Executive Power: Can Presidents Change Laws Unilaterally?

The US legislative process involves the introduction of a bill, which is then researched, discussed, and voted on by both chambers of Congress. Once a bill is passed by both chambers, it is presented to the President, who has the option to sign it into law or veto it. The President has the power to veto a bill, but Congress can override this veto with a successful two-thirds vote in both chambers. While the President's signature is required for a bill to become law, they cannot change laws by simply signing a paper. However, they can issue signing statements to express their interpretation or objections to certain provisions of the law, although these statements have no legal effect.

Signing statements: Presidents can comment on or interpret laws

Signing statements are official pronouncements issued by the President of the United States at or near the time a bill is signed into law. They have been used since the early 19th century and are published in the Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States and U.S. Code Congressional and Administrative News.

Presidents use signing statements to comment on or interpret the language of the law being signed. They can also be used to assert objections to certain provisions of the law on constitutional grounds and to state the president's intent regarding how they will execute the law. For example, in 1943, President Franklin Roosevelt indicated in a signing statement that he felt a section of the Urgent Deficiency Appropriations Act of 1943 was unconstitutional, but that he had no choice but to sign the bill "to avoid delaying our conduct of the war."

While signing statements are not part of the legislative process and have no legal effect, they have played a role in conflicts between the executive and legislative branches. The use of signing statements has increased gradually over time, becoming more prevalent since the Reagan Administration, which actively encouraged courts to consider signing statements when interpreting statutory law. However, courts have generally avoided using signing statements to interpret federal statutes.

Some signing statements have become controversial because presidents have used them to indicate that they will not enforce portions of a law. This practice, known as the line item veto, was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1998. Many legal commentators, including the American Bar Association, have taken issue with the proliferation of signing statements, and Congress has introduced legislation to limit their use.

Vetoes: A president can veto a bill, but Congress can override

In the United States, the president can use their veto power to prevent a bill passed by Congress from becoming law. The president has ten days, excluding Sundays, to sign a bill or veto it. If the president vetoes a bill, it is returned to the congressional chamber in which it originated. This chamber may then attempt to override the president's veto, but this requires a two-thirds majority vote. If this vote is successful, the bill moves to the other chamber, which then decides whether to attempt its own override vote, again requiring a two-thirds majority.

The veto was constructed not as an absolute power, but with limits, including that Congress can override a veto. The president's objections to a bill must be stated in writing, and Congress is required to consider them. The veto power continued to be very rarely used until the presidency of Andrew Jackson, who vetoed 12 bills. None of these vetoes were overridden. Congress first overrode a presidential veto on March 3, 1845, during the presidency of John Tyler.

The use of signing statements by presidents has increased gradually over time, becoming more prevalent since the Reagan Administration. All presidents since Reagan have issued signing statements, and these have increasingly included challenges or objections to the laws being signed. However, signing statements are not part of the legislative process as set forth in the Constitution, and they have no legal effect. A signed law is still a law regardless of what the president says in an accompanying signing statement.

Bill approval: A president's signature makes a bill law

In the United States, a bill can be introduced by a sitting member of the U.S. Senate or House of Representatives, or it can be proposed during their election campaign. Bills can also be petitioned by citizens or groups of citizens who recommend a new or amended law to a member of Congress that represents them. Once a bill is introduced, it is assigned to a committee, whose members will research, discuss, and make changes to the bill. The bill is then put before that chamber to be voted on. If the bill passes one body of Congress, it goes to the other body to go through a similar process of research, discussion, changes, and voting. Once both bodies vote to accept a bill, they must work out any differences between the two versions. Then, both chambers vote on the same version of the bill. If it passes, they present it to the president.

The president then has the power to approve the bill and sign it into law. The president has ten days, excluding Sundays, to sign or veto the bill. If the bill is signed within that ten-day period, it becomes law. If the president does not sign off on a bill and it remains unsigned when Congress is no longer in session, the bill will be vetoed by default, which is called a "pocket veto". This cannot be overridden by Congress. However, if the president chooses to veto a bill while Congress is still in session, in most cases, Congress can vote to override that veto, and the bill becomes a law.

The president can also issue a signing statement, which is not part of the legislative process as set forth in the Constitution and has no legal effect. Signing statements are used to comment on the law being signed and can include the president's interpretation of the law's language, objections to certain provisions, or the president's intent. For example, in 1943, during World War II, President Franklin Roosevelt indicated in a signing statement that he felt a section of the Urgent Deficiency Appropriations Act of 1943 was unconstitutional, but that he had no choice but to sign the bill "to avoid delaying our conduct of the war."

Bill rejection: An unsigned bill can be vetoed by default

The US Constitution grants the President the authority to veto legislation passed by Congress. This is one of the most powerful tools available to the President to prevent the passage of legislation. The President has ten days, excluding Sundays, to sign or veto a bill presented to them. If the bill is signed within this period, it becomes law.

However, if the President does not sign off on a bill and Congress is no longer in session, the bill will be vetoed by default. This is called a "pocket veto", and it cannot be overridden by Congress. A pocket veto occurs when a bill fails to become law because the President does not sign it within the ten-day period and cannot return the bill to Congress because it is adjourned.

The authority of the pocket veto is derived from Article I, Section 7 of the US Constitution, which states:

> "If any Bill shall not be returned by the President within ten days (Sundays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a Law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their Adjournment prevent its return, in which case it shall not be a Law."

The term "adjournment" has been a point of contention between Congress and the President, with the former denying the use of the pocket veto during intra- and inter-session adjournments. The Legislative Branch, supported by modern court rulings, maintains that the Executive Branch may only use the pocket veto when Congress has adjourned sine die from a session.

Congressional adjournment: An unsigned bill becomes law if Congress adjourns

The US Constitution gives the two chambers of Congress—the House of Representatives and the Senate—the authority to adjourn. The term recess refers to a temporary suspension of a session or a break within a session. A session is a period when a chamber is formally assembled and can conduct business. It begins when a chamber convenes and ends when it adjourns.

Once both chambers of Congress have agreed on a bill, it is prepared in its final official form and presented to the President. The President then has ten days, excluding Sundays, to sign or veto the bill. If the President signs the bill within this period, it becomes law. If the President does not act on the bill within the ten-day period, it can still become law without their signature, unless Congress has adjourned under certain circumstances. This is known as a "pocket veto".

In contemporary practice, there is some uncertainty regarding what form of adjournment prevents the return of a bill. However, it is generally accepted that if the ten-day period for the President to act on a bill expires during a sine die adjournment between sessions of the same Congress, the bill can still become law without the President's signature. On the other hand, if the ten-day period expires after the expiration of the term of office of Congress (on January 3 of an odd-numbered year), the President can pocket veto the bill. In this case, Congress has prevented the return of the bill because the Congress that convenes on the date when the ten days expire is a new Congress, not the one that passed the bill.

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