The president & his cabinet

Requirements

• 35 years old

• Natural born citizen

• Resident for fourteen years

Electoral College

Each state gets the same number of electors as it has reps. in Congress

Example: Illinois has 19 house members & two senators so they receive 21 electoral votes

The candidate that gets the most electoral votes wins, so in some cases the person who gets the most popular votes might not win.

Presidential Powers

• Commander in Chief of the armed forces• Directs foreign policy- appoint

ambassadors, make treaties• Chief Legislator-suggests new laws, uses

power to win support from Congress• Living Symbol-represents the U.S., make

speeches, give medals, etc.• Can grant pardons

Executive Departments /Cabinet• There are currently 15 executive

departments in the executive branch

• The last department added was the Department of Homeland Security(2003), new departments can be created as needed

• The department leaders make up the president’s cabinet

Current Executive Leaders

• The Vice President Joe Biden • Speaker of the John Boehner• President pro tempore of the Senate

Daniel Inouye• Secretary of State Hillary Clinton• Secretary of the Treasury

Timothy Geithner• Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta• Attorney General Eric Holder

Presidential Succession

• If the president were to die or be unable to perform his duties the following people would be in line to succeed him.

• Vice Pres.• Speaker of the House• President Pro Tempore• Sec. of State• The rest of the cabinet leaders based on

when their department was created