Interactions Among Branches of Government
What you must know
Learn each branch's formal powers and how they check one another. Congress: enumerated powers (tax, spend, declare war, regulate commerce), the elastic clause, oversight, advice and consent (Senate), and impeachment. President: commander-in-chief, veto, appointments, treaties (Senate ratification), pardons, and informal powers like executive orders and the bully pulpit. Judiciary: judicial review (established in Marbury v. Madison), lifetime tenure, and statutory/constitutional interpretation.
Understand bureaucracy (implementation, rulemaking, discretionary authority, iron triangles and issue networks) and how Congress and the president try to control it. Know the federal budget process, entitlements vs. discretionary spending, and the politics of deficit and debt. Review landmark cases: Marbury, McCulloch v. Maryland (implied powers, supremacy), Baker v. Carr and Shaw v. Reno (redistricting and representation), and cases on executive power.
Traps
- Mixing up which chamber has which exclusive power: House originates revenue bills and impeaches; Senate ratifies treaties, confirms appointments, and tries impeachments.
- Treating the veto as absolute; Congress can override with two-thirds.
- Assuming the Supreme Court makes policy proactively; it decides cases and controversies, exercising judicial review.
- Confusing delegate (votes constituency) and trustee (uses judgment) models of representation.
Worked example / rule of thumb
A question about a president issuing an executive order to accomplish something Congress refused: identify the formal/informal power (executive order), then the check (Congress can defund or legislate; courts can rule it unconstitutional). Rule of thumb: for every action by one branch, name the counteraction another branch can take.