checks and balances Flashcards
building on the intention of the separation of powers to prevent any institution becoming too powerful the founding fathers gave each institution a
number of ways to check the power of the other two branches
this would lead to all power being effectively balanced between the
presidency , congress and the Supreme Court , rather than being concentrated in any one branch
the presidents checks on congress
1. in the annual state of union address , the president formally recommends legislation to a joint session of congress.
in bidens 2023 state of union address , he implored congress to pass policing reform , immigration legislation , codify abortion rights and cap the price of insulin for all at $35/month
in his 2024 state of union address Biden implored congress to focus on expanding medicare drug price negotiations , address reproductive rights including the protection of in vitro fertilisation treatments and support economic growth through initiatives in the semiconductor industry and clean energy sector.
obama used his 2010 state of union address to focus on passing the affordable care act , which was passed a few months late.
the presidents checks on congress
2. the president has the power to veto bills passed by congress
obama vetoed 12 bills
trump vetoed 10 bills
on 6th may 2020 trump vetoed the Iran war powers resolution , which would be limited the presidents authority to use military force against Iran without congressional approval
Biden vetoed 10 bills
on 7th July 2023 Biden vetoed a bill that wouldve blocked his student loan forgiveness programme
on 26th September 2023, he vetoed a bill that would’ve stripped endangered species protection from the Northern long-eared bat
the presidents checks on the Supreme Court
1. the president nominates all federal judges including those on the SC when there is a vacancy. this allows them to shape the court how they wish
trump was able to make 3 appointments to the SC during his earlier presidency. All 3 , Neil Gorsuch , Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett - are conservatives.
this shift in the court to being more conservative and dominated by republican appointments resulted in the overturning of Roe V Wade in 2022.
Biden made one appointment to the Supreme Court , appointing Ketanji Brown Jackson in April 2022 ; the first black woman and former federal public defender to serve on the supreme court.
the presidents checks on the Supreme Court
2. presidential pardons allow the president to pardon are forgive indviduals for a federal crime , a controversial check as can be used on political allies and friends.
the most high profile case is when Ford pardoned Nixon over the Watergate scandal
Obama pardoned over 1000 indviduals on drug charges who had received lengthy sentences at the height of the war on drugs.
in his last day in office in his 2016 term trump pardoned Lil Wayne for gun charges as well as political ally Steve Bannon who faced charges of corruption involving a political campaign
Biden has pardoned a number of indviduals on drug , murder and alcohol crimes but has ruled out pardoning his son Hunter Biden
congresses checks on the president
1. congress can amend or reject legislation recommended by the president , therefore thwarting their legislative agenda
this happens a great deal when there is a divided government , however Trump found opposition from congress when tying to pass a law to build a wall on the Mexican border despite not being Republican controlled
Since loosing control of the HoR in 2022 midterms , Biden has seen many of his key legislative aims blocked , including on policing reform , immigration , codifying abortion rights and capping the price of insulin for all at $35/month
congresses checks on the president
2. congress can override a president’s veto with a 2/3 majority in both the senate and HoR
vetoes being overridden is very rare and Biden has successfully avoid it , both trump and obama did not
in January 2021 congress override Donald trumps veto to pass the national defence organisation act , trump had objected to policies that limited troop withdrawals from Afghanistan
congresses checks on the president
3. congress has the power of the purse which means that all money spent by the president and executive has to be agreed by congress
this can be used by congress to affect policy such as when congress sought withdrawal from Iraq by restricting military spending under Bush , and sometimes results in government shutdowns when congress fails to approve a presidents budget
congresses checks on the president
4. the president needs congressional approval to declare war
this being said , the last time this happened was for a formal declaration of war , WWII , showing how congress had struggled to control the president using military action short of formal declaration of war.
congressional approval was granted before committing troops in Iraq though.
congresses checks on the president
5. the senate had the power to ratify treaties negotiated by the president , requiring a 2/3 majority
a recent rejected treaty is obamas convention on the rights of persons with disabilities which failed to reach a supermajority with 61yeas v 38 nays
congresses checks on the president
6. the senate has the power to confirm/reject presidential appointments including to the supreme court and government
the republican senate failed to appoint obamas Supreme Court nomination Merrick Garland in 2016 , by refusing to vote on his nomination , so that a Republican president could appoint a diffrent judge after the 2016 election
trump had 3 government nominations rejected , including Chad Wolf who he’d nominated to head the department of homeland security in January 2021
in 2022 the senate rejected 2 of bidders nominations to head the department of labour’s wage and hour division , as they believed they threatened business
congresses checks on the president
7. the power to investigate the actions of the president and government
prominent examples of this are in response to the Watergate affair and trump campaigns interactions with Russian intelligence services during the 2016 election
congresses checks on the president
8. congress can impeach the presdient
3 president (Johnson,Clinton,Trumo in 2019 and 2021) have been impeached by the HpR , but none were convicted in the senate
Clinton was impeached for lying under oath in relation to his sexual relationship with Monica Lewinsky
Trump was impeached in 2019 for soliciting foreign interference to help re election in the 2020 election
Trump was again impeached in 2021 for inciting insurrection against the US state in the January 6 attack on the US capitol
congress can also impeach other members of the executive , including members of cabinet
on feb 13 2024 the HoR impeached Alejandro Mayors , secretary of homeland security on a vote 214-213.
the impeachment centred on allegations of his failure to comply with federal immigration laws and breaching the public trust , particularly in relation to the handing off the US-Mexico border situation. AM is the first cabinet member to be impeached since 1786.
The impeachment was largely seen as addressing policy that the republicans were unhappy with rather than any high crimes or misdemeanours , showing how checks and balances are increasingly being used for partisan political reasons.
congresses checks on the judiciary
1. Congress has the power to confirm/reject nominations to the judiciary
the republican senate failed to appoint Obamas SC nomination Merrick Garland in 2016. , by refusing to vote on his nomination , so that a republican president could appoint a diffrent judge after the 2016 election
congresses checks on the judiciary
2. congress can impeach federal judges
the most recent impeachment was 2010 , when Thomas Porteous was impeached and removed by the senate on corruption charges
congresses checks on the judiciary
3. Congress can propose amendments to the constitution if it doesn’t like the SC’s interpretation of the constitution
for example the 16th ammendment was proposed by congress in 1909 after the SC ruled that an income tax was unconstitutional in the late 19th century
the supreme courts checks on the president
1. the power of judicial review , to declare an action of any member of the executive unconstitutional
in June 2023 the SC ruled that Biden $430 billion student debt forgiveness plan was unconstitutional. Biden argued that the 2003 Heroes act (passed in repose to 9/11) gave him the ability to change student aid program laws , but the SC ruled that it didnt
Another example is in 2017 when the SC stopped Trumps executive order banning entry to the US for citizens from 7 Muslim countries
the supreme courts checks on congress
1. the power of judicial review ; to declare laws passed by congress unconstitutional
in Federal election commission v Ted Cruz for senate 2022 , the SC struck down section 304 of the Bipartisan campaign reform act 2002 , which limited the amount of money that candidates could be paid on personal loans to their campaign
In United States v Windsor 2013 , the SC declared the defence of Marriage act 1996 unconstitutional for not offering equal protection to gay and straight couples , resulting in gay marriage being legalised
arguments that the separation of powers and checks and balances are effective
- one key intention of checks and balances and the separation of power is to ensure that no one branch gains too much power therefore protecting democracy against tyranny
it can be argued that
they are effective in doing so as each branch is limited by the others
further the US political system survived a sustained attack on its democracy by the Trump campaign and his supporters following the 2020 election , after which Trump end impeached for his involvement in inciting the insurrection
arguments that the separation of powers and checks and balances are effective
- one consequence of checks and balances it that it forces the diffrent branches to work together to get anything done
this can be seen as promoting
bipartisanship and policy forged by compromise and widespread support
arguments that the separation of powers and checks and balances are INeffective
- the failure of the insurrection against the US state on January 6 2021 following the 2020 election was arguably dependent on only a few indviduals , particularly Mike Pence who stood up to Trump
Thus it can be argued that
the constitution failed to offer sufficient checks and balances against this attempt to harm democracy
arguments that the separation of powers and checks and balances are INeffective
- the seperation of powers and checks and balances result in a need for
Bipartisanship
especially when there is divided government , this often leads to Gridlock and a failure to pass much needed policies such as on immigration reform or climate change
arguments that the separation of powers and checks and balances are INeffective
- it cane argued that the highly partisan nature of US politics threatens the effectiveness of checks and balances as almost
all members of congress vote with the party line the vast majority of time
when there is unified government , this can be seen as threatening democracy as the checks between the presidency and congress are less effective/used less often
the same can be said for the SC which is significantly influenced by its political leanings when interpreting and implementing the constitution
