Task 7. a) How is the executive branch organized?

The Federal executive branch is headed by the President and consists of various entities and organizations of largely an administrative, regulatory, or policy-implementing character. Most prominent among these are 14 departments, who heads comprise the Cabinet. In addition, there are a number of agencies (such as the Central Intelligence Agency and the Environmental Protection Agency)} plus separate smaller boards, committees, commissions and offices created by law or Presidential directive. Immediate assisting the President are the various agencies and entities of the Executive Office of the President.

b) Is the U.S. President comparable to a reigning monarch, a prime minister, or a premier? Is the President technically "Chief of State"?

The American President has been compared to an elective monarch, but there are few kings or queens today who exercise the same degree of authority as does the President of the United States. The President simultaneously holds the titles that are often split among two or more incumbents in monarchies and parliamentary democracies. I The President is traditionally accorded the unofficial designation "Chief of State” a position which most closely parallels that of a king or queen in a monarchy. As such the President is often recognized as the symbolic embodiment of the United States and its citizens.

The President also performs many of the functions of a prime minister or premier in a parliamentary democracy. As Chief Executive, an office held under the Constitution, the President presides over the Cabinet and has responsibility for the management of the executive branch. The Constitution also vests the President with the power to make treaties, and to appoint ambassadors, U.S. officers, and judges of Federal courts, with the advice and consent of the Senate. The President also holds the position of Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces.

Unlike a prime minister, the President is not a member of the legislature, nor is tenure in office dependent on the approval of a majority of the legislators. Elected indirectly by the citizens through the electoral college, the President serves a definite term and can only be removed by the process of impeachment. Presidential tenure is limited to no more than two, 4-year terms (or 10 years under special circumstances), which distinguishes the presidency from hereditary monarchs who reign for life. As a political leader, the President directs the operations of the respective party's national organization and serves as its leader.