Checks and Balances Review

How can the federal courts check the power of Congress?

• defund Congress

• strike down laws as unconstitutional

• remove members of Congress

• overturn any Congressional decision

How does the president have influence over the federal courts? Choose ALL that apply.

• appoints judges and justices

• can issue pardons for federal crimes

• removing judges and justices at will

• instructing the bureaucracy not to enforce a judicial ruling

Congress and the president's negotiations over a policy are in deadlock. In which of the following ways could the president respond to this situation? Choose ALL that apply.

• issue an executive order to address the policy issue

• write a new piece of legislation himself

• issue a signing statement

• use the bully pulpit to appeal to the American people to put pressure on Congress

The president doesn't agree with all parts of a bill that he just signed into law. What can he do about this? Choose ALL that apply.

• issue a line-item veto

• direct the bureaucracy not to enforce part of the law

• issue a signing statement

• nullify the part of the law he disagrees with

The president wants to speak to Congress regarding a national emergency. What would he likely do to get this done?

• communicate with Congress through the GAO

• call for a second State of the Union Address

• address Congress through the media

• call a special session of Congress

What can the president do as commander in chief without the approval of Congress?

• create a new branch of the military

• move troops

• declare war

• negotiate treaties

How does the president have influence over the federal courts? Choose ALL that apply.

• appoints judges and justices

• can issue pardons for federal crimes

• removing judges and justices at will

• instructing the bureaucracy not to enforce a judicial ruling

How can Congress rein in the power of the bureaucracy? Choose ALL that apply.

• cut funding for executive departments

• write more specific legislation to reduce bureaucratic rule-making

• conduct oversight over executive department activities

• impeach and remove secretaries of the executive departments

The president appoints a new candidate to SCOTUS. How can the legislative branch check this?

• the Senate refuses to confirm the appointment

• the House and Senate refuse to confirm the appointment

• the House refuses to confirm the appointment

• Congress appoints a different SCOTUS candidate instead.

The president proposes a set of initiatives that Congress disagrees with. Which of the following could Congress do to check the president?

• Pass a law forbidding the president's initiatives

• Impeach and remove the president

• Cut budget spending for the president's initiatives

• Override his intiatives with a 2/3 vote