Congress
This part of Congress is the upper chamber, has 100 members total, and senators serve six-year terms.
What is the Senate?
This practice involves redrawing district boundaries to favor one political party.
What is gerrymandering?
This Supreme Court power allows it to declare laws unconstitutional.
What is judicial review?
This three-way relationship between congressional committees, federal agencies, and interest groups maximizes mutual benefits.
What is the iron triangle?
This action allows the president to issue orders that carry the force of law but can be reviewed by the Supreme Court.
What is an executive order?
This process adjusts electoral district boundaries, usually after the census.
What is redistricting?
This annual message allows the president to outline their policy agenda to Congress.
What is the State of the Union Address?
These courts are the first level of the federal court system and hold trials.
What are district courts?
This type of government employment is based on merit rather than political connections.
What is the civil service?
This constitutional article created the executive branch and outlined the president’s formal powers.
What is Article II of the Constitution?
This term describes when one political party controls Congress and another controls the presidency, often leading to gridlock.
What is divided government?
This 1973 law limits the president’s power to deploy U.S. armed forces without Congress’s approval.
What is the War Powers Act?
This law created the three-tier federal court system, including district courts, circuit courts of appeal, and the Supreme Court.
What is the Judiciary Act of 1789?
This type of agency is part of the executive branch but operates independently from presidential control.
What are independent regulatory agencies?
This indirect veto occurs when the president takes no action on a bill for 10 days and it does not become law.
What is a pocket veto?
This model of representation mixes the trustee and delegate approaches depending on the issue.
What is the politico model?
This early Chief Justice strengthened the judicial branch and wrote the decisions for Marbury v. Madison and McCulloch v. Maryland.
Who is John Marshall?
This principle means “let the decision stand” and encourages courts to follow previous rulings.
What is stare decisis?
This authority allows bureaucrats to decide how to implement laws when Congress’s instructions are vague.
What is discretionary authority?
This amendment limited presidents to two full terms in office.
What is the 22nd Amendment?
This committee format allows the entire House to meet under relaxed rules to debate and amend legislation faster.
What is the Committee of the Whole?
This term describes justices who prioritize protecting individual rights and liberties, even if not explicitly stated in the Constitution.
What is judicial activism?
This approach to constitutional interpretation encourages judges to defer policy decisions to elected branches.
What is judicial restraint?
Unlike the permanent iron triangle, this type of network forms temporarily around specific policy issues to advocate for or against them.
What are issue networks?
This Federalist Paper argued for a strong single executive led by one president.
What is Federalist No. 70?