Relationship between the presidency and congress

Question 1

What can this relationship arguably be seen as?

Answer 1

The most important political relationship within the constitution

Question 2

What did the Founding Fathers shape the constitution to ensure in terms of these two branches?

Answer 2

That they would share power in equal measure

Question 3

What does the struggle between congress and the presidency shape?

Answer 3

Foreign and domestic policy

Question 4

What do both branches feel they have the right to do?

Answer 4

Govern

Question 5

Why can congress claim a stronger mandate?

Answer 5

Due to the frequency of congressional elections

Question 6

What does a state of unified government mean for this relationship?

Answer 6

The president can work through the party leadership in Congress; the house speaker, the majority and minority leaders in both houses; the party whips; the committee chairs and ranking minority members

Question 7

How does Duncan Watts caveat this idea?

Answer 7

He says that party identification does not guarantee support in congress

Question 8

Explain how Clinton and Trump both discovered this when trying to enact healthcare reform

Answer 8

They found that members of their own party were more concerned with how their states or districts would react than what the president wants

Question 9

Why is divided government so detrimental in the modern era?

Answer 9

It makes passing legislation extremely difficult given the polarisation between the two parties

Question 10

When does bipartisan cooperation appear today?

Answer 10

During times of crisis

Question 11

Give an example of this

Answer 11

A divided congress passing the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act in March 2020 in response to COVID, providing $2.2 trillion to stimulate the economy

Question 12

What do we notice if we look at presidents and congress since 1993?

Answer 12

Their relationship with congress ebbs and flows depending on whether their is a state of unified or divided government

Question 13

How is the president’s power connected to congress?

Answer 13

All presidents have seen the nature of their personal power and autonomy wax and wane depending upon congressional election results

Question 14

Why is overriding a presidential veto a poor check in practise?

Answer 14

Because it is rarely achieved, requiring a 2/3 majority in both houses

Question 15

What has happened to American politics since 1993?

Answer 15

It has become increasingly polarised and so it is increasingly difficult for the president to persuade congress to pass legislation that the president would like to pass

Question 16

Why was Biden in a strong position after being elected?

Answer 16

Because he enjoyed a unified government

Question 17

Give some statistics to show how overriding vetoes are not an effective check

Answer 17

• Clinton used 36 regular vetoes and had 2 overriden
• Bush 12 and 4
• Obama 12 and 1
• Trump 10 and 1

Question 18

What can presidents quickly become in their second terms?

Answer 18

Lame ducks

Question 19

Give some statistics to show this

Answer 19

• The average first year presidential support score from Reagan to Obama is 83%, while the average last year score is around 48%
• W Bush’s approval rating averaged 62% during his first term but just 37% during his second
• Obama’s highest approval rating during his presidency was 67%, recorded during his first week in office. His low point was 40%, just after his second midterm elections in 2014

Question 20

What do president’s do as a result of this?

Answer 20

They try to enact their top policy priorities early in their first term when they are usually most popular

Question 21

Why did Clinton waste his period of united governement?

Answer 21

Because he only had two years of it during his presidency and failed to pass healthcare reform, he knew he had no chance of achieving his policy aims once the Ds lost control of congress

Question 22

How did Obama learn from this?

Answer 22

He made the most of his first two years, passing all of his key legislation, he also had to cope with 6 years of divided government but made the most of the period when he was at his most domestically powerful

Question 23

How did Bush jr have a relatively easy ride?

Answer 23

He enjoyed 6 years of unified government and his personal popularity and that of his party grew considerably post 9/11 and he took advantage of this to pass legislation on homeland security and job creation

Question 24

How did Trump fare similarly to Obama and Clinton?

Answer 24

He faced divided government after the midterms

Question 25

How was his period of unified government a mixed bag?

Answer 25

He managed to pass the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2017 but he failed to repeal Obamacare while his party had control of both houses

Question 26

What else can effect a president’s power?

Answer 26

Events

Question 27

Which president’s are good examples of this?

Answer 27

W. Bush and Trump

Question 28

What was the consequence of Hurricane Katrina for Bush?

Answer 28

The Ds took advantage and won both houses of congress. They were uninterested in passing his legislation and more concerned with holding him to account

Question 29

How did Bush respond to this?

Answer 29

• He was only able to prevail on big occasions by deploying a combination of procedural and concessional clout (Watts)
• He passed bipartisan legislation where he had to compromise, like the America Completes Act in 2007

Question 30

Explain the negative impact COVID and BLM had on Trump

Answer 30

His personal popularity among voters dropped to 49% in Feb 2020 and 38% by June 2020

Question 31

Explain how the success of the CARES Act was only achieved through bipartisan compromise

Answer 31

The Ds were able to shape a stimulus package that was to their satisfaction just as much as it was Trump’s