The President is the head of state of the US and is part of the executive branch of government. He (the President has so far always been a man) decides US policy on foreign affairs and is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. He can appoint heads of government departments and federal judges. Congress must ask the President to approve new laws, although it is possible to pass a law without the President’s approval. Each year, the President gives a State of the Union Address to Congress. The President works in what may be the most famous office in the world, the Oval Office in the White House in Washington, DC.
The Constitution requires that a president should be at least 35 years old, and have been born in the US. It is often said that the President is directly elected by the people, and this is true in comparison with countries like Britain where the Prime Minister is selected by Members of Parliament . In fact, although people vote for one of the candidates for President, an electoral college makes the final choice ( ➡ note at elections .). A president can serve a maximum of two terms (four years each).
Americans have a lot of respect for the office of President, and they are shocked when the president is believed to have done something wrong or illegal. In such a case it is possible for Congress to impeach the President (= remove him from his job). Congress attempted to impeach President Richard Nixon during the Watergate scandal of the 1970s but he decided to resign before the impeachment process was completed. In 1999, President Bill Clinton was tried by the Senate after admitting that he had had a sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky, having earlier denied it. Many Americans continued to support him and the Senate decided that he was not guilty of ‘high crimes and misdemeanours’ (= offences for which a person can be impeached).