Presentment offers the president a choice about the enrolled bill as a whole: sign it, return it with objections, or allow it to become law without a signature when the constitutional conditions are met. The Constitution supplies no federal line-item veto. A president therefore cannot sign the bill and use a statement to cancel one section. Courts interpret law independently, and an agency remains bound by the statute, its delegated discretion, and applicable judicial precedent.

Suppose the president signs a transportation act but states that one grant program is "void" and will receive no funds. The statement does not delete the program or cancel the appropriation. The executive may raise a constitutional argument in court or interpret genuine ambiguity, but it must administer valid law within lawful discretion unless Congress changes the text or a court supplies a controlling judgment.

Distinguish stage and effect. A veto prevents enactment unless Congress overrides. A signing statement accompanies approval after Congress has passed the bill. An executive order later directs executive administration. None of these labels alone establishes that the president's legal interpretation is correct.

Video lesson: Presidential Power: Crash Course Government and Politics #11