Executive Summary

The U.S. government's executive and legislative branches have been on a collision course since November 2006, when Democrats won control of both houses of Congress. So, with conflict between the coequal branches making regular front-page news, we're conducting an executive branch review (we've already marched on Congress).

Of course, when you mention the executive branch, most people think of the White House. That's natural, but it's just one building. The executive branch is vastly larger than the president and his staff. How big is it? Let's break the branch down, by counting up the people and following the money.

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Presidential Powers

Once we've checked the executive counts, it's time to reread the U.S. Constitution itself--and to make a guide to Article II, the part that covers the executive branch. Article II says that the nation's "executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America." It goes on to specifically enumerate fewer than a dozen key jobs for that chief executive. Know what they are?

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Building a Cabinet

Having a Cabinet of presidential advisers seems as American as apple pie and impeachment. But the Constitution does not require it. While the Constitution says that the president can request advice from department heads, it took George Washington to carve those heads into a Cabinet.

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Executive Privilege

Presidents and their executive-branch cohorts have long claimed the right to keep certain information secret, even from Congress and the courts. They call it "executive privilege." The phrase doesn't appear in the Constitution. But, once again, the idea goes all the way back to George Washington--and to foundational arguments about the "separation of powers" in American government.

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Signing Statements

The "separation of powers" comes into play in the legislative process, too. After all, the Constitution empowers the president either to sign a bill into law, or to veto it and send it back to Congress. But presidents have been taking a third path lately--signing bills into law while adding "signing statements," pesky executive Post-Its that have sparked a constitutional controversy.

Just what are these signing statements? And what's the constitutional fuss? Let's review the legislative process--and see how signing statements have been tacked on.

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--Michael Himick and Steve Sampson