Name one power of the president.

Why this is the answer

Article II of the Constitution creates the presidency, and the official list picks out six of the powers that come with it: signing bills into law, vetoing bills, enforcing laws, serving as Commander in Chief of the military, acting as chief diplomat, and appointing federal judges. You only need one, so choose the one you can say without hesitating. The first two work as a pair with Congress. Once both chambers pass a bill, it goes to the President, and a signature makes it law while a veto sends it back. The President cannot start that process, though: a President with an idea for a law has to ask a member of Congress to introduce the bill. Enforcement comes from the duty in Article II, Section 3 to "take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed." The title of Commander in Chief is in Section 2, which places the Army, the Navy and the state militias called into national service under the President. "Chief diplomat" is a label rather than a phrase from the Constitution. It sums up the foreign affairs powers: the President makes treaties, provided two-thirds of the senators present agree, names ambassadors with the Senate's consent, and receives the ambassadors other countries send. Appointing judges follows the same pattern of nomination and Senate approval, all the way up to the Supreme Court. A tempting wrong answer is a power that sounds presidential but belongs to Congress. Declaring war is listed among the powers of Congress in Article I, Section 8, and so is raising armies, which is why "declares war" is wrong here. The power to pardon federal crimes is real and sits in Article II, but it is not among the six answers. USCIS acknowledges that other correct answers may exist and still encourages applicants to use the ones on its list, so pardons are a weaker choice than any of the six. The six split neatly in two: three powers deal with laws (sign, veto, enforce) and three reach beyond Congress, to the military, to other countries and to the courts.