• The powers of the U.S. President are laid out in the U.S. Constitution.The White House image by dwight9592 from Fotolia.com
  
  Under the aegis of the United States Constitution, the president is the head of the executive branch. The duties of the United States president were first enumerated in 1788 in a document known as Federalist No. 51, written by James Madison. In the essay, Madison defines the president as the person who balances the American government between the government's legislative and judicial branches.
  
  

Article 1

• Article 1 of the Constitution concerns the nature of the U.S. legislative branch, the Congress. Article 1 explains the powers the president of the United States has in relation to the Congress. Section 7 of Article 1 states that a bill from Congress is presented to the president. The president either signs the bill into law and enforces the law across the United States or vetoes the bill with specific objections. If a veto occurs, Congress either alters the bill to the president's recommendations, abandons the bill completely, or, with two-third majorities in both the Senate and the House, overrides the president's veto, making a bill a law without the president's consent.
  
  

Article II Section 1

• Article II Section 1 of the Constitution explains the power of the U.S. President. All executive power in the United States is exercised by the president for a period of four years. The U.S. president must "faithfully execute," as the supreme executive of the United States, the laws found in the U.S. Constitution. This means that all laws that the legislative branch creates are to be enforced by the president.
  
  

Article II Section 2

• Article II Section 2 explains the specific powers of the U.S. president. The president is the "Commander in Chief" of all armed services in the United States. The president also has the power to nominate candidates for the Supreme Court and federal courts. The Senate confirms or denies the nominees for the respective office. The president can also nominate ambassadors and representatives of the United States with Senate approval. The president creates international agreements and treaties, but the Senate must confirm the treaties by an absolute two-thirds majority.
  
  

Article II Section 3 and 4

• The entire Congress, both House and Senate, and the Supreme Court must be briefed by the president during a State of the Union address concerning the overall direction of the country. The president can also call Congress together during extraordinary circumstances, such as wartime. The Senate is given the power to impeach the president when the president commits "high crimes and misdemeanors."