President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and serves as Commander-in-Chief of the United States Armed Forces.[1]
The office of president was established by Article Two of the United States Constitution, which vests the executive power of the United States in a president. The president serves a four-year term and is elected together with the Vice President of the United States.[2]
The president is responsible for carrying out and enforcing federal laws enacted by Congress. The executive branch includes executive departments, federal agencies, and other organizations that administer federal programs and laws.[3]
The president is the Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States and of state militias when they are called into federal service. The president also has the constitutional power to request written opinions from the heads of executive departments and to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment.[4]
The president has an important role in foreign policy. The Constitution gives the president the power to make treaties with the advice and consent of the United States Senate, provided that two-thirds of the senators present agree. The president also nominates ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, and federal judges, including judges of the Supreme Court of the United States, subject to Senate confirmation.[5]
The president also communicates with Congress and may recommend measures that the president considers necessary or appropriate. The Constitution requires the president to periodically provide Congress with information on the State of the Union and requires the president to take care that federal laws are faithfully executed.[6]
The president is elected through the United States Electoral College. Each state receives a number of electors based on its representation in Congress, while the District of Columbia receives electors under the Twenty-Third Amendment to the United States Constitution.[7]
Under the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution, electors cast separate votes for president and vice president. A candidate for president must receive a majority of electoral votes to be elected. If no candidate receives a majority, the United States House of Representatives chooses the president from among the candidates eligible under the constitutional procedure.[8]
Presidential elections are held every four years. The president and vice president serve the same four-year term and are elected as part of the same presidential ticket.
The Constitution establishes three basic qualifications for the presidency. A president must be a natural-born citizen of the United States, at least 35 years old, and have been a resident of the United States for at least 14 years.[9]
Before beginning the duties of the office, the president must take the Oath of Office of the President of the United States. The Constitution specifies that the president must swear or affirm that they will faithfully execute the office and preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution.[10]
The president serves a four-year term. The Twenty-Second Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1951, provides that no person may be elected president more than twice. It also establishes a separate limitation for a person who succeeds to the presidency and serves more than two years of another president's term.[11]
Before the Twenty-Second Amendment, there was no constitutional limit on the number of times a person could be elected president. George Washington established an early tradition of leaving office after two terms, although the tradition was not a constitutional requirement.
The president and Congress have separate constitutional responsibilities. Congress exercises legislative powers, while executive power is vested in the president. This arrangement forms part of the federal government's system of separation of powers and checks and balances.[12]
The president can sign legislation passed by Congress into law or veto legislation. Congress can override a presidential veto through the procedure established by the Constitution. The Senate also has a role in confirming certain presidential appointments and approving treaties.[13]
The president may also issue executive orders and other presidential directives under constitutional or statutory authority. These actions are subject to the Constitution, federal law, and judicial review.
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the federal judicial system. The president nominates federal judges, including Supreme Court justices, while the Senate provides advice and consent on those nominations.[14]
The judicial branch is constitutionally separate from the executive branch. Federal courts can consider cases involving actions of the federal government and can determine whether laws or government actions comply with the Constitution.
The president heads the executive branch, which includes the Cabinet and numerous federal departments and agencies. Cabinet departments are led by officials appointed by the president and, in most cases, confirmed by the Senate.[15]
The executive branch is responsible for administering and enforcing federal laws and carrying out programs established by Congress. Its responsibilities cover areas such as national security, foreign affairs, public health, transportation, education, environmental protection, and economic policy.
The president is assisted by the Vice President of the United States, members of the Cabinet, presidential advisers, and other executive branch officials.
The United States presidential line of succession establishes who assumes the presidency if the president dies, resigns, or is removed from office. The vice president is first in the line of succession.
The Twenty-Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1967, states that the vice president becomes president when the president is removed from office or dies or resigns. It also establishes a procedure for filling a vacancy in the vice presidency and provides procedures concerning presidential inability to perform the duties of the office.[16]
Several vice presidents have become president following the death or resignation of a president. Examples include John Tyler, Millard Fillmore, Andrew Johnson, Chester A. Arthur, Theodore Roosevelt, Calvin Coolidge, Harry S. Truman, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Gerald Ford.
The president, vice president, and other civil officers of the United States can be removed from office through the constitutional impeachment process. The Constitution provides that an officer may be impeached and convicted for treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.[17]
The United States House of Representatives has the power to impeach federal officials, while the United States Senate conducts impeachment trials. When the president is tried, the Chief Justice of the United States presides over the Senate trial.[18]
Impeachment itself does not automatically remove a president from office. Removal follows conviction by the Senate under the constitutional impeachment procedure.
The presidency began in 1789, when George Washington became the first president of the United States. The office was created as part of the governmental structure established by the Constitution, which divided federal authority among legislative, executive, and judicial branches.
Over the course of American history, the responsibilities and public role of the presidency have changed. Presidents have dealt with major events including wars, economic crises, expansions of federal authority, changes in technology, and developments in foreign relations.
The presidency has also evolved through constitutional amendments, acts of Congress, judicial decisions, established practices, and changes in the organization of the executive branch.
The primary workplace and official residence of the president is the White House in Washington, D.C.. The White House contains the president's offices and living quarters and is one of the most recognizable symbols of the United States government.
The president also uses Camp David, a presidential retreat in Maryland, and travels domestically and internationally for official duties.