Constitution 5 - Separation of Powers Flashcards
Powers of House
Impeachment
Elect the president if no candidate has over 50% of ECVs
Begin consideration of all money bills
Powers of President
Commander in chief
Veto legislation
Powers of the Supreme Court
Role of umpire of the Constitution in all cases
Powers of the Senate
Try an impeachment case
Confirm executive appointments
Ratify treaties
Arguments against the separation of powers
Gridlock
Weaker parties
Arguments in favour of the separation of powers
Legislation is a product of compromise
Separated judiciary keeps effective check on other branches
Safeguard against Tyranny
Example of the House’s power of impeachment
Bill Clinton 1998
Example of house electing the President
1800 and 1824 when both candidates
Example of the Senate trying an impeachment case
Clinton survived impeachment in 1998 due to strong performance of the Democrats
Example of Senate confirming executive appointments
The failure of the Senate to vote on Obama’s nomination of Garland to the SC in 2016, allowed Trump to nominate Gorsuch and influence the ideological balance of the court
Example of Senate ratifying treaties
Obama achieved ratification of the START treaty in 2012.
The Senate rejected Obama’s treaty in 2012 on disabled rights
Arguments for the Senate being more prestigious than the House
- Senators represent the entire state
House members represent only a congressional district - Senators enjoy a 6 year term
House members have just 2 year terms - Senators are more likely to be President
- Senators are more likely to obtain a leadership position as there’s only 100 of them
Example of Senators representing an entire state vs House member just a district
Feinstein represents the entire state of California
Schliff represents just the 28th Congressional district of California
What is the Separation of Powers
A theory of govt. whereby political power is distributed among three branches of government
Example that powers are separate
Jeff Sessions had to resign from the Senate when Trump made him Attorney general