Evaluate The View That Congress Effectively Holds The President To Account.(30)

Question 1

Paragraph One ➡️ Congress’ Powers Of Oversight
- For: Congress Does Effectively Hold The President To Account

Answer 1

• Oversight allows Congress to scrutinise and expose the actions of the President and the executive as a whole
• (Example): Senate Intelligence Committee investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election shows the detailed scrutiny perfomed by Congressional committees. This investigation lasted 3 years with 200 witnesses - The report didn’t find a criminal conspiracy between Russia and the Trump campaign.

Question 2

Paragraph One ➡️ Congress’ Powers Of Oversight
- Against: Congress Doesn’t Effectively Hold The President To Account

Answer 2

• Under divided gov Congressional oversight is ineffective as Congress is driven by party political point scoring, whilst under unified gov limited oversight as majority in Congress don’t wanna damage their own President
• Divided gov = not effective scrutiny and highly partisan, political attacks aimed at harming the President at the next election
  – (Example): Trump, Clinton and Biden faced attempted impeachment. - Charge of Biden profiting from son Hunter Biden’s foreign business ventures while VP has no firm proof.

Question 3

Paragraph Two ➡️ Domestic Policy
For: Congress Does Effectively Hold The President To Account

Answer 3

• Article I, Section 8 of the constitution says all money spent by President and executive must be agreed by congress ((Example))
• This influencing policy as they’re unable to secure funding for legislative agenda
  – (Example) - This control over executive’s budget prevented Trump from achieving one of his key campaign promises, build a border wall between US and Mexico.

Question 4

Paragraph Two ➡️ Domestic Policy
Against: Congress Doesn’t Effectively Hold The President To Account

Answer 4

• President’s informal powers - executive orders, can allow President to make decisions without Congressional approval
  – (Example): Trump assassinated Iranian General Qasem Soleimaini in 2020 without congressional approval

Question 5

Paragraph Three ➡️ Foreign Policy
- For: Congress Does Effectively Hold The President To Account

Answer 5

• Congress has the highly important foreign policy power of declaring war, given to it by Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution. Allowing Congress to decide whether the US will engage in formal warfare
• Ensures decisions to go war is a collective, representative one
  – (Example): Congressional declaration of war against Japan in 1941, following attack on Pearl Harbour, leading the US into WW2

Question 6

Paragraph Three ➡️ Foreign Policy
- Against: Congress Doesn’t Effectively Hold The President To Account

Answer 6

• Presidents frequently deploying military forces and engaging in conflicts without formal
  declarations of war from Congress.
  – (Example): during the Vietnam War, President Nixon authorised a covert bombing
  campaign in Cambodia, aimed at disrupting North Vietnamese supply lines, without
  Congressional approval or public knowledge.
  –(Example): President Trump ordered airstrikes against Syrian government targets in
  response to chemical weapon attacks on civilians in 2017 and 2018 without congressional approval