Interactions Among Branches

What this unit covers

The topics below follow the published US Gov course framework for Unit 2. This unit is worth 25–36% of the exam, so budget your time against that rather than against how long the unit takes to teach.

Lessons in this unit

• Congress: Structure & Lawmaking14 min · 3 objectivesCompare the constitutional powers and procedures of the House and the Senate · Explain how committees, party leadership, and the filibuster shape the lawmaking process · Analyze models of representation and sources of gridlock in Congress
• The Presidency & the Judiciary15 min · 3 objectivesDistinguish the formal and informal powers of the presidency · Explain the energy-in-the-executive argument of Federalist No. 70 and judicial independence in Federalist No. 78 · Explain how Marbury v. Madison established judicial review and shaped the courts
• The Bureaucracy13 min · 3 objectivesDescribe the structure and core functions of the federal bureaucracy · Explain discretionary authority, rulemaking, and how bureaucrats implement law · Analyze how the three branches and iron triangles hold the bureaucracy accountable

Every term in Unit 2

All 29 terms we publish for Interactions Among Branches, with definitions. Reading them through is the fastest way to find the ones you cannot define — then drill those in cram mode until you can produce them without the prompt.

Judicial review

The power to strike down laws and acts as unconstitutional. Not in the Constitution's text; established in Marbury v. Madison.

Gerrymandering

Drawing district lines for partisan advantage. "Packing" concentrates opponents in few districts; "cracking" splits them across many.

Iron triangle

The stable alliance of a congressional committee, an agency and an interest group, each supplying something the other two need.

Enumerated powers of Congress

Article I Section 8: tax, borrow, regulate commerce, coin money, declare war, raise armies, and make necessary and proper laws.

House vs Senate

The House is larger, elected every two years from districts, with strict debate rules. The Senate has six-year terms, statewide constituencies and unlimited debate.

Speaker of the House

Presiding officer and leader of the majority party, controlling the agenda, committee assignments and which bills reach the floor.

Filibuster and cloture

Extended Senate debate blocking a vote; cloture ends it and now requires 60 votes for legislation, giving the minority real leverage.

Committee system

Standing committees handle bills in their policy area. Most bills die in committee, which makes chairs powerful gatekeepers.

Rules Committee

Sets the terms of House floor debate — time limits and whether amendments are allowed. The majority's principal control over legislation.

Discharge petition

A majority of House members can force a bill out of committee to the floor, bypassing a chair who has buried it.

Pork barrel and logrolling

Targeted spending for a member's district, and vote-trading between members. Both grease coalition-building and both attract criticism.

Mandatory vs discretionary spending

Mandatory spending is fixed by existing law (Social Security, Medicare, interest); discretionary is set annually. Mandatory now dominates the budget.

Divided government

One party holds the presidency and another at least one chamber, raising the cost of legislating and increasing use of unilateral executive action.

Baker v. Carr (1962)

Required case. Held redistricting is justiciable, opening federal courts to apportionment claims and producing "one person, one vote".

Shaw v. Reno (1993)

Required case. Race cannot be the predominant factor in drawing district lines, even to increase minority representation.

Formal vs informal presidential powers

Formal powers are in Article II — veto, appointment, commander in chief, pardon. Informal ones include executive orders, agreements, signing statements and the bully pulpit.

Executive order

A directive to the executive branch carrying the force of law without Congress. Reversible by a later president and subject to judicial review.

Executive agreement

An international agreement made without Senate ratification. Faster than a treaty and increasingly the norm, but not binding on successors.

Veto and pocket veto

A veto returns a bill to Congress, overridable by two-thirds of both chambers. A pocket veto occurs when Congress adjourns within ten days and cannot be overridden.

Bully pulpit

The president's ability to shape the agenda by commanding public attention — the core informal power in the modern presidency.

War Powers Resolution (1973)

Requires the president to notify Congress within 48 hours of deploying forces and withdraw within 60 days absent authorization. Every president has questioned its constitutionality.

Bureaucracy

The agencies that implement law. Their expertise makes them necessary and their discretion makes them a persistent accountability problem.

Issue network

A looser, shifting set of actors — experts, media, groups — engaged with a policy area. A more fluid alternative to the iron triangle model.

Discretionary and rule-making authority

Agencies interpret vague statutes and issue binding regulations, effectively making law within the boundaries Congress sets.

Congressional oversight

Hearings, investigations, budget control and confirmation power used to hold agencies accountable — the check on delegated authority.

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

Required case. Established judicial review by declaring a section of the Judiciary Act unconstitutional.

Stare decisis and precedent

Deciding in accordance with prior rulings. Provides stability and predictability, and makes overturning a precedent a significant institutional act.

Judicial activism vs restraint

Activism is willingness to strike down laws or depart from precedent; restraint is deference to elected branches. Both labels are used by all sides.

Checks on the judiciary

Congress can alter jurisdiction, propose constitutional amendments, refuse to fund enforcement, and control confirmations; presidents control appointments.

What examiners penalize here

• Anchor the House–Senate contrast on **debate**: the House limits it (Rules Committee, majority rules), the Senate does not (filibuster, cloture needs 60). Many exam items reduce to which chamber’s rules apply, so lead with that distinction.
• Link the documents to the cases: **Federalist 78** theorizes judicial review and the "least dangerous branch," and **Marbury v. Madison** makes it real. If a prompt asks how the judiciary became co-equal despite lacking sword or purse, cite both together.
• On accountability questions, name a check for each branch: **Congress** (funding + oversight hearings + rewriting the law), **president** (appointments + executive orders), **courts** (reviewing agency actions). Listing all three earns broader credit than naming just one.

Practice US Gov

Our practice bank is drawn from across the whole course rather than filtered to one unit, which is closer to how the exam asks anyway — it will not tell you which unit a question is testing.

Questions about this unit

All 5 units of AP US Government & Politics

1. Unit 1 · Foundations of American Democracy
2. Unit 2 · Interactions Among Branches
3. Unit 3 · Civil Liberties & Civil Rights
4. Unit 4 · American Political Ideologies & Beliefs
5. Unit 5 · Political Participation