Cooper ClydeThe president of the United States is the head of the executive branch, which means he is charged with enforcing laws passed by Congress. He is elected for a maximum of two four-year terms, is commander-in-chief, and appoints members of the administration, federal judges, and Supreme Court justices. All of them, however, need the approval of the Senate.
Any U.S. citizen born on U.S. soil and at least 35 years old can become president. Similar requirements apply to the vice president, who is elected jointly with the president.
The President is the head of the country’s executive branch and administration (government). Candidates for members of the administration, as well as ambassadors, are proposed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The President, paired with the Vice President (J. Biden), is elected every four years through the so-called Electoral College, which consists of 538 members.
The legislative branch consists of the two Houses of Congress: the Lower House and the Upper House (Senate).
The House of Representatives consists of 435 congressmen who are re-elected every 2 years.
100 senators (two from each state) are elected for 6 years, but are divided into 3 groups, so that every two years one third of the upper house is re-elected.
A characteristic feature of the American system of democracy is the high powers vested in the highest judicial authority, i.e. the Supreme Court. It consists of nine justices who are proposed by the President and confirmed for life by the Senate.
Federal integrity, which is guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, is the defining feature of American federalism. In practice, the federal structure is an integral part of a large number of units at different levels. The highest level is represented by the federal government, and the next level consists of the 50 state governments and the government of the District of Columbia. The government structure is based on small government units that govern counties, cities, and small towns.
The diversity of government units was a result of the evolutionary development of the nation. Prior to the adoption of the Constitution, there were individual colony governments (later state governments) that replaced the county and small unit governments that existed up to that time. The framers of the U.S. Constitution left the tiered system of government intact, preserving the supremacy of the federal level over the governments of the lower levels of government. This model was designed to ensure that local governments were able to fully realize the interests of the citizens of the various territorial units.
The U.S. federal government is responsible for nationwide matters, such as maintaining the army and navy, implementing foreign policy, regulating finance and currency, collecting taxes, and the like.
