Investigating the President: Congressional Checks on Presidential Power (Hardcover)

Investigating the President: Congressional Checks on Presidential Power By Douglas L. Kriner, Eric Schickler Cover Image
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Description


Although congressional investigations have provided some of the most dramatic moments in American political history, they have often been dismissed as mere political theater. But these investigations are far more than grandstanding. Investigating the President shows that congressional investigations are a powerful tool for members of Congress to counter presidential aggrandizement. By shining a light on alleged executive wrongdoing, investigations can exert significant pressure on the president and materially affect policy outcomes.

Douglas Kriner and Eric Schickler construct the most comprehensive overview of congressional investigative oversight to date, analyzing nearly thirteen thousand days of hearings, spanning more than a century, from 1898 through 2014. The authors examine the forces driving investigative power over time and across chambers, identify how hearings might influence the president's strategic calculations through the erosion of the president's public approval rating, and uncover the pathways through which investigations have shaped public policy. Put simply, by bringing significant political pressure to bear on the president, investigations often afford Congress a blunt, but effective check on presidential power--without the need to worry about veto threats or other hurdles such as Senate filibusters.

In an era of intense partisan polarization and institutional dysfunction, Investigating the President delves into the dynamics of congressional investigations and how Congress leverages this tool to counterbalance presidential power.

About the Author


Douglas L. Kriner is associate professor of political science at Boston University. Eric Schickler is the Jeffrey and Ashley McDermott Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley.
Product Details
ISBN: 9780691171852
ISBN-10: 0691171858
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publication Date: September 13th, 2016
Pages: 304
Language: English