POLITICAL SYSTEMS ABILITY TO CHECK POWERS OF THE

GOVERNMENT
REVISION NOTES
PARAGRAPH 1: Separation of Powers
• A key aim of the US Constitution was to create a government with enough power to act
on a national level, but without so much power that fundamental rights would be at risk.
• One way that this was accomplished was to separate the power of government into
three branches, and then to include checks and balances on those powers to assure
that no one branch of government gained supremacy.
• There is a separation of powers between the Executive (President), Legislature
(Congress) and Judiciary (Supreme Court).
• There is also a separation of powers between state governments and the federal
government.
• The United States is a federal republic of 50 states each of which have their own legal
standing and authority independent of the federal government.
• This ensures that no one part of government can become too powerful.
• Laws differ between the states e.g. on tax, capital punishment and age to drink alcohol.
• However Federal law will almost always prevail when it interferes or conflicts with state
law. Thus, a federal court may require a state to stop certain behaviour it believes
interferes with, or is in conflict with, federal law.
• There are also a number of checks and balances to prevent branches of government
from becoming too powerful.
PARAGRAPH 2: National Security
• The Presidents main role is national security.
• He is the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces.
• He can order the use of troops overseas but if he declares war he must get the
approval of Congress.
• Obama was, arguably, one of the most aggressive Presidents of recent times.
• Obama ordered more than 250 drone attacks in Pakistan.
• Obama ordered and oversaw the Navy SEAL raid that killed Osama bin Laden.
• In April 2018, Trump ordered U.S. forces to attack targets in Syria in response to the
alleged use of chemical weapons by Assad’s government.
• In the ‘War on terror’ in 2001 and 2002, Congress passed Authorisation of the Use of
Military Force (AUMF) legislation which gives the president great flexibility to designate
what groups can be targeted with military force.
• Congress would have to assemble a 2/3 majority in both Houses to override any such
designation.
• Presidential actions can be declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
• Public opinion is also a check on the President in that an unpopular President is
unlikely to be re-elected.
PARAGRAPH 3: Appointment
• President is responsible for carrying out the laws passed by Congress.
• To do this he appoints the heads of each Executive Department. Trump has roughly 15
Department Heads. e.g. Jim Mattis as Secretary of Defence.
• The Senate have to approve the nominees.
• Mattis was approved by the Senate 98-1 in January 2017.
• To attempt to circumvent approval by Senate he can appoint during a recess of
Congress. This is known as a recess appointment. e.g. June 2005 John Bolton the US
Ambassador to the UN.
PARAGRAPH 4: Supreme Court
• The US Supreme Court decides if laws made by Congress are constitutional.
• The President can nominate members of the Supreme Court. The Senate has to
approve the President’s nomination. Membership of the Supreme Court is for life.
• In reality, all Presidents nominate Supreme Court justices for political reasons, some
more obviously partisan than others.
• Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh as a Supreme Court Justice. Kavanaugh was
confirmed by a Senate majority in October 2018.
• The Supreme Court can declare laws constitutional or unconstitutional.
• In June 2013, they declared that the Defence of Marriage Act which did not recognise
same-sex marriages was unconstitutional.
• During the Obama presidency the Supreme Court ruled on an unprecedented number
of important cases
• Justices rescued Obamacare and expanded the rights of pregnant women in the
workplace.
PARAGRAPH 5: Vetoes
Regular Veto: This can be overturned
• A bill passes both Houses with a simple majority and then after printing at the
Government Printing Office it becomes an enrolled bill. At this stage the President has
10 days to sign the bill to allow it to become a law.
• If the President does not like a bill he can use his Regular Veto.
• He can return the bill to Congress unsigned with a list of reasons why he vetoed it.
• It requires a 2/3 majority in both Houses to overturn a veto.
• In February 2015 Obama vetoed a bill that would have approved the controversial
Keystone XL pipeline.
Pocket Veto: This cannot be overturned.
• The pocket veto is used when the President fails to sign a bill after Congress has
adjourned for a recess (holiday).
• As Congress is in recess they cannot override the veto and the bill fails to become law.
PARAGRAPH 6: Executive Orders
• The President can by-pass Congress by issuing Executive Orders.
• EOs bypass Congress and go straight into law.
• In 2014, Obama issued an EO on immigration to prevent the deportation of
unauthorised immigrants, after his DREAM Immigration bill had failed in Congress.
• In his first 100 days in office, president Trump signed more EOs than any other recent
president.
• In June 2018, President Trump signed an EO ending the separation of families
prosecuted for illegally crossing the American border.
• The Supreme Court are a check and a balance on this power as they can declare
Executive Orders unconstitutional through judicial review.
PARAGRAPH 7: Gridlock
• In the 116th Congress from January 2019 there is likely to be ‘gridlock’ in American
politics as the Democratic Party control the House of Representatives with 234. The
Republicans have 52 Senators and control the Senate.
• The Obama Presidency from 2014 was one of polarised politics or “partisanship” as
the Americans call it which led to ‘gridlock.’
• Modern American politics is deeply divided between liberals and conservatives. The
traditional compromises and “bipartisan” approach which have always allowed a
President to work with Congressmen from another party have broken down.
PARAGRAPH 8: Impeachment
• A simple majority in the House is required to impeach an official, however, a 2/3
majority in the Senate is required for conviction.
• A convicted official is automatically removed from office; in addition, the Senate may
stipulate that the defendant be banned from holding office in the future.
• Trump has failed to quash congressional investigations of his 2016 presidential
campaign's ties to Russia. The House of Representatives probe continues, as does a
parallel investigation in the Senate Intelligence Committee.
• He can grant reprieves or pardons. But cannot pardon himself in cases of
impeachment.