General Politics US

Which landmark case ruled in favour of the right to an abortion?

Roe v Wade 1973

Which Supreme Court decision overruled Roe v Wade 1973?

Dobbs v Jackson 2022

Which Supreme Court decision ruled that racial segregation in schools is unconstitutional?

Brown v Topeka 1954 

Which Cold War-era act is Trump’s administration using to attempt to deport Mahmoud Khalil for his presence posing ‘potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences’?

Immigration and Nationality Act 1952

Which Supreme Court decision ruled that the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment guaranteed the right to marriage for gay couples?

Obergefell v Hodges 2015

When was FDR elected by a landslide during the Great Depression in a realigning election with his ‘New Deal Coalition’ after three consecutive Republican victories?

1932

In 2025, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of Trump’s scheme to deport hundreds of Venezuelans accused of being members of the gang Tren de Aragua to a Salvadoran prison in 2025 after a lawsuit filed by which pressure groups issued a temporary restraining order (which was ignored by Trump’s administration)?

ACLU and Democracy Forward

Which act did Trump use to deport hundreds of Venezuelans accused of being in the gang Tren de Aragua, to a Salvadoran prison in 2025, its first use outside of wartime?

Alien Enemies Act 1798

Which justice wrote in 2014 that the Constitution should be interpreted ‘in light of its text, purposes and our whole experience’?

Stephen Breyer

In 1990, who did Bush nominate to the Supreme Court, who went on make more liberal rulings than anticipated?

David Souter

In 2020, who was appointed to the Supreme Court after being nominated by Trump without a single Democrat vote?

Amy Coney Barett

When did two of Trump’s nominees, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, rule that he did not have an absolute right to withhold his tax returns and financial records from an instigation?

2020

Who first considers the president’s Supreme Court nominees?

Senate Judiciary Committee 

Which Republican legal group did Trump promise to select his Supreme Court nominees from?

Federalist Society

How many times was Trump impeached by the Democrat controlled House and acquitted by the Republican controlled Senate?

2

When did the war on drugs start?

1971

Mitch McConnell’s Senate majority during the Trump administration passed which act, cutting taxes for the wealthy?

Tax Cuts and Jobs Act 2017

When did Republican infighting prevent Trump from repealing the Affordable Care Act 2010?

2017

Who used regular cabinet meetings as an opportunity for debate?

Reagan

Who held fewer cabinet meetings and often used them merely to brief his team on his agenda?

Obama

Who enjoyed considerable influence as Secretary of State in the Obama administration?

Hillary Clinton

What collection of offices and agencies supports the president?

EXOP

What do presidents increasingly use to oversee particular government fields?

‘Policy czars’

When was the Connecticut Compromise?

1787

Who claimed the federal bureaucracy created ‘imperiled’ presidents?

Gerald Ford

When did Trump threaten to deny COVID-19 aid to states refusing to comply with his immigration policy?

2020

Who was Obama’s first chief of staff who he allowed considerable authority?

Rahm Emanuel

How many chief of staffs did Trump get through during his first presidency?

4

When did Obama negotiate the Iran nuclear deal?

2015

When did Obama sign the Paris Agreement?

2016

Where in the constitution is the president’s ability to veto a Congressional bill laid out?

Article 1 Section 7

Which bipartisan criminal justice reform bill was signed into law by Trump?

First Step Act 2018

Who decides how much time will be allocated to a bill and whether amendments will be allowed?

House Rules committee

In what ratio is the House Rules committee weighted in favour of the majority party?

2:1

How can the House force a bill to be debated through an absolute majority?

‘Discharge petition’

Which act was passed after being brought to the floor through a ‘discharge petition’?

Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act 2002

Who was Chair of the House Rules Committee between 2017 and 2019 and used his position to prevent amendments that would’ve relaxed federal laws against marijuana use?

Pete Sessions

Which committee interviewed then secretary of state Hillary Clinton for 11 hours following the death of the US ambassador to Libya in 2015?

House Select Committe on Benghazi

Who have increasingly prevented bills from going to conference committees in order to retain control over the final bill?

Party leaders

In which Congress were many Democrat promises including changes to immigration policy and a 2 trillion-dollar social safety net and climate change bill thwarted by Republican opposition in both the House and the Senate?

117^th Congress

How many times has unified government occurred in the last 40 years?

5

When did McConnell evoke the ‘nuclear option’, changing Senate rules for Supreme Court confirmation, lowering the threshold from 3/5 to a simple majority?

2017

The longest filibuster speech occurred when a Republican senator talked for over 24 hours to attempt to prevent the passage of which act?

Civil Rights Act 1957

When was the longest government shutdown in history over the inability of the president and Congress to reach an agreement over an appropriations bill?

2019

Which act did Congress use to block Obama’s attempt to close Guantanamo Bay through an executive order?

Supplemental Appropriations Act 2009

When did Trump declare a national emergency to secure funding for his US-Mexico border wall without Congressional approval?

2019

Which act halted all federal funding for the Vietnam War?

Foreign Assistance Act 1974

In 2000, how many votes did Al Gore lose to George W Bush by in the crucial Florida vote?

Under 550

In 2000, whose campaign likely lost Al Gore the election?

Ralph Nader

When did Trump veto a resolution revoking his declaration of a national emergency at the US-Mexico border?

2019

Who has claimed that Trump’s administration plans to scrap the sections of the Affordable Care Act preventing health insurers from charging individuals more based on preexisting conditions or disabilities?

JD Vance

Which act outlawed discrimination based on race, religion, sex and national origin?

Civil Rights Act 1964

Which act prohibited racial discrimination in voting?

Voting Rights Act 1965

The Constitution assigns Congress the duty of providing ‘general welfare’ for US citizens by passing legislation that is?

‘Necessary and proper’

What ended the de jure prohibition of capital punishment imposed by Furman v Georgia 1972?

Gregg v Georgia 1976

Which ruling found that the application of the death penalty by state legislatures violated the Eighth amendment, as it was being used in an arbitrary and discriminatory manner as they disproportionately targeted poor people and African Americans, thus constituting ‘cruel and unusual punishment’?

Furman v Georgia 1972

When was the The Equal Rights Amendment passed by Congress but failed to be ratified by state legislatures despite a majority of Americans supporting it in opinion polls? 

1972

How many amendments have been ratified?

27

How many amendment proposals have there been?

Over 12,000

What does the 8th amendment guarantee protection from?

‘Cruel and unusual punishment’

When was the Bill of Rights?

1791

What ruling allowed the publication of classified information on the Vietnam War after Nixon attempted to suspend publication of the material via executive order?

New York Times v United States 1971

Which ruling found that speech made in a public space that is intentionally meant to inflict emotional damage is protected under the First Amendment and cannot be subject to liability?

Snyder v Phelps 2011

When did the Court rule that two socialists who distributed leaflets urging people to disobey the draft could be prosecuted under the Espionage Act due to the ‘clear and present danger’ of their speech?

1919

By April 2020, how many states had stopped imposing lockdown orders?

10

What percent of the vote did Trump get in 2024, making him the first Republican to win the popular vote since 2004?

49.8%

How many swing states did Trump win in 2024? (all of them)

7

By how many votes did Trump win the popular vote?

4 million

2024 was the first presidential election since when in which all 50 states and DC shifted to the same party?

1976

What percent of counties swung towards Trump in 2024?

90%

According to exit polls, what percent of white-born again or evangelical Christians voted for Trump in 2024?

82%

What ruling gave the Supreme Court the power to strike down legislation?

Marbury v Madison 1803

How many House representatives / Congressional districts are there?

435

What supermajority is needed to cloture a filibuster in the Senate on legislation?

3/5

Which act did United States v Lopez 1995 strike down?

Gun-Free Schools Act 1990

Who is the only member of the current Supreme Court to have been nominated by a president of one party and confirmed by a Senate controlled by the other party?

Clarence Thomas

When did Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer rule that Clinton, who appointed both of them, was not immune to civil law litigation?

1997

When was Neil Gorsuch confirmed to the Supreme Court?

2017

When was Brett Kavanaugh confirmed to the Supreme Court after Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement?

2018

By how many votes did Hillary Clinton win the popular vote in 2016?

Nearly 3 million

When did Roosevelt’s expansion of the usage of informal powers begin?

1933

When did Trump appoint his son in law, Jared Kushner, as a senior adviser?

2017

What was Trump’s approval rating in 2016?

38%

During the 2024 Republican primaries, what did Trump’s campaign attack Florida governor Ron DeSantis as due to his support for lockdown measures during the COVID-19 pandemic?

‘Republican in Name Only’

What did Ron DeSantis label Trump as during the 2024 Republican primaries?

‘A pioneer in injecting gender ideology into the mainstream’

At the Democratic National Convention, what percent of convention delegates do superdelegates make up?

15%

Which state traditionally holds the first primary?

New Hampshire

Which state traditionally holds the first caucus?

Iowa

When did the US Constitution come into effect?

1788

What led to the creation of the Senate (with the same representation for each state) and the House (with proportionate representation)?

Connecticut Compromise

What compromise was there between free states and slave holding states?

3/5 Compromise

Which amendment gave women the right to vote in 1920?

19th Amendment

Which amendment banned slavery?

13th Amendment

Which act banned all Asian people from the US?

Immigration Act 1924

Which Supreme Court ruling upheld segregation laws?

Plessy v Furguson 1896

Which Supreme Court ruling may have determined the outcome of the 2000 election?

Bush v Gore

Who has the casting vote in the event of a Senate tie?

The Vice President

When did Trump introduce his ‘Muslim ban’?

2017

In 2024, which state held the first Democrat primary after the DNC approved a new calendar?

South Carolina

Which ruling found the Second Amendment applies to individuals for defence in the home?

District of Colombia v Heller 2008