AP GOV 71 QUESTIONS
Source: Gallup 2012. Which of the following correctly identifies an implication of the line graph?
Congress is more likely to act on a president's policy proposal at the beginning of a first term than at the end of a second term.
Which of the following most accurately explains the interaction between the president and the Congress regarding the defense budget?
Congress passes a budget for the entire federal government, including defense, but it must consider the president's proposal because the president may veto the bill.
The President's veto power is accurately described by which of the following statements?
I and III only
Senate confirmation is required for which of the following presidential appointments?
I, III, and IV only
Generally, when is a president more likely to get congressional approval of proposed policies?
In foreign affairs rather than in domestic affairs
Which of the following is true of an executive agreement made between a United States President and another head of state?
It does not require Senate approval, but may require congressional allocation of funds for implementation.
Which of the following is true of a presidential veto of a piece of legislation?
It is rarely overridden by Congress.
Which of the following is true about the pocket veto?
It occurs when the President takes no action on a bill for ten days during which Congress is adjourned.
After a heated Senate confirmation hearing, Kavanaugh was eventually confirmed by a 50-48 vote in the Senate. The scenario best highlights which of the following statements about court appointees?
Life tenure for appointed justices alongside the power of judicial review increases the stakes in the confirmation process for nominees to the Supreme Court.
Which of the following explains how Congress could legitimately respond to the appointment?
Members of Congress could issue statements opposing the appointment but have no formal power to block it.
Source: Gallup 2012. Which of the following statements reflects a pattern in the line graph?
Most presidents exit office with lower approval ratings than when they entered office.
Which of the following is an example of presidential use of informal powers?
President Bill Clinton advocating for public policy reform on his Health Security Express bus
Which of the following explains President Johnson's motivation for the speech in relation to his role as the head of the executive branch?
President Johnson is seeking to use the bully pulpit as a means of promoting his agenda on public education.
Which of the following situations is an example of the president using the bully pulpit as a tool for agenda setting?
President Reagan delivering a televised address urging a reduction in federal taxes
Source: People for the American Way Which of the following statements is supported by the chart above?
President Reagan nominated the smallest percentage of women to the judiciary.
Robert Dallek, "Power and the Presidency, From Kennedy to Obama," Smithsonian magazine, January 2011 Which of the following statements describes the author's main argument in the passage?
Presidential power in foreign policy has expanded since the beginning of the twentieth century.
Which of the following best illustrates the point being made in the cartoon above?
Presidents can have an influence on public policy far beyond their terms of office.
This scenario best illustrates which of the following?
Presidents exert informal powers when their policy agenda conflicts with that of Congress.
Which of the following is a difference between the power of nineteenth-century presidents and that of the modern president according to the passage?
Presidents in the nineteenth century had to contend with congressional committees, which had significant powers in foreign affairs.
In vetoing a bill, the President does which of the following?
Rejects all sections of the bill.
A newly elected president faces a Senate controlled by the opposition party. Which of the following presidential appointments is the most likely to encounter difficulty with confirmation by the Senate?
Supreme Court justice
Which of the following is the primary reason for the tensions that exist between the legislative and executive branches of the federal government?
The branches have different constituencies with different interests.
Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., The Imperial Presidency, 1973 Which of the following statements is a correct implication of the author's argument?
The perception of multiple crises has led to the growth of an executive branch that is undermining the separation of powers in the government.
All of the following statements pertaining to the presidential veto are true EXCEPT:
A President may veto part of a bill.
Which of the following accurately compares the formal and informal powers of the president?
Acting as commander in chief of the military
Which of the following stages comes first in the policy-making process?
Agenda setting
Source: Govtrack, 2019. The data in the table illustrate which of the following about United States constitutional government?
Cloture procedures make it increasingly difficult to filibuster bills in the Senate.
Which of the following is an accurate comparison of checks on the legislative branch and checks on the executive branch?
Congress can remove members of the president's cabinet.
Which of the following explains why the author believes presidential power has expanded?
Congress has passed legislation requesting that the president take on a stronger leadership role in foreign affairs.
Based on the passage above, which of the following constitutional provisions would the author most likely identify as a solution to the problem of the imperial presidency?
Congress insisting that it declare war prior to the use of international force
The President can do which of the following without seeking the consent of either the House or the Senate?
Deploy troops.
If Congress adjourns during the ten days the president has to consider a bill passed by both houses of Congress, but which the president has not yet signed, what is the result?
Pocket veto
Which of the following is articulated in the War Powers Resolution?
The President must bring troops home from hostilities within 60 to 90 days unless Congress extends the time.
Which of the following is a member of the White House Staff?
The national security advisor
Source: Daily Signal, 2015 Which of the following trends is best supported by the information in the table?
The number of executive agreements has increased over time.
Source: United States Senate; Brookings Institution, 2017 Which of the following is true based on the data in the line graph?
The number of presidential vetoes under Johnson decreased over time.
Which of the following statements is best supported by the line graph?
The number of vetoes has generally decreased since 1945, but so has the number of bills passed by Congress.
The president's role as chief diplomat is derived from
delegated powers
Even with large majorities of their own party in Congress, presidents experience difficulty in exercising legislative leadership because
the weak nature of political parties hampers the president's ability to control Congress
In trying to influence legislation, the President is generally more successful than congressional leaders in
using the media to set the policy agenda
Which of the following statements about trends in presidential approval ratings is supported by information presented in the graph above?
A President's popularity tends to fall during his term in office.
Which of the following scenarios illustrates how social media has changed the way presidents relate to the public?
A president announcing a major policy initiative via the Internet rather than calling a press conference
The usefulness to the President of having cabinet members as political advisers is undermined by the fact that
the loyalties of cabinet members are often divided between loyalty to the president and loyalty to their own executive departmentse. the cabinet operates as a collective unit and individual members have limited access to the president
Which of the following is NOT a presidential role authorized by the Constitution?
To lead the political party of the President
In which of the following scenarios would a presidential veto most likely be upheld?
Two-thirds of the representatives and senators are members of the same party as the President.
Which of the following is an action a president can take to rally public support for the administration's legislative agenda?
Use the State of the Union Address to pressure Congress to pass a bill lowering income taxes.
Which of the following is a correct comparison of formal and informal powers of the president?
Using the veto to block legislation
Which of the following statements is most accurately supported by the data in the table?
While President George W. Bush issued fewer signing statements than President Clinton, his included more objections than President Clinton's.
In selecting members of the White House staff, Presidents primarily seek people who
are personally loyal to the President
The War Powers Resolution (1973) was designed to
assure congressional involvement in decisions committing military forces in hostile situations overseas
The constitutional powers of the president include all of the following EXCEPT
declaring war
A President attempting to influence Congress to pass a legislative program might employ all of the following strategies EXCEPT
denying campaign reelection funds to legislators who oppose the President's policy stand
In 2012, after negotiations on a bill in Congress failed, President Obama issued an executive order that protected from deportation individuals illegally brought to the United States as children by their parents. The president took this action because
disagreement between congressional leaders and the president on the issue meant that a compromise on a bill was not likely
Since the 1970's, Presidents have made use of executive orders at an increasing rate because executive orders
do not need to be passed by Congress
The primary purpose of the North American Free Trade Agreement is to
encourage trade between the United States and the countries of western Europe
All of the following powers are granted to the President by the Constitution EXCEPT
forming new cabinet-level departments
In general, Congress is most likely to defer to the President
in the area of foreign policy
The expansion of the executive branch since 1939 has affected the separation of powers by
increasing presidential control over the legislative process
All of the following have contributed to an increase in presidential power in the post-1945 era EXCEPT
legislation granting the President the power to impound funds appropriated by Congress
Congress adopted the War Powers Resolution to
limit the president's authority to commit troops overseas
A President may persuade recalcitrant members of Congress to vote for a particular bill by
making a direct appeal to the public through mass media
Executive agreements have been cited as evidence that
modern presidents often try to avoid legislative checks and balances on their authority
All of the following are formal or informal sources of presidential power EXCEPT
presidential authority to raise revenue
Which of the following is an example of how the innovation of social media can influence presidential behavior?
The president announces the nomination of a cabinet secretary on the Internet.
Which of the following best explains a reason that a president might use a signing statement to express displeasure with a bill as opposed to issuing a veto?
The president may have objections to provisions of a bill but does not want to risk Congress overriding a veto.
The secretary was confirmed by a party-line vote.
The secretary was confirmed by a party-line vote.
Which of the following is an accurate comparison of the text by Schlesinger and The Federalist 70 ?
While Schlesinger views centralization of power in the presidency as dangerous, The Federalist 70 views it as vital to the presidency's effectiveness.
In recent presidential administrations, the principal staff for the President has been made up of members of the
White House Office
The Senate must confirm all of the following presidential appointments EXCEPT
White House staff
In The Federalist 70, Alexander Hamilton states that "energy in the executive is a leading character in the definition of good government." In this statement, Hamilton is arguing in favor of the need for
a single executive who can respond quickly to crises
The primary function of the White House staff is to
advise the president