Checkies

Legislative Branch Checks the Executive Branch

• Overrides a presidential veto with a 2/3 vote in each house of Congress

• Oversight hearings

• Can reduce/increase the budget proposed by president

• House of Representatives can impeach (accuse) the president

• Senate is the jury for the impeachment trial and convicts or acquits the president

• Senate ratifies treaties by 2/3 majority

• Senate approves presidential appointments by simple majority vote

Legislative branch, checks the judicial branch

• Can change the number and jurisdiction of the federal courts

• Sets lower federal court jurisdiction

• Can change the number of justices on the Supreme Court

• Senate approves of federal judge appointees

• House of Representatives can impeach a federal judge

• Senate is the jury for the impeachment trial and convicts or quits a federal judge

• Can initiate a constitutional amendment

Executive branch checks the legislative branch

• Can veto a bill

• President can decide not to enforce a law

• Executive orders

• Executive agreements

• Bully pulpit(Appealing directly to the people)

• Can convene Congress

• Executive branch checks the judicial branch

• Appoints federal judges

• Can choose not to enforce a court decision

• Pardon power

Judicial branch checks legislative branch

• Judicial review

Judicial branch checks the executive branch

• Judicial review

Bureaucratic discretion

• Bureaucratic discretion is the power given to agencies by Congress to implement laws using their expert judgment

Bureaucratic rule making

• Bureaucratic rulemaking is the process by which agencies create the regulations necessary to carry out the laws that Congress makes. These regulations have the same effect as laws.

Executive branch checks on the bureaucracy

• A point and remove agency heads (Not all agency heads can be removed by the president)

• Re-organize the bureaucracy (With congressional approval)

• Change an agency’s budget

• Adjust policies that would alter the bureaucracy activities

• Issue executive orders

Legislative branch checks on the bureaucracy

• Past legislation that alters the bureaucracy’s activities

• Abolish existing programs

• Reduce funding to bureaucracy

• Congressional oversight (Hearings requiring bureaucrats to testify

• Senate approves bureaucrat appointments

Judicial branch checks on the bureaucracy

• judicial review