Three Branches Of Government

Balancing it all out

• Federal government has 3 parts• Executive, Legislative, Judicial• Each balance the other so one has all the power• Founding fathers wrote this into the Constitution

Executive Branch

• President• Vice President• Enforces the Laws• Elected by citizens

The roles in Executive

• Represents our country in talks with other nations• Leads nation in times of war• Makes suggestions to Congress about laws• Writes budgets, but needs Congress approval• Works with Congress to get laws passed/rejected

Others in the Executive Branch

• Personal Staff of President:• Press secretary• Speech writers• Policy aides

• Cabinet• Heads of White House Offices/Agencies

What can a President do?

• Make treaties w/approval of Senate• Veto/signs bills• Lead political party• Entertain foreign guests• Grant pardons• Appoint ambassadors• Nominate Cabinet members, Supreme Court Justices and

other high officials• Commander-in-Chief during a war

What can’t the President do?

• Make laws• Declare war• Decide how federal money will be spent• Interpret laws• Choose Cabinet members or Supreme Court Justices

without Senate approval

Who is in charge at the State Level?

• Governor• Lieutenant (or Assistant) Governor

Who is in charge at the Local Level?

• Mayor• Town Supervisor

Legislative Branch

• Federal Level: House of Representatives & Senate• Bicameral : Two Houses• Two sessions per term/called “Congress” (starts in

January)• Every 2 years all House members and 1/3 Senate

members are elected

House of Representatives

• 2 year Term• 435 Members• Initiates (starts/heads up) all Taxation and Spending Bills• Initiates (starts/heads up) Impeachment Proceedings

Senate

• 6 year Term• 100 Members: Equal Representation• In charge of “Advice and Consent” to all Job

appointments and on treaties• Tries (as in questions like a court judge) all impeached

officials

Differences in the Houses

House of Representatives Senate

Strong Leadership/Impersonal Rule Friendly, Personal Interaction

Members more specialized Members more general

Committee decisions influential Committee decisions not as influential

Debates not as important Floor debates more important

Selects President when no candidate gets enough electoral votes

Selects VP when no candidate has enough votes

Major Functions of Congress

• Lawmaking• Representation• Confirmation powers (in the Senate)

Congressional Committees System

• Standing Committees• House 19 with 89 subcommittees• Senate 17 with 69 subcommittees

• Joint Committees• Special or select committees• Conference committees

Congressional Leadership Positions

• Speaker of the House - John Boehner (R)• Majority Leaders (House and Senate)• House: Eric Cantor (R)• Senate: Harry Reid (D)

• Minority Leaders (House and Senate)• House- Nancy Pelosi (D)• Senate- Mitch McConnell ( R)

• Whips (House and Senate)• Kevin McCarthy (majority) (R )• Steny Hoyer (minority) (D)

• President Pro Tempore (Senate)• Daniel Inouye

• Vice-President (President of Senate)• Joe Biden

Congressional Staff

• Personal Staff• Committee Staff• Support Organizations• Congressional Budget Office (CBO)• Congressional Research Service (CRS)• Government Accountability Office

What influences their votes?

• Own Political Views• Constituents Interests• Colleagues Influence • Interest Groups• Presidential Pressures• Party Leadership

State and Local Level

• State: State Legislature/General Assembly/General Court• All have bicameral except Nebraska

• Local: City Council

Judicial Branch

• Federal Level: US Supreme Court• State Level: State Supreme Court• Local Level: Same as state, minus Supreme Court, on

smaller level

What it does

• Supreme Court has final say in all matters dealing with the US Constitution

• Determine if laws/regulations are unconstitutional• Interprets the meaning of laws, helping the police and

other courts apply them.

US Supreme Court

US Court of Appeals13 Circuits

US Court of AppealsIn the federal circuit

US Court of Appeals For the armed forces

94 US District Courts

Including 3 territories:

Guam, Virgin

Islands, and

Northern Mariana Islands

United States Court of

International Trade

United States Claim Court

United States

Court of Veterans Appeals

Courts of Criminal

Appeals in military services:

Army, Navy,

Marine Corps, Air Force, and

Coast Guard

United States Tax

Court

Chief Justice

• John G Roberts Jr.• Born in 1955• Nominated by George W Bush• 2005

Associate Justice

• Antonin Scalia• Born in 1936• Nominated by Ronald Reagan• 1986

Associate Justice

• Anthony Kennedy• Born in 1936• Nominated by Ronald Reagan• 1988

Associate Justice

• Clarence Thomas• Born in 1948• Nominated by George H. W. Bush• 1991

• Ruth Bader Ginsburg• Born in 1933• Nominated by Bill Clinton• 1993

Associate Justice

• Stephen G Breyer• Born in 1938• Nominated by Bill Clinton• 1994

Associate Justice

• Samuel Anthony Alito Jr• Born in 1950• Nominated by George W Bush• 2006

Associate Judge

• Sonia Sotomayor• Born in 1954• Nominated by Barack Obama• 2009

Associate Justice

• Elena Kagan• Born in 1960• Nominated by Barack Obama• 2010

Judicial Review

• 1. The Constitution is the supreme law of the land• 2. If a law conflicts with the Constitution, the

Constitution rules• 3. The judicial branch has a duty to uphold the

Constitution. It must be able to determine when a law conflicts with the Constitution and nullify the law