Government Midterm , Presidency and SCOTUS Test , US Presidents 32-47 and Party

James Madison

View of final framing of senate

-hates it

-believes both houses shpould be based on population

-doesn't think it is fair for large states

-writes plan for House of Representatives

Edmund Randolph

-presents plan for House of Representatives (Virginia Plan)

-dissenter

-shocking because he presented the Virginia Plan

-does eventually back track and say he supports Constitution

William Paterson

presents plan for Senate (New Jersey Plan)

Roger Sherman

-plan to have singluar but administrative only (doing what Congress tells the president to do)

-presents Great Compromise

JD Vance

President of the Senate (Vice President) Republican

Chuck Grassley

Senate President Pro- Tempore

John Thune

Senate Majority Leader (the most powerful person in the Senate)

Chuck Schumer

Senate Minority Leader

Mike Johnson

Speaker of the House

Steve Scalise

House Majority Leader

Hakeem Jeffries

House Minoirty Leader

Marjorie Taylor Greene

Georgia's 14th congressional district (R), put in resignition for January 5

Andrew Johnson

First president to be impeached

Bill Clinton

impeached

Donald Trump

impeached 2 times

Scott Perry (R)

U.S. Representative of District 10

John Fetterman

PA Senator (D)

Dave Mccormick

PA Senator (R)

Elbridge Gerry

created gerrymandering

Baker vs Carr

-justiciable and "one person, one vote"-

1962

-federal courts hear cases involving state legislative redistricting

-Tennessee fails to redraw districts after population shift

-Applies to House

Shaw vs Reno

NO racial gerrymandering; race cannot be the sole or predominant factor in redrawing legislative boundaries; majority-minority districts.

Shelby County vs Holder

-ruled sections 4 and 5 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act as they currently exist to be unconstitutional

- The coverage formula was outdated

Louisiana vs Callais

-could overturn the Voting Rights Act entirely by ruling majority-minority districts to be unconstitutional; race cannot be considered at all

-concerns of racial gerrymandering

-Louisiana changed there map twice, and it is being challenged again

Heart of Atlanta vs US

-expands Congress's right to use Interstate Commerece

-Used during Civil Rights Movement

US vs Lopez

reduces Congress's use of Interstate Commerece (must be a buisness activity)

Recent 2025 Election (Various results)

-California prop 50 proposal (passed)

-NJ govoner, VA govoner, NYC govoner, PA Supreme Court

-democrats won and all justices were retained

-Tenn vacant seat - republican

Upcoming elections (for house vacancies)

-special election in Texas on January 31 (democrat, runoff election)

-Special election in New Jersey on April 16 (most likely democrat)

staggered elections

1/3 of Senate every 2 years is up for election

"Continous Body"

Senate, the senate never has all members being voted on at the same time

17th Amendment

established the direct election of senators (instead of being chosen by state legislatures)

22nd Amendment

limits the president to two terms

Minimum age for the House of Representatives

25

Minimum age for the Senate

30

Minimum age for the President

35

How long do you have to be a citizen to run for the House of Representatives?

7 years

How long do you have to be a citizen to run for the Senate?

9 years

How long do you have to be a citizen to run for President?

natural born

Where does a member of the House of Representatives need to reside?

the state they represent

Where does a member of the Senate need to reside?

the state they represent

Where does the president need to reside?

somewhere in the US for 14 years

Single member vs at large member

House - single member districts

-Senate - at large members

Virginia Plan

"Large state" proposal calling for proportional representation in the houses of Congress

New Jersey Plan

The proposal that called for equal representation of each state in Congress regardless of the state's population.

Great Compromise

agreement providing a dual system of congressional representation

3/5 Compromise

Slaves counted as 3/5 of a person when counting for representation

Floor

the main chamber where the full body of a legislature meets to debate and vote on bills

Pigeonhole

committees set aside a bill so that it never get to the floor (basically killing the bill)

Filibuster

using unlimited debate time to avoid a vote becuase they know they can't win

Cloture Rule

ends a filibuster

Reconciliation

creates rules when a bill goes to the floor to limit speaking time

House Rules Committee

a committee that determines when a bill will be subject to debate and vote on the House floor, how long the debate will last, and whether amendments will be allowed on the floor

"Magic Numbers"

House- 218

Senate- 51/ 60

Quorum

number of people needed to conduct official business

Quorum Call

a call for attendance to be taken (slow down tactic)

Incumency Rates

the incumbent has a 95% chance of winning against a challenger

What advantages does the incumbent have?

credit claiming, name recognition, PAC contributions, franking, narrower agenda

What advantages does the challenger have?

scandal, "through the bums out year" party primary

Current Party Control

Republican

Whips

assistant to the floor leaders, keeps a head count of votes, and rounds up members for important votes

Logrolling

trading votes to gain support for a bill

Open Rules in House

the bill is open to the floor for amendments (helps the majority)

Closed Rules in the House

closes the floor to amend a bill (helps minority)

Germane

must be related to the topic (of the bill)

Rank-and-file

a part of the house but has no leadership position

Voting methods in Congress

-Voice and Standing - House

-Electronic - House

-Roll Call - Senate

Sentate President pro-tempore

the senior member from the majority party (ceremonial position)

Generalists

members of the committee have general knowledge of their topic (Senate, usually on multiple committees)

Specialist

members of the committee are specialized in their topic (House, usually on 1 committee)

Standing committees

permanently established legislative committees that consider and are responsible for legislation within a certain subject area

Select committees

Congressional committees appointed for a limited time and purpose

Joint Committee

legislative committee composed of members of both houses

Conference Committee

special joint committee created to reconcile differences in bills passed by the House and Senate

Exclusive Powers

powers only the national government may exercise

Impeachments Process

1.) the House investigates

2.) the House votes on articles of impeachment

3.) the Senate holds trial

4.) the Senate votes for conviction

Term

~ 2 years

~ from January 3, (odd-numbered year ) - January 3, (next odd-numbered year)

~ 119 in Congress

Session

~ 1 year

~ starts January 3

~ ends whenever Congress wants to stop

~ if the session is broken, no more legislation can be passed through it

redistricting

redrawing district lines

credit claiming

-pork barreling - taxpayer money for government projects or funding to help a specific district

-casework - practice where elected officials and their staff assist constituents with problems they are having with federal agencies

PACs

(Political Action Committees) organizations that donate money for campaigns

Franking

taxpayer-funded mail (only the House can do this)

Agenda

Plan of action; purpose

Party Primary impact

-shapes party platforms and ideology

-influences candidate behavior and selection

-affects voter turnout and representation

-challenges party unity

Junket

trip is paid for by the taxpayer money

Bill vs Resolution

-simple resolution -Passed by a single house of Congress

-concurrent resolution - Must be passed by both the House and Senate but does not require the President's signature

-joint resolution - Must be passed by both houses of Congress and requires the President's signature to become law, similar to a bill

sponsor

person who introduces a bill

hopper

type of inbox the sponsors put the bill in

subcommittee purpose

Division of an existing committee that is formed to address specific issues

introduction vs proposal

introduction: members of Congress can bring up legislation

proposal: anyone can bring up legislation

mark-up

committee action to amend a proposed bill

report out

means a bill has been sent by a standing committee to the chamber floor with its opinions of the bill attached

why no rules in Senate

the rules are more lenient in the Senate because there are fewer members

pocket sign vs pocket veto

-pocket sign - 10 days after the bill arrives at president's desk and Congress is still in session the bill becomes a law

-Pocket veto - 10 days after the bill arrives at the presdient's desk and Congress is not in session the bill dies

Veto vs the statistic

veto- bill goes back to both houses for a 2/3 vote again

-the statistic - 95% of vetos have stood

iron triangles

the relatively ironclad relationships and patterns of interaction that occur among agencies, interest groups, and congressional committees or subcommittees

issue networks

replaces iron triangles

voting motivations

-delegate - vote as a representative of their constituents

-trustee - vote their own; personal views; entrusted by constituents

-politico - combo of the other two; issue-related

2/3 Override

When the president vetos a bill it is sent back to congress, all of congress votes together if 2/3 vote to pass it, it becomes a law.

power of the purse

The constitutional power of Congress to raise and spend money

ratification of treaties

Senate

confirmation process

process in the Senate by which presidential appointments are approved or rejected, first in committee then before the full Senate.