Checks on the presidency: advanced

Which of the following statements explains how an executive order can cause conflict between the president and Congress?

An executive order enhances the power of the president because it create laws without congressional approval

Appointments to the president's cabinet are sometimes contentious for which of the following reasons?

Cabinet-level officials are responsible for implementing the laws created by Congress, while still advocating for the president's agenda

"Even as they welcome the opportunities opened up by having an ally in the White House, some worry that the continued emphasis on executive actions is just another step in the dilution of legislative power. "'We need to go back to being the legislative branch,' said Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Florida Republican opposed to a potential executive order by Mr. Trump that would end a special program allowing younger illegal immigrants to remain in the United States. 'We didn't like this when Obama was doing it, so why should we accept it now?'" -Carl Hulse, "Trump Follows Obama's Lead in Flexing Executive Muscle," The New York Times, January 26, 2017 Based on the text, which of the following statements would Representative Ros-Lehtinen most likely agree with?

Executive orders can create conflict with Congress as they do not require congressional input or approval

Use the excerpt to answer the question below. "The defeat of Robert Bork's 1987 Supreme Court nomination was a watershed event that unleashed what Stephen Carter has called 'the confirmation mess.' There was no question that Bork was a highly qualified nominee. He was rejected not because of any lack of qualification, or any impropriety, but because of his stated judicial philosophy: how he would vote as a judge." -John Maltese, "Anatomy of a Confirmation Mess: Recent Trends in the Federal Judicial Selection Process," 2004 Based on the text, which of the following statements would the author most likely agree with?

Judicial nominations can be contentious because of the lasting influence the people in those positions have after a president's term

Which of the following statements is reflected in the data in the chart?

Presidents have become less successful at getting federal judges confirmed over the past 50 years

Which of the following may the Senate do to limit the president's power?

Reject presidential nominees

"The defeat of Robert Bork's 1987 Supreme Court nomination was a watershed event that unleashed what Stephen Carter has called 'the confirmation mess.' There was no question that Bork was a highly qualified nominee. He was rejected not because of any lack of qualification, or any impropriety, but because of his stated judicial philosophy: how he would vote as a judge." -John Maltese, "Anatomy of a Confirmation Mess: Recent Trends in the Federal Judicial Selection Process," 2004 Which of the following statements best summarizes the author's argument?

Robert Bork failed confirmation as a Supreme Court justice because some Senators were concerned about the impact he would have on the Court

Use the excerpt to answer the question below. "Lifetime appointments and the new, highly ideological stakes provided senators ample incentives to use holds and silent filibusters to prevent a majority of their colleagues from acting on judicial nominations, both to block those with different ideologies and to keep slots vacant until the presidency moves into their party's hands. Along the way, judicial confirmations have become increasingly politicized, and delays in confirming appellate judges have led to increased vacancy rates that have produced longer case-processing times and growing caseloads per judge on federal dockets." -Mann, Thomas E. and Norman J. Ornstein, It's Even Worse than it Looks, 2012 Based on the text, which of the following statements would the authors most likely agree with?

Senate confirmation serves as a check on appointment powers

Use the excerpt to answer the question below. "Lifetime appointments and the new, highly ideological stakes provided senators ample incentives to use holds and silent filibusters to prevent a majority of their colleagues from acting on judicial nominations, both to block those with different ideologies and to keep slots vacant until the presidency moves into their party's hands. Along the way, judicial confirmations have become increasingly politicized, and delays in confirming appellate judges have led to increased vacancy rates that have produced longer case-processing times and growing caseloads per judge on federal dockets." -Mann, Thomas E. and Norman J. Ornstein, It's Even Worse than it Looks, 2012 Which of the following statements best summarizes the authors' argument?

The Senate is more likely to place holds on life-tenured judicial appointments because of the lasting influence of those appointments

Which of the following is an accurate conclusion based on a comparison of the trends in the chart above and your knowledge of presidential appointments?

The potential for conflict with the Senate depends upon the type of executive branch appointment

Appointments to the White House staff are often uncontested for which of the following reasons?

These appointments do not require Senate confirmation

Which of the following statements is the most likely motivation for a president to issue an executive order?

To achieve policy goals when a compromise cannot be reached with Congress