What Does the President Actually Do?

If you ask most people what the president does, you will hear things like "runs the country" or "makes laws." Neither of those is really accurate. The presidency was designed as a much narrower role than what it has become, and understanding the gap between the original design and the modern reality helps explain a lot about how American government actually works.

What the Constitution Says

The president's powers are laid out in Article II of the Constitution. Compared to Article I (which covers Congress and runs thousands of words), Article II is surprisingly short. The founders gave Congress the bulk of federal power. The president was supposed to be more of an executor than a decider.

Here is what Article II actually assigns to the president:

Commander in Chief. The president commands the military. But the power to declare war belongs to Congress. The founders split this deliberately. They wanted civilian control of the military but did not want one person deciding when to go to war.

Treaties and appointments. The president can negotiate treaties with foreign countries and appoint federal judges, ambassadors, and senior officials. But none of these take effect without Senate confirmation. Treaties require a two-thirds Senate vote. Appointments require a simple majority.

Sign or veto legislation. The president can sign bills into law or veto them. But the president cannot introduce bills or force Congress to vote on anything. The legislative agenda belongs to Congress.

State of the Union. The president is required to "from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union." This was originally a written report. It became a speech, and eventually a televised event, but the Constitution just says to keep Congress informed.

Faithfully execute the laws. This is the big one. The president takes an oath to "faithfully execute the Office" and must "take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed." This means the president's primary job is to carry out the laws Congress passes, not to make new ones.

Pardons. The president can grant pardons and reprieves for federal crimes, except in cases of impeachment.

That is basically the whole list. No mention of executive orders. No mention of running federal agencies. No mention of setting economic policy, managing disasters, or leading a political party.

What the Founders Were Worried About

The founders had just fought a war to get away from a king. They were deeply suspicious of concentrated executive power. The original debate at the Constitutional Convention was not about how much power to give the president. It was about whether to have a president at all.

Some delegates wanted a committee instead of a single executive. Others wanted the president to be chosen by Congress, not the public, making the role more like a prime minister. They eventually settled on a single president elected through the Electoral College, but they intentionally kept the powers narrow.

Alexander Hamilton argued in Federalist No. 70 that a single executive was necessary for "energy" in government, meaning the ability to act decisively in emergencies. But even Hamilton described the presidency as weaker than the British monarchy and emphasized that Congress held the real power of the purse and the pen.

How the Job Grew

The presidency that exists today would be unrecognizable to the founders. Here is how it expanded.

The federal bureaucracy. When George Washington took office, the entire executive branch had about 1,000 employees. Today it has over 2 million civilian employees across hundreds of agencies. The president oversees all of them. Managing this bureaucracy is now one of the biggest parts of the job, even though the Constitution says nothing about it.

Executive orders. The Constitution does not mention executive orders. They evolved from the president's duty to "faithfully execute the laws" and have been used since Washington's time. But their scope has expanded dramatically. Modern presidents use executive orders to set policy on everything from immigration to environmental regulation to government contracting. Some executive orders effectively function like legislation, creating new rules that affect millions of people without a vote in Congress.

War powers. The Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war, but the last formal declaration of war was in 1942. Since then, presidents have committed troops to Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, and dozens of other conflicts using their authority as commander in chief, often with congressional authorization short of a formal declaration. The War Powers Resolution of 1973 tried to rein this in by requiring congressional approval within 60 days, but presidents from both parties have pushed against its limits.

The legislative agenda. The Constitution says the president can "recommend" measures to Congress. Today, the president is expected to set the entire legislative agenda. The State of the Union has become a policy platform. The president's budget proposal, while not binding, frames the spending debate for the year. When people ask "what is Congress going to do about healthcare," they are usually asking what the president wants Congress to do about healthcare.

Crisis response. From the Great Depression to the pandemic, national emergencies have consistently expanded presidential power. FDR's New Deal created dozens of federal agencies under executive control. Post-9/11 national security measures gave the president broad surveillance and detention authorities. The pattern is consistent: crises create pressure for fast action, Congress is slow, and the presidency fills the gap.

The party leader role. The Constitution says nothing about political parties. But the president is now the de facto leader of their party, responsible for fundraising, endorsements, campaign strategy, and setting the party's policy direction. This is not a constitutional duty. It is a political reality that has grown to consume a significant amount of presidential time and attention.

What the President Cannot Do

It is just as important to understand what is outside the president's power.

The president cannot make laws. Only Congress can pass legislation. Executive orders can direct how existing laws are carried out, but they cannot create new law. This is why courts frequently strike down executive orders that go beyond the president's statutory authority.

The president cannot spend money. The power of the purse belongs to Congress. The president proposes a budget, but Congress appropriates the funds. A president who tries to withhold congressionally appropriated money risks an Impoundment Control Act violation, though this has been a contested area recently.

The president cannot control the courts. Federal judges serve for life and cannot be removed by the president. The president appoints them, but once confirmed, they are independent. This is why judicial appointments are considered one of the most lasting impacts of any presidency.

The president cannot fire members of Congress. The executive and legislative branches are separate. The president can pressure, persuade, and campaign against members of Congress, but cannot remove them from office.

The president cannot pardon state crimes. The pardon power only covers federal offenses. State charges are handled by governors.

The Modern Presidency

The job today is essentially three roles combined into one:

Head of state. The ceremonial leader of the country. Meeting foreign leaders, representing the nation at events, speaking to the public in times of crisis. In most other democracies, this role is separate from the head of government (think: the British monarch vs. the prime minister).

Head of government. The person actually running the executive branch. Setting policy priorities, directing agencies, managing the federal workforce, responding to emergencies.

Party leader. The political leader of their party. Raising money, endorsing candidates, shaping the party platform, campaigning for allies.

No other democracy combines all three of these roles in one person. It is one reason the American presidency has become so powerful and so scrutinized. Everything the president does is simultaneously a policy decision, a diplomatic signal, and a political statement.

Why This Matters

When a president signs an executive order, it helps to know that executive orders are not in the Constitution and that courts can block them. When Congress and the president disagree, it helps to know that Congress has powers the president cannot override. When people argue about whether a president is "overstepping," the answer often depends on whether you are comparing the action to the Constitution's original text or to what modern presidents have been doing for decades.

The presidency was designed to be the weakest of the three branches. Whether it still is depends on how you measure power, and who is in the chair.