Question 1

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

Accepted Answer

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.

Accepted Answer

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.

Accepted Answer

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.

Accepted Answer

In 1986, the Supreme Court held 7-2 that the legislation, commonly known as Gramm-Rudman, was unconstitutional. However, the court did not agree with the administration's logic, and instead struck the law down on different grounds. As a result, the victory was hollow and the administration gained no ground in its effort to gain legal acceptance of the idea that the president's removal power should be unlimited.

Question 5

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

Accepted Answer

The court's decision in Weiner v. United States clarified to a degree the legal terrain, but did not resolve the debate since it did not prevent presidents from asking for resignations and continued to allow presidents to dismiss agency officials for certain reasons.

Question 6

What law helped create a neutral bureaucracy and minimize patronage?&#10;A) The Pendleton Act&#10;B) The Conkling Bill&#10;C) The Neutral Competence Act&#10;D) The Fairness in Government Bill

Accepted Answer

Passed in 1883, the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act established into law the principle that government jobs should be awarded on the basis of merit, not political connections.

Question 7

What Supreme Court case found that Congress could, in some situations, limit the president's removal authority?&#10;A) Myers v. United States&#10;B) Humphrey's Executor v. United States&#10;C) Brandeis v. McReynolds&#10;D) Taft v. National Labor Relations Board

Accepted Answer

Departing from the precedent set in Myers v. United States, the court held in Humphrey's Executor v. United States that Congress could place restrictions on the conditions under which presidents removed officials that served rulemaking and adjudication functions.

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?&#10;A) Emboldened Executive Theory&#10;B) Activist Executive Theory&#10;C) Unitary Executive Theory&#10;D) Congressional Abdication Theory

Accepted Answer

Scalia used the phrase "unitary executive" twice in his opinion, which was a broad effort to revive the idea that the president had unfettered power to direct and remove all executive branch officers.

Question 9

Which of the following presidential scandals reflected the controversial nature of the unitary executive theory?&#10;A) Watergate&#10;B) Whitewatergate&#10;C) Travelgate&#10;D) Firegate

Accepted Answer

""Firegate"" was the name given to the scandal surrounding the firing of several U.S. attorneys for political purposes during the George W. Bush administration.

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?&#10;A) The John Birch Society&#10;B) The Federalist Society&#10;C) The Anti-Federalists&#10;D) The Council for Legal Relations

Accepted Answer

Many of the important aides during the Reagan era who later became key legal figures during the George W. Bush era were strong affiliates with The Federalist Society.

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