section_path: History and development/Imperial presidency
section_name: Imperial presidency
paragraph_text: Imperial presidency
  
  The ascendancy of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933 led further toward what historians now describe as the Imperial presidency. Backed by enormous Democratic majorities in Congress and public support for major change, Roosevelt's New Deal dramatically increased the size and scope of the federal government, including more executive agencies.: 211–12 The traditionally small presidential staff was greatly expanded, with the Executive Office of the President being created in 1939, none of whom require Senate confirmation.: 229–231 Roosevelt's unprecedented re-election to a third and fourth term, the victory of the United States in World War II, and the nation's growing economy all helped established the office as a position of global leadership.: 269 His successors, Harry Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower, each served two terms as the Cold War led the presidency to be viewed as the " leader of the free world ", while John F. Kennedy was a youthful and popular leader who benefited from the rise of television in the 1960s.
  
  After Lyndon B. Johnson lost popular support due to the Vietnam War and Richard Nixon 's presidency collapsed in the Watergate scandal, Congress enacted a series of reforms intended to reassert itself. These included the War Powers Resolution, enacted over Nixon's veto in 1973, and the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 that sought to strengthen congressional fiscal powers. By 1976, Gerald Ford conceded that "the historic pendulum" had swung toward Congress, raising the possibility of a "disruptive" erosion of his ability to govern. Ford failed to win election to a full term and his successor, Jimmy Carter, failed to win re-election. Ronald Reagan, who had been an actor before beginning his political career, used his talent as a communicator to help reshape the American agenda away from New Deal policies toward more conservative ideology.
  
  After the Cold War, the United States became the world's undisputed leading power. Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama each served two terms as president. Meanwhile, the nation gradually became more politically polarized, leading to the ascendency of increasingly polarized Congressmembers, especially following the 1994 mid-term elections which saw Republicans control the House for the first time in 40 years, and the rise of routine filibusters in the Senate. Recent presidents have thus increasingly focused on executive orders, agency regulations, and judicial appointments to implement major policies, at the expense of legislation and congressional power. Presidential elections in the 21st century have reflected this continuing polarization, with no candidate except Obama in 2008 winning by more than five percent of the popular vote and two, George W. Bush (2000) and Donald Trump (2016), winning in the Electoral College while losing the popular vote. Bush (2004) and Trump (2024) were later re-elected, winning both in the Electoral College and the popular vote.