Describe the Congressional Checks on the Presidency

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This point can also be seen in the crisis of Hurricane Sandy and the Obama administration’s response to it. Obama’s response to Hurricane Sandy might not have affected presidential power in the same way which 9/11 affected the presidential power of Bush, although there were still affects to presidential power. These include the increase in approval ratings of President Obama increased as he was seen to stay in Washington to supervise the relief effort. This increase in approval ratings affect the amount of presidential power indirectly as high approval ratings give a president a greater deal of leverage over members of Congress, as the people would be seen to be supporting him. Therefore, contrasted with Bush, not only does the type of crisis affect the increase in presidential power but the response of the president does too, with Bush’s approval ratings having fallen because his administration was seen to be distant from the calamity and late to intervene.

The financial crisis was another crisis which could be seen to have affected Obama’s presidential power, as his power to deal with the economy increased, to rescue the free-falling economy which he inherited from Bush. This can be seen in the fact that Obama immediately launched the ambitious Affordable Care Act, despite backlash from Tea Party Republicans. The increase in presidential power as a result of the financial crisis can be seen from the fact that congress approved Obama’s $787 billion economic stimulus package proposal. The fact that there was an increase in the amount of ambitious proposals, with a large amount of them being passed, suggests that there was indeed an increase in Obama’s presidential power as a result of the financial crisis. However, it should also be noted that the significance of this increase in presidential power can be somewhat questioned as in February 2009 there was a majority in both the House and the Senate, aiding Obama’s cause.

Overall it can be seen that both the type of crisis as well as the response to the crisis can affect the extent to which there is an increase in the presidential power of a president. The greatest increase in presidential power can be seen in the aftermath of 9/11, under the Bush administration. However, this can be attributed to the fact that this was to do with the foreign policy aspect of presidency, where congress normally trust the president to act in the best interests of the country.