6: Presidential Institutions

This module examines the institutional framework of the presidency, our nation's executive branch that is tasked with 'faithfully executing' the laws of Congress, according to Article II of our Constitution. Let's take a look at who works for the president.

While it is difficult to draw definite lines, and while experts may disagree on this, we can learn about the executive branch by dividing it into three tiers according to their

proximity to the government and the role they play in this branch:

1. The Top Tier is called the Executive Office of the President. It includes the White House Staff, headed by the Chief of Staff, which includes the Press Secretary, the Communications Director, the National Security Adviser, to name just a few. Altogether, there may be more than 2000 people working closely with the president.

Physically, the top tier centers on the Oval office in the West Wing, and on anyone who has access to it more or less frequently. Key, often personal advisers to the president, and councils are included here such as the:

National Security Council (1947)

Council On Environmental Quality (1969)

Office of Science and Technology Policy (1976)

Office of Management and Budget (1970),

Office of Diversity of Inclusion (2018)

and the Gender Equality Council established by President Biden (2021), though it may not still exist under the current administration.

2. On the Second Tier you can find our 15 Executive Cabinets or Departments which function as policy advisers. They are the Departments of: State, Defence, Justice, and Treasury (these are the oldest and perhaps most influential ones), along with Agriculture, Commerce, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Labor, and Veteran's Affairs.

3. The Third Tier is comprised of our Independent Regular Agencies, which administer acts of Congress. This level was first established by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in the 1930s, and it has since added more and more agencies to its ranks, approaching a total number around 200 today. Here are some of the better known agencies:

Occupational Safety and Health Agency (OSHA), Social Security Administration (SSA), Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), United States Postal Service (USPS), National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), to name just very few.

The Presidency and DEI

Through appointments, policies, and symbolic leadership, the presidency and diversity, equity, and inclusion are closely related. Executive orders (such as affirmative action reforms), cabinet diversity, and directives from federal agencies are some of the ways that presidents influence DEI.

For instance, while President Biden's executive order from 2021 required DEI training throughout the government, President Trump is reversing similar policies, favoring "colorblind" approaches.

By appointing diverse judges or establishing positions like the Gender Policy Council, the White House also shapes national DEI narratives. But because of partisan differences, DEI priorities fluctuate significantly between administrations, mirroring larger ideological conflicts between meritocracy and equity. In the end, how institutional power responds to systemic inequality is determined by the sitting president.

So you see how the presidency functions as one of three federal government branches, executing and enforcing congressional laws through its extensive network of federal agencies, departments, councils, shaping civil rights and liberties in the process.

Learn more about this in the following readings, before you get the chance to experience the Oval Office hands-on in a "hurricane simulation," and by thinking about the president's day-to-day tasks in your homework, also speculating what it meant that we had our first African-American president in Barack Obama (2008-2016).

Student Learning Outcomes

1. Identify the three tiers of the executive branch (EOP, Cabinet, independent agencies) and their key functions.
2. Explain the responsibilities of top White House staff (e.g., Chief of Staff, Press Secretary) and their influence on presidential decision-making.
3. Analyze how executive orders and agency directives (e.g., DEI training mandates) translate congressional laws into action.
4. Evaluate how presidential appointments and symbolic actions (e.g., Gender Policy Council) advance or hinder diversity, equity, and inclusion goals.
5. Apply knowledge of executive branch operations to a real-world scenario (e.g., hurricane response simulation).
6. Assess the significance of milestone presidencies (e.g., Obama’s election) in shaping modern executive power and representation.