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The Lowdown

VIDEO: What's the Actual Job Description of The President of the United States?

Matthew Green
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President Obama on the job in the Oval Office, 2010.  (Pete Souza/Wikipedia)

For what is arguably the most powerful job in the world, the position of President of the United States comes with a surprisingly brief description and strikingly few prerequisites.

And amid all the hoopla of the presidential election, with so much attention focused on the latest soundbites, gaffes and  most recent polling numbers, it's easy to lose sight of what the president is actually supposed to do.

The basics of the job are spelled out in Article II of the U.S. Constitution. To start, you must be at least 35 years old, a native-born citizen and have lived in the United States for a minimum of 14 years. The term is four years, with a chance for another go-around if things work out. And yes, it comes with pretty decent compensation (current salary: $400,000/year).

The Constitution goes on to identify the president's two main roles: as chief executive of the federal government and commander-in-chief of the armed forces, with the authority to send troops into combat.

As head of the Executive Branch of the federal government, he (or she) enforces U.S. laws, treaties, and court rulings, has the power to make treaties (with two-thirds support of the Senate); can grant reprieves or pardons and appoints federal officials, including Supreme Court justices. The president is also charged with signing legislation from Congress into law, or vetoing it.

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And that's about all that is set it stone.

Of course, the modern presidency has evolved just a bit from how it was in the early days of the republic. As Joel Achenbach of the Washington Post notes, early presidents had almost no staff (let alone indoor plumbing). It wasn't until 1857 that Congress appropriated funding for the president to even hire his own secretary.

But the nature of the presidency changed dramatically in the 1930s under Franklin D. Roosevelt and the implementation of the New Deal programs. The vastly expanded bureaucracy turned the position into a far more complicated job, requiring a formidable support staff.  Today, about 3,000 staffers work in the president's office, not including the 15 departments run by cabinet secretaries and other agencies (CIA , NASA, etc.) that are part of the Executive Branch.

So sure, the job comes with a huge amount of power and responsibility. But can a president really do all the myriad things that the current candidates are pledging to make happen if elected?

Probably not.

But as these two Crash Course videos explain, the presidency comes with both formal and informal powers, and that leaves a good part of the job open to interpretation.

https://youtu.be/5l02sK5LovI

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