The president on Capitol Hill : a theory of institutional influence / Jeffrey E. Cohen.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Cohen, Jeffrey E., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

United States. Congress--Voting.

United States.

United States. Congress.

Voting.

Presidents--United States.

Presidents.

Executive-legislative relations.

Executive-legislative relations--United States.

Executive power--United States.

Executive power.

Voting registers.

Physical Description:

vi, 312 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

New York : Columbia University Press, [2019]

Summary:

Can presidents influence whether Congress enacts their agenda? Most research on presidential-congressional relations suggests that presidents have little if any influence on Congress. Instead, structural factors like party control largely determine the fate of the president's legislative agenda. In The President on Capitol Hill, Jeffrey E. Cohen challenges this conventional view, arguing that existing research has underestimated the president's power to sway Congress and developing a new theory of presidential influence. Cohen demonstrates that by taking a position, the president converts an issue from a nonpresidential into a presidential one, which leads members of Congress to consider the president's views when deciding how to vote. Presidential position taking also converts the factors that normally affect roll call voting--such as party, public opinion, and policy type--into resources that presidents can leverage to influence the vote. By testing all House roll calls from 1877 to 2012, Cohen finds that not only do presidents have more influence than previously thought, but through their influence, they can affect the substance of public policy. The President on Capitol Hill offers a new perspective on presidential-congressional relations, showing that presidents are not simply captives of larger political forces but rather major players in the legislative process.

Contents:

On presidential influence in Congress

A theory of presidential influence in Congress

Estimating presidential influence in Congress

Presidential influence in the House in the modern era

Political parties as a source of presidential influence

The two presidencies and presidential influence

Public opinion as a source of presidential influence

Presidential lobbying effort and influence

Modernity and presidential influence in Congress

Comparing the influence of premodern and modern presidents.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Cohen, Jeffrey E., author. President on Capitol Hill

ISBN:

9780231189149

0231189141

9780231189156

023118915X

OCLC:

1054262295