Founding Documents
This document determines that Congress has the power to declare war, and the President is commander-in-chief.
What is the Constitution?
This Amendment in the Bill of Rights makes it so that the state level legislature, governor, and bureaucracy is in charge.
What is the 10th Amendment?
President Trump used this informal presidential power to cajole Texas into gerrymandering its districts to benefit potential Republican lawmakers in the 2026 federal mid-term elections.
What is the bully pulpit?
Congress uses this clause to pass the majority of its laws, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
What is the commerce clause?
The 2025 government shutdown ended primarily because of action taken in this part of government.
What is the Senate?
President Trump has been following this idea penned by Alexander Hamilton in Federalist 70.
What is "energy in the executive"? or an "energetic executive"
This federal agency is responsible for the response to hurricanes, fires, flooding, and other natural disasters.
What is the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)?
President Trump used this enumerated power in Article I, Section 2 to order the U.S military to conduct air strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean.
What is commander-in-chief?
The current name and title of the leader of the House of Representatives. He represents the 4th District of Louisiana.
What is Mike Johnson, the Speaker of the House?
The U.S. Circuit Court ruled against the Texas gerrymander of its districts for the members of the House of Representatives because this Supreme Court case determined that racial gerrymandering is unconstitutional.
What is Shaw v Reno (1992)?
Fill in the blank from Federalist 51. "But the great security against a gradual concentration of the several powers in the same department, consists in giving to those who administer each department the necessary _______________ means and personal motives to resist encroachments of the others. Ambition must be made to counteract ambition. The interest of the man must be connected with the __________ rights of the place.”
What is constitutional?
Congress holds these two primary checks over bureaucratic agencies.
What are funding (or "power of the purse") and hearings?
Today, the President generally oversees foreign policy, though Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution gave this part of the government the power to ratify this. (Two-part answer.)
What is the Senate, and treaties?
This part of government "arrived at the necessary conclusion that there was neither 'a rebellion or danger of a rebellion' nor was the President 'unable with the regular forces to execute the laws of the United States' in Oregon when he ordered the federalization and deployment of the National Guard."
What is federal courts, or judicial branch, or District Court? (Hasn't reached Supreme Court yet.)
Acquired at birth, these are fundamental liberties that belong to everyone and can’t be taken away.
What are natural rights?
Similar to the idea of "ambition must be made to counteract ambition," in Federalist 51, the idea in Federalist 10 is that these may be given the freedom to exist, and counter each other by sharing their views.
What are factions?
This department head-level position (one of the original four in Washington’s cabinet, before other agencies were established) does not have the title of “secretary.” It has responsibility over releasing the Epstein files.
What is the Attorney General?
In October, 2025, President Trump signed a deal with Australia to give technology companies and the U.S. military more access to these critical materials. (China currently controls about 70% of this product worldwide.)
What are rare earth minerals?
Two parts of the federal bureaucracy - the National Security Council, which limited reporters' access to the White House, and the Department of Defense, which limited reporters' access to military leaders - could be accussed of violating this law passed in 1966.
What is the Freedom of Information Act?
Ratified in 1791, and 1868, these two Amendments state that Americans have the right to life, liberty, property, and due process.
What are Amendments V and XIV?
Madison was referring to these when he wrote in Federalist 51: “In republican government, the legislative authority necessarily predominates. The remedy for this inconveniency is to divide the legislature into different branches.”
What is the House of Representatives and the Senate?
This part of the bureaucracy confiscated the gun of a person using marijuana and cocaine, and this part of the bureaucracy is deporting undocumented immigrants.
What is the FBI, and ICE?
The President claims the informal power of Executive Orders largely due to this clause in Article II, Section 3.
What is the take care clause? (Also accepted: vesting clause in Article II, Section 1.)
One of the most powerful groups in Congress, the Senate and House versions of these committees regulate expenditures of money by the government of the United States.
What is Appropriations?
This entity can switch from existing in the state bureaucracy to existing in the federal bureaucracy with a presidential order.
What is the National Guard?