POTUS & PM Roles
& Powers:
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POTUS:
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PM:
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Elected as POTUS
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Elected as party leader
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Chief executive and head of
state
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Head of government only
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Legislation: initiating and
veto powers
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Draws up government’s
legislative programme with cabinet
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Appoints the cabinet but
subject to Senate’s approval
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Appoints cabinet with no
confirmation
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Commander-In-Chief of the
Armed Forces, but only Congress can declare war
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Can use royal prerogative
to declare war and deploy troops abroad but recently subject to
Parliament approval
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Has a VPOTUS
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May appoint a deputy PM
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Has a large executive
office of the POTUS
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Has a small number 10 staff
and cabinet office
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Variety of means to pursue
policy unilaterally: executive orders, signing statements etc
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More likely to purse policy
collective, through either cabinet or cabinet committees
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Limited to two full terms
in office
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No term limits
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POTUS & PM
Relationship With Legislature:
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POTUS With Congress:
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PM With Parliament:
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State of the union address
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Queen’s speech
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Dependant on the Senate for
confirmation on numerous appointments
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Makes appointments without
the need for Parliament to consent
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Possibility of divided
government
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May not have a majority in
both houses
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Budget may be significantly
amended or defeated in Congress
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Budget subject to
Parliament scrutiny
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No executive branch members
in Congress
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Executive branch members in
both houses and dominate HOC
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Not subject to personal
questioning by member of Congress
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Prime Minister’s Question
Time
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Gets agreement in Congress
mostly by persuasion and bargaining
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Gets agreement in
Parliament mostly through party discipline and reliance on the
payroll vote in the HOC
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POTUS is subject to
impeachment
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PM and government are
subject to ‘no confidence’
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POTUS & PM
Relationship With Cabinet:
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US Cabinet:
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UK Cabinet:
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Serving members of the
legislature barred from serving
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Membership executive to
Parliament
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POTUS appointments are
subject to Senate confirmation
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No formal limit on cabinet
appointments
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POTUS decides frequency and
regularity of meetings
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PM obliged to maintain
frequency and regularity of meetings
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POTUS is “first among
equals”
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Collective decision-making
body
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Members recruited for
policy specialisation – they do not move department
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Policy generalists hence
cabinet reshuffles
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Strangers to the POTUS –
no shadow cabinet
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Made up on long serving
parliament colleagues and shadow cabinet
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Some members only see the
POTUS in meetings
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Meets cabinet every week
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No collective
responsibility
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Collective responsibility
is present
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