Unit 2: Interactions Among Branches of Government

Separation of powers

Constitutional design that divides governing responsibilities among three branches: Congress legislates, the executive enforces/administers, and courts adjudicate/interpret in cases.

Checks and balances

System giving each branch tools to limit the others, forcing shared power, bargaining, and oversight (e.g., veto, confirmations, judicial review).

Enumerated powers

Powers explicitly listed in the Constitution (e.g., Congress’s power to tax/declare war; president’s veto).

Implied powers

Powers not written explicitly but inferred as necessary to carry out enumerated powers; often tied to the Necessary and Proper Clause.

Necessary and Proper Clause

Article I clause that provides the main constitutional basis for Congress’s implied powers to carry out its enumerated powers.

Inherent powers

Powers presidents claim because the U.S. is a sovereign nation; often invoked in national security/foreign policy and can be controversial.

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

Supreme Court case upholding Congress’s implied power to create a national bank and limiting a state’s ability to tax it, supporting broader federal power.

Appropriations (power of the purse)

Congress’s power to allocate funding to agencies/programs, creating major leverage over executive action and implementation.

Congressional oversight

Congress’s ongoing supervision of executive implementation using tools like hearings, investigations, subpoenas, reporting requirements, and budget control.

Signing statement

Presidential statement (often controversial) signaling how the executive intends to interpret or enforce a law.

Judicial review

Power of courts to declare laws or executive actions unconstitutional when deciding actual cases.

Bicameralism

A two-house legislature (House and Senate) requiring agreement between chambers, slowing lawmaking and encouraging broader consensus.

Apportionment

Distribution of House seats among the states based on population as determined by the census (every 10 years).

Redistricting

Process by which states redraw House district boundaries after apportionment to equalize population.

Gerrymandering

Drawing district lines to advantage a party (or sometimes groups), often by manipulating boundaries to shape electoral outcomes.

Packing

Gerrymandering strategy that concentrates a group into one district to reduce its influence in surrounding districts.

Cracking

Gerrymandering strategy that splits a group across many districts so it cannot form a majority in any one district.

Hijacking

Redistricting tactic in which lines are redrawn so two incumbents are placed in the same district and must run against each other.

Kidnapping

Redistricting tactic that moves an incumbent’s home address into a different district to weaken their reelection chances.

Baker v. Carr (1962)

Case allowing federal courts to hear malapportionment claims under the Equal Protection Clause, helping develop the “one person, one vote” principle.

One person, one vote

Principle that legislative districts should have roughly equal populations so each person’s vote carries similar weight.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

Law aimed at expanding minority political participation; later changes (notably 1982) encouraged creation of majority-minority districts.

Majority-minority district

Electoral district drawn so a racial/ethnic minority group makes up a majority of the voting-age population, increasing opportunity to elect preferred candidates.

Shaw v. Reno (1993)

Case holding that race-based districting that appears to separate voters primarily by race can violate equal protection unless justified by a compelling state interest.

Delegate model

Representation style where a member of Congress votes as a direct mirror of district preferences.

Trustee model

Representation style where a member of Congress uses personal judgment while considering constituent views.

Speaker of the House

Top House leader chosen by the majority party; influences floor debate, committee assignments, and the flow of legislation.

Whip

Party leader who counts votes, communicates party priorities, and persuades/pressures members to support the party agenda.

President pro tempore

Senate presiding officer when the vice president is absent; usually the most senior member of the majority party and largely honorary.

Standing committee

Permanent, specialized committee where much legislative work and oversight occur (e.g., Judiciary, Ways and Means).

Select committee

Temporary committee created for a specific purpose, often investigations (e.g., Watergate-related committees).

Joint committee

Committee with members from both chambers, often used for investigations or public communication.

Conference committee

Temporary bicameral committee that reconciles House and Senate versions of a bill into a compromise.

Markup session

Committee/subcommittee meeting where members debate, amend, and rewrite a bill before deciding whether to report it.

Pigeonholing

When a committee refuses to act on a bill, effectively killing it by keeping it from reaching the floor.

Discharge petition

House procedure that can force a bill out of committee for a floor vote despite committee inaction.

Filibuster

Senate tactic of extended debate (or threat of it) used to delay or block a vote, empowering the minority.

Cloture

Senate procedure to end extended debate; under current rules typically requires 60 votes.

Rider

Senate amendment that does not have to be relevant to the underlying bill and can be attached to legislation.

Pork-barrel spending

Spending provisions that direct benefits to a member’s home state/district (often included through riders).

Earmark

Provision directing funds to a specific project in authorization or appropriations bills (sometimes restricted by House rules).

Pocket veto

Veto that occurs when the president takes no action for 10 days (excluding Sundays) and Congress adjourns, preventing an override.

Line-item veto

Presidential power to veto parts of a bill rather than the whole bill; sought by presidents but limited by the Constitution.

Clinton v. City of New York (1998)

Case striking down the line-item veto as unconstitutional because it altered the Constitution’s lawmaking process.

Legislative veto

Congressional mechanism to nullify executive action by one- or two-chamber vote without passing a new law through bicameralism and presentment.

INS v. Chadha (1983)

Case ruling the legislative veto unconstitutional for violating bicameralism and presentment requirements.

Executive order

Presidential directive managing executive-branch operations; must rest on constitutional or statutory authority and can be challenged or reversed later.

Bully pulpit

President’s ability to use the visibility of the office to shape public debate and pressure Congress (informal power).

Executive privilege

Limited presidential power to withhold information to protect confidential communications or national security; not absolute.

United States v. Nixon (1974)

Case holding that executive privilege is limited; the president must comply with a judicial subpoena in a criminal investigation.