AP Gov President Test

Which of the following is true of a presidential veto of a piece of legislation?

It is rarely overridden by Congress

Shortly after the 2008 election, President Obama appointed outspoken and controversial House member Rahm Emanuel to lead his White House as chief of staff. The selection drew criticism from Republican leaders, including House minority leader John Boehner, who remarked that the selection "is an ironic choice for a president-elect who has promised to change Washington, make politics more civil, and govern from the center." 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.

In the last years presidential primacy, so indispensable to the political order, has turned into presidential supremacy. The constitutional Presidency—as events so apparently disparate as the Indochina War and the Watergate affair showed, has become the imperial Presidency and threatens to be the revolutionary Presidency. . . . The imperial Presidency was essentially the creation of foreign policy. A combination of doctrines and emotions—belief in the permanent and universal crisis, fear of communism, faith in the duty and right of the United States to intervene swiftly in every part of the world—had brought about the unprecedented centralization of decisions. Prolonged war in Vietnam strengthened the tendencies toward both centralization and exclusion. So the imperial Presidency grew at the expense of the constitutional order. Like the cowbird, it hatched its own eggs and pushed the others out of the nest. And, as it overwhelmed the traditional separation of powers in foreign affairs, it began to aspire toward an equivalent centralization of power in the domestic polity. 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.

In the last years presidential primacy, so indispensable to the political order, has turned into presidential supremacy. The constitutional Presidency—as events so apparently disparate as the Indochina War and the Watergate affair showed, has become the imperial Presidency and threatens to be the revolutionary Presidency. . . . The imperial Presidency was essentially the creation of foreign policy. A combination of doctrines and emotions—belief in the permanent and universal crisis, fear of communism, faith in the duty and right of the United States to intervene swiftly in every part of the world—had brought about the unprecedented centralization of decisions. Prolonged war in Vietnam strengthened the tendencies toward both centralization and exclusion. So the imperial Presidency grew at the expense of the constitutional order. Like the cowbird, it hatched its own eggs and pushed the others out of the nest. And, as it overwhelmed the traditional separation of powers in foreign affairs, it began to aspire toward an equivalent centralization of power in the domestic polity. 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.

All of the following powers are granted to the President by the Constitution EXCEPT

Forming new cabinet-level departments

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

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.

The constitutional powers of the president include all of the following EXCEPT

Declaring war

Senate confirmation is required for which of the following presidential appointments? I. Secretary of state II. White House chief of staff III. Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) IV. Attorney general

I, III, and IV only

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

The primary purpose of the North American Free Trade Agreement is to

Reduce trade barriers between the U.S., Mexico and Canada

All of the following statements pertaining to the presidential veto are true EXCEPT:

A president may veto part of a bill

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

Which of the following stages comes first in the policy-making process?

Agenda setting

In selecting members of the White House staff, Presidents primarily seek people who

Are personally loyal to the President

The president's role as chief diplomat is derived from

Delegated powers

The President can do which of the following without seeking the consent of either the House or the Senate?

Deploy troops

Generally, when is a president more likely to get congressional approval of proposed policies?

In foreign affairs rather than in domestic affairs

The expansion of the executive branch since 1939 has affected the separation of powers by

Increasing presidential control over the legislative process

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

Executive agreements have been cited as evidence that

Modern presidents often try to avoid legislative checks and balances on their authority

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

All of the following are formal or informal sources of presidential power EXCEPT

Presidential authority to raise revenue

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.

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 accurately compares the formal and informal powers of the president?

Formal Power: Acting as commander in chief of the military Informal Power: Signing executive agreements with foreign nations

The President's veto power is accurately described by which of the following statements? I. A President sometimes threatens to veto a bill that is under discussion in order to influence congressional decision-making. II. A President typically vetoes about a third of the bills passed by Congress. III. Congress is usually unable to override a President's veto.

I and III

In general, Congress is most likely to defer to the President

In the area of foreign policy

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 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

In November 2014, President Obama announced an expansion of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program through an executive order. The policy would protect over 700,000 more children of undocumented immigrants from deportation. Republican members of Congress denounced the order as an abuse of executive power. Previously, members of the House of Representatives had voted to defund the program. 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 explains why the author believes presidential power has expanded?

The United States has emerged as a global power, which has enhanced the power of the president in foreign affairs.

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 represents 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.

Which of the following is NOT a presidential role authorized by the Constitution?

To lead the political party of 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.

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 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 recent presidential administrations, the principal staff for the President has been made up of members of the

White House 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 War Powers Resolution (1973) was designed to

Assure congressional involvement in decisions committing military forces in hostile situations overseas

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

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

Congress adopted the War Powers Resolution to

Limit the president's authority to commit troops overseas

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 a member of the White House Staff?

National Security Advisor

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 statements is supported by the chart above?

President Reagan nominated the smallest percentage of women to the judiciary.

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.

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

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 departments

Which of the following is true based on the data in the line graph?

The number of bills passed by Congress decreased under G. H. W. Bush.

Which of the following trends is best supported by the information in the table?

The number of executive agreements has increased over time.

Which statement best explains the information in the graphic?

The secretary was confirmed by a party-line vote.

The Senate must confirm all of the following presidential appointments EXCEPT

White House staff

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

A President may persuade recalcitrant members of Congress to vote for a particular bill by

Making a direct appeal to the public through the mass media

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

In the last years presidential primacy, so indispensable to the political order, has turned into presidential supremacy. The constitutional Presidency—as events so apparently disparate as the Indochina War and the Watergate affair showed, has become the imperial Presidency and threatens to be the revolutionary Presidency. . . . The imperial Presidency was essentially the creation of foreign policy. A combination of doctrines and emotions—belief in the permanent and universal crisis, fear of communism, faith in the duty and right of the United States to intervene swiftly in every part of the world—had brought about the unprecedented centralization of decisions. Prolonged war in Vietnam strengthened the tendencies toward both centralization and exclusion. So the imperial Presidency grew at the expense of the constitutional order. Like the cowbird, it hatched its own eggs and pushed the others out of the nest. And, as it overwhelmed the traditional separation of powers in foreign affairs, it began to aspire toward an equivalent centralization of power in the domestic polity. 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

In vetoing a bill, the president does which of the following?

Rejects all sections of the bill

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

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