17 - CHECKS AND BALANCES - By Congress

Question 1

Chapter 17 - CHECKS AND BALANCES by Congress

Answer 1

checks and balances - congress

Question 2

What are 5 checks by Congress on the President?

Answer 2

• Legislation
• Veto override
• Power of the purse
• Impeachment
• Ratification of treaties/appointments

Question 3

What did Obama ask for in his State of the Union address from 2010 to 2015, but Congress did not pass?

Answer 3

Immigration reform

Question 4

What did House Democrats try to do in September 2021?

Answer 4

To reign in executive powers they say Trump flagrantly abused

Question 5

What act did the House pass in December 2021 to limit presidential power?

Answer 5

The Protect Our Democracy Act

Question 6

What is required in Congress to override a presidential veto?

Answer 6

A supermajority

Question 7

What was the only one of Obama’s 12 vetoes to be overridden?

Answer 7

The Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act

Question 8

What was the only one of Trump’s 10 vetoes to be overridden and when was this veto?

Answer 8

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) - 1st January 2021

Question 9

Where do appropriations bills start?

Answer 9

In the House of Representatives

Question 10

Why did the government shutdown in January 2018?

Answer 10

The US government lacked the money to operate as a result of a dispute with Trump over Obama’s DACA immigration policy - Democrats held up appropriations bills

Question 11

What does Congress have to give the president to authorise the use of troops?

Answer 11

An AUMF - Authorisation for the Use of Military Force

Question 12

What did the 117th Congress repeal in regards to the authorisation of the use of military force?

Answer 12

The 117th Congress repealed the 2002 AUMF, which was used for the war in Iraq

Question 13

What are presidents or members of the executive branch impeached for?

Answer 13

‘Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors’

Question 14

What is required in the Senate for a president to be impeached?

Answer 14

A 2/3 majority

Question 15

Who are the last two presidents to be impeached?

Answer 15

Bill Clinton (1997) and Donald Trump (2019,2021)

Question 16

What were the specific charges against Clinton in his impeachment?

Answer 16

Lying under oath and obstruction of justice - linked to his rumoured affair with Monica Lewinsky

Question 17

Why was Trump impeached for the first time in December 2019?

Answer 17

The Democratic Party accused him of asking the Ukrainian government to find him damaging information on Hunter Biden, Joe Biden’s son.
Trump apparently used the withholding of military aid as a lever to get Ukraine to do what he wanted

Question 18

What happened to Trump’s approval ratings after his first impeachment?

Answer 18

They rose from the mid-40s to 49%

Question 19

Why was Trump impeached for a second time in January 2021?

Answer 19

Trump was charged with ‘incitement of insurrection’

Question 20

What was the result in the Senate vote why was Trump being acquitted in his second impeachment trial important?

Answer 20

• 57 guilty
• 43 not guilty
  If he was found guilty he would not have been allowed to run in the 2024 election

Question 21

What treaty was rejected by the Senate in 2012?

Answer 21

The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Question 22

How many posts require Senate approval?

Answer 22

1200

Question 23

Whose nomination for Secretary of Labor was withdrawn in 2017 following Mitch McConnell informing Trump that he did not have the votes to confirm his appointment?

Answer 23

Andrew Puzder

Question 24

What are 4 ways Congress can check the Supreme Court?

Answer 24

• Impeach justices
• Propose a constitutional amendment
• Creation of lower courts
• Ratify judicial appointments

Question 25

Who is the only Supreme Court Justice to be impeached?

Answer 25

Samuel Chase in 1805

Question 26

What federal judge was found ‘guilty’ of bribery and making false statements in 2010?

Answer 26

Thomas Porteous

Question 27

What Act was introduced by Congress in 2022 in an attempt to codify Roe v Wade after a Supreme Court ruling?

Answer 27

The Women’s Health Protection Act 2022

Question 28

What were the results of two votes in the Senate on the 2022 Women’s Health Protection Act in February 2022 and May 2022?

Answer 28

February 2022: Defeated 46-48
May 2022: 49-51

Question 29

How did Congress respond to the Supreme Court ruling in 1857 that slaves were property?

Answer 29

They added the 13th and 14th amendments to the Constitution which abolished slavery

Question 30

How was the passing of the bipartisan Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act a check on the Supreme Court?

Answer 30

It allowed the federal government to regulate tobacco products, which the Supreme Court ruled they didn’t have the authority to do only 9 years earlier

Question 31

What amendment was passed which allowed for the federal income tax to levied, overturning an 1895 Supreme Court ruling?

Answer 31

16th Amendment

Question 32

What is it called when Congress tries to prevent the Supreme Court from hearing a case?

Answer 32

Jurisdiction stripping

Question 33

How did Congress try to prevent the Supreme Court from hearing cases from Guantanamo detainees?

Answer 33

The Military Commissions Act 2006

Question 34

How many unsuccessful nominations to the Supreme Court have there been?

Answer 34

37

Question 35

Why was Obama’s nomination to the Supreme Court, Merrick Garland, not ratified by the Senate in 2016?

Answer 35

The Senate was controlled by the Republican party

Question 36

What Reagan nomination to the Supreme Court in 1987 was rejected?

Answer 36

Robert Bork