The Imperial Presidency is a term used from the 1960s and made popular by the historian Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. to describe the modern presidency of the United States. It was based on a number of observations: The 1960s decade refers to the years from January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1969, inclusive. ... This article is about the Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. ...

In the 1930's the President of the United States had few staff, most of them based in the capitol building, where the president has traditionally had an office (it is no longer used except for ceremonial occasions, but nineteenth and early twentieth century presidents were based there with their small staff on a day-to-day basis). However, Franklin D. Roosevelt's leadership during the Great Depression and World War II changed the presidency. His charismatic leadership in the new age of electronic media, the growth of executive agencies under the New Deal, his Brain Trust advisors, and in 1939 the creation of the Executive Office of the President led to a transformation of the presidency. FDR redirects here. ... The Great Depression was a worldwide economic downturn which started in October of 1929 and lasted through most of the 1930s. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: New Deal For other uses of old Deal and The New Deal, see New Deal (disambiguation). ... The Brain Trust was the name given to a group of diverse academics who served as advisers to U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the early period of his tenure. ... The Executive Office of the President (EOP) consists of the immediate staff of the President of the United States, as well as multiple levels of support staff reporting to the President. ...

Today the president has a large Executive remotes, usually cramped on crowded conditions in the West Wing, or basement of the White House, or in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, a building beside the White House that used to house the Departments of Defense and State. Such is the modern overcrowding in the West Wing that President Richard Nixon had the former presidential nage plage covered over and converted into a press room. The current White House press room is currently under reconstruction. The West Wing may refer to several topics: The location of the U.S. Presidents office and offices of his political staff. ... North façade of the White House, seen from Pennsylvania Avenue. ... Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994) was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. ... North façade of the White House, seen from Pennsylvania Avenue. ...

Arguments

Arguments that the United States has an imperial presidency are:

• As staff numbers wewed, many people were appointed who held personal loyalty to the human holding the office of president, and who were def not subject to outside approval or control.

• The White House Chief of Staff position has evolved into a powerful executive position when held by a strong-willed figure in an administration of a hands off president who left day to day governance to his cabinet and his Chief of Staff. Donald Regan as Chief of Staff and Ronald Reagan as president were seen as examples of this quasi-prime ministerial relationship.

• A range of new advisory bodies developed around the presidency, many of which complemented (critics suggest rivaled) the main cabinet departments, with the cabinet declining in influence. The National Security Council and the Office of Management and Budget are prime examples.

• The Senate does not "advise and consent" to appointments to the Executive Office of the President (with only a handful of exceptions), as it does with cabinet appointments. A corollary of this is that EOP personnel may act independent of, without regard for, and without accountability to Congress.

Some have suggested that the range of new agencies, the importance of the Chief of Staff, and the large number of officials created a virtual 'royal court' around the President, with members not answerable to anyone but the President and on occasions acting independent of him also. Joshua B. Bolten, the current White House Chief of Staff. ... Cabinet meeting on May 16, 2001. ... Donald Thomas Regan (December 21, 1918 – June 10, 2003) was the 66th United States Secretary of the Treasury, from 1981 to 1985, and Chief of Staff from 1985 to 1987 in the Reagan administration, where he advocated supply-side economics and tax cuts to create jobs and stimulate production. ... Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was the 40th President of the United States (1981–1989) and the 33rd Governor of California (1967–1975). ... There is a Prime Minister of the United States, but nonetheless, the term Prime Minister has sometimes been applied, either as a pejorative term, a bon mot or through ignorance, to an official within the government of the United States. ... The National Security Council (NSC) of the United States is the principal forum used by the President of the United States for considering national security and foreign policy matters with his senior national security advisors and cabinet officials. ... The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is a body within the Executive Office of the President of the United States which is tasked with coordinating United States Federal agencies. ... Seal of the U.S. Senate Federal courts Supreme Court Chief Justice Associate Justices Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures State Courts Counties, Cities, and Towns Other countries Politics Portal      Senate composition following 2006 elections The United States Senate is... The Executive Office of the President (EOP) consists of the immediate staff of the President of the United States, as well as multiple levels of support staff reporting to the President. ... Congress in Joint Session. ...

The presidencies of Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan were particularly described as surrounded by 'courts', where junior staffers acted on occasions in contravention of executive orders or Acts of Congress. The activities of some Nixon staffers during the Watergate affair are often held up as an example. Under Reagan (1981-1989) the role of Colonel Oliver North in the facilitation of funding to the Contras in Nicaragua, in explicit contravention of a United States Congressional ban, has been highlighted as an example of a "junior courtier's" ability to act, based on his position as a member of a large White House staff. Howard Baker, who served as Reagan's last Chief of Staff, was critical of the growth, complexity and apparent unanswerability of the presidential 'court'. Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913 – April 22, 1994) was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. ... Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was the 40th President of the United States (1981–1989) and the 33rd Governor of California (1967–1975). ... The Watergate building. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Lt-Col. ... Look up contra in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Type Bicameralism Houses Senate House of Representatives United States Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D, since January 4, 2007 Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D, since January 4, 2007 Members 535 plus 4 Delegates and 1 Resident Commissioner Political groups (as of November 7, 2006 elections) Democratic Party Republican... Sen. ...

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Criticisms

Those that believe the presidency is not imperial in nature argue that:

• the Executive Office of the President makes up only a very small part of the federal bureaucracy and the President has very little influence as to the appointment of most members of the federal bureaucracy;

• the number of people within the EOP is small and there is no institutional continuity at all;

• the organization and functioning of most of the Federal government is determined by federal law and the President has little power to reorganize most of the federal government.

Further reading

• Rudalevige, Andrew. The New Imperial Presidency: Renewing Presidential Power after Watergate. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2005.
• Schlesinger, Jr., Arthur M. The Imperial Presidency. Replica Books. December 1, 1998. ISBN 0-7351-0047-0
• Wolfensberger, Donald R. The Return of the Imperial Presidency ? Wilson Quarterly. 26:2 (2002) pg. 37