AP US Government Chapter 5 AP Classroom MCQ

On September 29, 2020, after the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, President Donald Trump, a Republican, nominated Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. Many Democrats in the Senate feared that the appointment of Barrett would swing the Court in a more ideologically conservative direction and attempted to block her nomination. After a heated Senate confirmation hearing, Barrett was eventually confirmed by a 52 to 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.

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 head of the Executive Office of the President. 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.

*Table of Presidential Judicial Nominations+ Which of the following statements is supported by the chart above?

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

*Data table on Senate Vote on S.J, Res 7* The data in the table illustrate which of the following about United States constitutional government?

Presidential foreign policy can be checked through the legislative power of Congress.

*Picture of Supreme Court - Forty More Years!...Forty More Years!* 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.

*Line graph of Presidential Vetoes and Bills Passed in Congress* 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 is an accurate comparison of checks on the legislative branch and checks on the executive branch?

Check on Legislative Branch: The president may veto bills passed by Congress. Check on Executive Branch: The Senate must confirm judicial nominees.

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

*Table of President and Term, Signing Statements Issued, and Objections to Legislation Within the Signing Statement* 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 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. . . . (continued) 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 selecting members of the White House staff, Presidents primarily seek people who

are personally loyal to the President

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

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

increasing presidential control over the legislative process

Congress adopted the War Powers Resolution to

limit the president's authority to commit troops overseas

Executive agreements have been cited as evidence that

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

"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. . . . (continued) Which of the following situations best reflects the author's concern about an "imperial" presidency?

The president issuing an increasing number of executive agreements

*Table of President and Term, Signing Statements Issued, and Objections to Legislation Within the Signing Statement* 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.

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.

*Pie chart on how Senators Voted on Tom Price for Health and Human Services Secretary, 2017* Which statement best explains the information in the graphic?

The secretary was confirmed by a partisan vote.

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