The Opportunistic President

How US Presidents Determine Their Legislative Programs

Bibliographic Data

ID6300465
AuthorsJeremy Gelman (0000-0002-1977-7130, University of Michigan), Gilad Wilkenfeld (University of Colorado), E Scott Adler (0009-0005-9304-3900, University of Colorado)
Year2015
Volume40
Issue3
Pages363-390
Publication date2015-08-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueLegislative Studies Quarterly (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0362-9805 • E-ISSN: 1939-9162
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/lsq.12080
OpenAlexW1494554339
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited37

The president is the most influential policy actor in US politics, and his legislative program greatly influences Congress's agenda. Yet little research has focused on what factors affect the president's choices when constructing his agenda. We develop a theory that determines when a president will include an issue in his program. We hypothesize that presidents structure their agendas around the congressional calendar for consideration of expiring laws and salient issues. Using data over 28 years and across 12 policy areas, we find presidents build their programs around these policymaking opportunities. We assert that presidential agendas are less driven by individual priorities than previous accounts have concluded

Law and economics · Legislature · Political science · Politics · Presidential system · Salient · Sociology · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Fiscal Policies and Political Economy · Law · Policy Transfer and Learning · Public Administration

Tools

Open DOISci-HubOpen Access