Congress, the president, the courts and the bureaucracy share power, and most of American policymaking is the story of how they push against each other. This unit covers what each branch can do, the rules that shape how it does it, and the checks the others hold. It is the largest unit on the exam.
Congress is bicameral: the Senate represents states equally and the House represents people by population. Size and term length make the chambers behave differently. The Constitution gives Congress enumerated powers, plus implied powers through the necessary and proper clause.
Both chambers send bills to committees run by the majority party, but each has its own rules: the Speaker and Rules Committee in the House, holds, filibusters and cloture in the Senate. A conference committee reconciles different versions. Congress also writes a budget split between mandatory and discretionary spending.
Partisanship, polarization and divided government shape how Congress acts and can produce gridlock. Gerrymandering has been partly checked by Baker v. Carr and Shaw v. Reno. Members see their role as trustee, delegate or politico.
Presidents pursue a policy agenda with help from the vice president, Cabinet and Executive Office of the President. Their powers are formal (written in the Constitution) and informal (developed through practice), from vetoes and treaties to executive orders, executive agreements and persuasion.
The Senate confirms the president's major appointments, which can spark conflict over who is chosen. The president's longest-lasting influence comes from life-tenured judges.
Federalist No. 70 argues for a single, energetic executive. Presidents have used and justified expanding power, and the Twenty-Second Amendment shows the worry it causes. Debate continues between limited and expansive views of the office.
New communication technology has increased the president's reach. Social media allows rapid responses, and the televised State of the Union and the bully pulpit let presidents set the agenda by shaping what the public thinks matters most.
Article III creates the federal judiciary, and Federalist No. 78 argues that an independent judiciary with life tenure checks the other branches. Marbury v. Madison established judicial review, the power to strike down unconstitutional laws and actions.
Courts usually follow precedent (stare decisis). But as presidents appoint justices, the Court's ideology shifts, and a new majority can set new precedents or overturn old ones.
Life tenure frees justices from the current political climate, so they can make unpopular decisions. That independence is also why people argue about how much power the Court should have.
People disagree about how judicial review should be used: judicial activism versus judicial restraint. The other branches can limit the Court through new laws, amendments, appointments, slow implementation and jurisdiction limits.
The federal bureaucracy (departments, agencies, commissions and government corporations) carries out policy by writing and enforcing regulations, issuing fines, testifying before Congress, and working in iron triangles and issue networks. Most civil servants are hired on merit rather than patronage.
Congress often writes laws in general terms and delegates discretion to agencies, which use rulemaking authority to write and enforce detailed regulations. Know what the agencies named in the CED do.
Congress oversees the bureaucracy through reviews, investigations, hearings and the power of the purse, which also checks the president. Presidents steer agencies through appointments and influence, and compliance monitoring checks that rules are followed.
Congress, the president and the courts all have formal and informal ways to hold the bureaucracy accountable. Sharing power among three branches creates many access points for influencing policy, but it also constrains national policymaking.