Deck 7: The Removal Power, Party Patronage, and the Unitary Executive

Question 1

George Washington assertively used his power to remove government administrators when he did not approve of their political allegiances.

Answer 1

False
Explanation:When Washington assumed the presidency, there was nobody in office to remove. Eventually, as positions were filled, some bureaucrats proved to be corrupt or incompetent, but the removal power was used sparingly and only for cause.

Question 2

After the Pendleton Act, presidential usage of the removal power effectively ended.

Answer 2

False
Explanation:The Pendleton Act, passed in 1883, took effect during the administration of Chester Arthur. The next president, Grover Cleveland, removed over 20,000 federal officeholders. Cleveland's successor, Benjamin Harrison, removed even more-nearly 36,000.

Question 3

The Reagan administration viewed the statute that created the Office of the Independent Counsel as an unconstitutional intrusion on presidential authority.

Answer 3

True
Explanation:The Reagan administration challenged the independent counsel law in court, arguing that prosecution was a purely executive function and that the president should be free to dismiss an independent counsel for any reason, not just the ""good cause"" rationale identified by the legislation.

Question 4

The Reagan administration was completely successful in its legal challenge to the constitutionality of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Act of 1985.

Question 5

The Supreme Court's ruling in Weiner v. United States settled the debate over the president's removal power.

Question 6

What law helped create a neutral bureaucracy and minimize patronage?

A) The Pendleton Act
B) The Conkling Bill
C) The Neutral Competence Act
D) The Fairness in Government Bill

Question 7

What Supreme Court case found that Congress could, in some situations, limit the president's removal authority?

A) Myers v. United States
B) Humphrey's Executor v. United States
C) Brandeis v. McReynolds
D) Taft v. National Labor Relations Board

Question 8

What is the name of the theory that Justice Scalia invoked in Morrison v. Olson when he argued that congressional restrictions on the president's removal power were unconstitutional?

A) Emboldened Executive Theory
B) Activist Executive Theory
C) Unitary Executive Theory
D) Congressional Abdication Theory

Question 9

Which of the following presidential scandals reflected the controversial nature of the unitary executive theory?

A) Watergate
B) Whitewatergate
C) Travelgate
D) Firegate

Question 10

Which of the following organizations played a significant role in the intellectual resurgence of the unitary executive theory during the Reagan and, later, George W. Bush eras?

A) The John Birch Society
B) The Federalist Society
C) The Anti-Federalists
D) The Council for Legal Relations