained
05:56by the president and their family, as long as they are recorded in a transparent manner.
06:01In some cases, presidents are also expected to pay taxes on the gifts they receive.
06:06The First Family can wind up receiving thousands of gifts from members of the general public,
06:10too, though many, including portions of food, fragrances, and cosmetics, are destroyed by
06:15the Secret Service for safety reasons.
06:18Presidents have occasionally found themselves in trouble for breaking these rules.
06:21According to a Republican congressional investigation, Bill and Hillary Clinton failed to declare
06:26roughly $1 million of gifts from prominent figures and supporters.
06:30In some cases, the items were immediately donated to the presidential library so that
06:34Clintons were not required to report them.
06:36However, it was also alleged that the Clintons had undervalued many of the gifts, causing
06:41a scandal at the time.
06:42The couple had also taken the items for themselves upon leaving office, having supposedly believed
06:47they were gifts meant for the family rather than the government.
06:51In 2014, then-President Obama emphasized his willingness to use executive orders to set
06:56economic policies.
06:57I've got a pen and I've got a phone.
07:01As phones have become such a crucial part of our society, it's perhaps unsurprising
07:05that these devices are often targeted by foreign agents.
07:09Security services therefore ask presidents to restrict their phone use to official lines,
07:13employ security features on all their devices, and log their calls.
07:17This has become more of an issue for presidents over the course of the last two decades, as
07:21cell phones are now used for more tasks than just making calls.
07:25During his first presidency, Donald Trump had insisted on using his personal cell phone,
07:29despite concerns voiced by his security staff.
07:32It had previously been reported that Trump also declined to switch phones regularly for
07:36the sake of security, claiming this precaution was too inconvenient.
07:41The president of the United States is the head of state, the head of government, and
07:45the head of the executive branch.
07:47It is the president who selects members of the cabinet and the heads of all the government's
07:51federal agencies.
07:52However, when it comes down to it, the United States is a republic, which limits the president's
07:57executive power with a system of checks and balances.
08:00Arguably, the most illustrative example of this is that, despite wielding immense power,
08:05sitting presidents are not able to pass laws unilaterally.
08:09Instead, that responsibility lies with Congress, with bills only arriving on the president's
08:14desk once they have been voted on.
08:16The president then has the chance to veto the bill, though this could be overridden
08:19by another congressional vote to force the bill through the Oval Office.
08:23If a president leaves a bill unsigned and Congress remains in session, then the bill
08:27becomes law automatically ten days later.
08:30However, if there is an adjournment in Congress, an unsigned bill is subject to a pocket veto,
08:35meaning it does not become law.
08:38All that said, presidents can enact policy via executive orders, but those can be easily
08:43overturned by courts or a successor.
08:46Though the president of the United States is the most powerful person in the country,
08:50there is still a great deal of oversight in place to ensure that they use their position
08:53in service of the American people.
08:55The Presidential Records Act of 1978, for instance, makes incumbent presidents responsible
09:00for managing and maintaining the records of their administration, which are then to be
09:04kept by the National Archives and Records Administration.
09:08The rule was brought into effect in the wake of the Watergate scandal, in which the Nixon
09:12administration attempted to cover up a burglary of the Democratic National Committee headquarters.
09:16I want to say this to the television audience.
09:19People have got to know whether or not their president is a crook.
09:23All documents related to the presidency, excluding purely private correspondence, must be retained,
09:28a duty that has posed some problems for presidents.
09:31Bill Clinton, for example, recorded a series of tapes during his presidency with the historian
09:36Taylor Branch, which Branch later used for a book.
09:39The National Archives and Records Administration was then sued by a right-wing organization
09:43that claimed the tapes belonged to the nation.
09:46It was eventually ruled that a president has the right to decide which records are presidential
09:50and which are private.
09:52Donald Trump invoked this ruling in his defense when criticized over his removal of classified
09:56documents from the White House at the end of his first term.
10:00The Federal Reserve System is the engine room of the United States economy, responsible
10:04for maintaining financial stability through a range of measures, including setting interest
10:08rates, managing the supply of dollars, and acting as a regulator for banks.
10:13It is tasked with both growing the economy and controlling inflation, and its decision-making
10:17has repercussions for the price of goods and the state of the job market.
10:21Notably, the President of the United States has no official power to influence the operations
10:26of the Federal Reserve.
10:27The head of the institution is the chair, who liaises with the Oval Office and with
10:31Congress while enjoying autonomy from both.
10:34Though the chair is appointed by the president, the president has no power to fire them once
10:38in place.
10:39Such autonomy has seen some presidents attempt to influence the Federal Reserve chair.
10:44Richard Nixon, for example, pressured Chair Arthur Burns to lower interest rates for the
10:48sake of giving the economy a short-term boost, thus increasing Nixon's chances of re-election.
10:53Similarly, the president is not in direct control of government spending.
10:57Though the president proposes a budget, Congress holds the power to actually set the federal
11:01budget, and to decide which spending is mandatory.
11:05In the months following a presidential election, news outlets offer seemingly continuous reports
11:10as to who is due to serve in the new administration.
11:13In such stories, it can appear that the president has carte blanche to appoint whoever they
11:17want as their pick for the government's top jobs, but it doesn't work quite like that.
11:22The Constitution states that, rather than hiring appointees like employees in a business,
11:27the president must nominate them by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.
11:31The Constitution thus requires that nominees be approved by a majority of the Senate, which
11:36can cause problems for controversial picks.
11:39A mechanism exists by which nominations can be pushed through as recess appointments.
11:44As the Constitution says that presidents have the power to fill vacancies without approval
11:48when the Senate is in recess.
11:51Several recent presidents have made use of such a mechanism.
11:53However, as recess is called by the Senate itself, a majority of senators could prevent
11:58recess to stop an incoming president from appointing controversial picks.