Ap Government Vocabulary: The Executive Office

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Divided Government

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Governance divided between the parties, as when one holds the presidency and the other controls one or both houses of Congress

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Parliamentary System

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Form of government in which the chief executive is the leader of the majority party in the legislature

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Prime Minister

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The head of government in a country with a parliamentary or semipresidential political system

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Public Policy

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Specific course of action that government takes to address a problem

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Natural-Born Citizen

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Someone born in their home country or having parents that already have that citizenship

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Commander-in-Chief

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A head of state or officer in supreme command of a country's armed forces

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Pardon

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Forgiving or being forgiven for an error or offense.

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Appointment Power

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The President's ability to appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States

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Chief Executive

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The President's duty to lead cabinet members and the executive branch and its employees

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National Security Policy

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A document that outlines the major national security concerns of the United States and how the administration plans to deal with them.

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Economic Policy

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Actions that the Executive Branch take in the economy

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Domestic Policy

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Presidential decisions that are directly related to all issues and activity within the nation's border

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Impeachment

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Formal accusation by the lower house of a legislature against a public official; the first step in removal from office

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White House Staff

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Workers in the Executive Branch who assist the President

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Executive Office of the President

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The President's immediate staff at hand, of which the Chief of Staff is the head

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Office of Management and Budget

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The largest office within the Executive Office of the President; The main function of OMB is to produce the President's Budget.

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Congressional Budget Office

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Federal agency within the legislative branch of the United States government that provides budget and economic information to Congress

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Cabinet

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Body of advisers to the president, composed of the heads of the executive departments of the government.

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War Power

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A check on the president's power to commit the United States to an armed conflict without the consent of the U.S. Congress.

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Executive Privilege

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The privilege of withholding information in the public's interest

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Executive Order

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Formal orders to Government or an agency that carry the force of law issued by the president to direct action by the federal bureaucracy, or by a governor to direct a state bureaucracy.

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Veto

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Formal decision to reject a bill passed by Congress

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Pocket Veto

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Indirect veto of a legislative bill by the president or a governor by retaining the bill unsigned until it is too late for it to be dealt with during the legislative session

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Line-Item Vetoes

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Presidential Power to strike, or remove, specific items from a spending bill without vetoing the entire package; declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court

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Impoundment

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Decision by the President not to spend money appropriated by Congress, now prohibited under the law

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Continuing Resolution

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Type of appropriations legislation. An appropriations bill is a bill that appropriates (gives to, sets aside for) money to specific federal government departments, agencies, and programs

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Coalition

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An alliance for combined action, especially a temporary alliance of political parties forming a government or of states