Foreign policy makers 627Our discussion focuses on people and organizations in government whose primary
job is foreign policy making, but virtually all executive branch departments and
agencies have some responsibility for issues with international reach. For example, the
Department of Education administers programs that fund undergraduate, graduate,
and scholarly study of the politics, history, and culture of other nations, as well as
educational exchanges with universities abroad (in fact, both authors of this text
are former Fulbright Scholars). Similarly, the Department of Agriculture oversees
programs that encourage food exports to other nations and that protect Americans
against unsafe imports.The president and the executive branch
The president is the dominant actor in American foreign policy.^35 The president can
negotiate treaties or executive agreements with other nations, change policy through
executive orders or findings, mobilize public opinion to prompt action by Congress,
and shape foreign policy by appointing people to agencies and departments that
administer these policies (see Chapter 12). The president also serves as commander in
chief of America’s armed forces.
While the president comes first in our discussion of how foreign policy gets
made, presidents do not act on their own. Staff throughout the executive branch play
key roles in defining as well as implementing policy options, and representing the
United States throughout the world. Moreover, as we discuss here and in Chapter 12,
presidential power is limited by the Constitution, by statutes, and by the ability of
members of Congress and the courts to set policy or reverse presidential elections.
For example, President Trump’s executive orders in 2017 to ban travel to the United
States from six Muslim-majority nations were reversed or limited by lower federal
courts, then ultimately upheld by the Supreme Court. Thus, a full accounting of the
policy-making process requires us to go beyond the president to consider all these
other actors.
Within the Executive Office of the President (EOP), the principal foreign policy
agency is the National Security Council (NSC), which develops foreign policy
options and presents them to the president. The EOP also includes the Office of the
United States Trade Representative, which focuses on tariffs and trade disputes;
the president’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, a group of academics,
politicians, and former government officials who advise the president; and the
Office of Management and Budget, which prepares the president’s annual budget
proposals for federal agencies and departments, including those with foreign policy
responsibilities.The Department of State The principal foreign policy department in the
executive branch is the Department of State. Its head, the secretary of state, acts as
the official spokesperson for the United States in foreign relations and is an important
adviser to the president. State Department officials operate U.S. embassies abroad
and interact extensively with the leaders of other countries; they also offer expertise
to elected officials on the politics, economics, and cultures of other nations. Aside
from senior staff such as the secretary of state, who is nominated by the president
and confirmed by the Senate, State Department personnel are generally career civil
servants who remain in their positions even after a new president takes office. There
are many different offices and working groups in the State Department, from people
who deal with treaties to coordinators of international aid, arms control, or assistance
for refugees.National Security Council
(NSC)
An agency within the EOP that
advises the president on matters of
foreign policy.Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is
the official spokesperson for the
United States in foreign relations and
is often one of the most powerful and
influential members of the president’s
Cabinet. Pompeo replaced the Trump
administration’s first secretary of
state, Rex Tillerson, who was fired by
the president in early 2018.Full_18_APT_64431_ch17_614-654.indd 627 16/11/18 11:21 AM