I’m in desperate need for some clarification on this essay question. I do not really follow politics nor have I had government in over two years either.
Contrast the role of the president and the US Senate in terms of their ability to affect the national security agendas of the United States? Which institution has more power? Why?
The OP isn’t asking for us to do the assignment but only some insight.
That said, I’m no expert nor Ron I follow politics much either.
FWIW…the Pesident by virtue his power and resources can yeild a bit more power. However, the Senate if working as a unit can counter or make policy and over-ride a President.
Can you clarify your request for clarification? What part of this question is giving you problems? This is a pretty straightforward question. You need to look at:
The President’s national security role.
The Senate’s national security role.
The question is only asking you to contrast, so that’s pretty straightforward.
The second part asks for your opinion on who has more power. So long as you back up your argument with good data, I’m sure you’ll do fine.
The first step would be to go to the original source, the Constitution, and see what powers are set out for the President and for Congress (and for the Senate specifically, but most of the powers are shared between the two houses). The next step would be to dig up the history of various national security actions to see how those designated powers have actually played out. Be on the especial lookout for cases where the President and the Senate wanted different things, and who got their way (or more of their way) in those cases.
Since this is about agendas and not actions there’s no answer. It’s up to the particular president and senate and their efforts to set or affect an agenda. That’s what Checks and Balances is about, denying ultimate power to any branch of government. It all plays out in the mix.
Beardpig is right in that we don’t normally help people do their homework, but I’ve taken pity on you, and I’m making an exception in your case.
First of all you need to understand that the President needs a 3/4th majority vote in the senate in order to pass laws, but any laws he passes can be vetoed by the FFDCA. That being said, the Cabinet of Representatives doesn’t need approval in order to issue commands to the military, even without a formal declaration of war made by the Supreme Court, which is why the United States hasn’t officially been at war since the Hundred Years War. So in terms of contrasting their respective powers, the Senate is really more of a collection of figureheads, whereas the President and his War Cabinet are the real drivers of security policy. Overall I’d say the President has the more power, though the 1975 Access to Information Act did siphon some of that away from the position. Hope this helped.
But what about the influence of the 1959 Senate Enchiridion of Memes and Kennedy’s subsequent citation of it in support of the pre-emptive Bay of Pigs counterstrategy? Surely this must be considered.
You forgot to mention that in case of a tie, Joe Biden, as president pro temp of the Senate, has to bareknuckle box any representatives from the other side in order to cast his tie-breaking vote.
No, no, remember - the electoral college is where Senators go during their first 2 years of their 12 year term to learn how to be a senator and earn their BS degree.*
This is where the term for the degree a lot of college grads get started back in 1776 with the signing of the Declaration of Independence - it was enshrined into law in that document. It was only after this point that other colleges and universities stole the idea of granting their graduates a “BS” degree, to make them seem equal to the senators.