How the Power of the US President is Checked and Balanced

The separation of the executive, legislative and judicial powers is a democratic political system which is adopted by many democratic countries in the world. As we all know, the purpose of the separation of powers is to avoid the existence of dictators.

Montesquieu’s theory of “separation of powers” was highly respected by American leaders, and its essence has been written into the U.S constitution. Thus the United States is the most typical country. Marx and Engels once called the USA “the most perfect example of the modern state”.

According to the Federal Constitution in 1787, legislative power is controlled by the congress, executive power is exercised by the President of the United States, and judicial power belongs to the supreme and inferior courts. Under the trend of executive power constantly expanding in many modern countries, how to well control it becomes a key issue. Our topic will be focused on the checks and balances of the legislative and judicial powers on the executive power.

1、 The checks and balances of the legislative power on the executive power

In the first place, the President can nominate officials. However, he can’t appoint officials until the Congress agrees. For example, in 1987, Senate finally vetoed President Reagan’s nomination of Leo.

Secondly, the President does have the right to make treaties with foreign countries, but not until 2/3 of the members of the Senate agreed, will the treaties take effect. For instance, after the end of the First World War, in June 1919, the U.S. President Woodrow Wilson signed the “Versailles Peace Treaty” on behalf the United States. The Senate voted twice, but still the treaty was not approved.

What’s more, the President can veto the bill passed by Congress. Nevertheless, if 2/3 of the members of both houses of Congress again pass the bill, this bill can take effect without the sign of the President. According to the record, President Ford formally used the right of veto 44 times, and 12 of them were overturned by Congress at last.

Besides, in accordance with the Constitution, the House of Representatives has the right to impeach the President, and the Senate can inquest the case. Though this right is seldom used, in 1998, President Clinton was impeached by Congress because of his sex scandal.

Last but not least, the Congress has the power to determine whether the President has the normal ability to fulfill his mandate and to take the responsibilities.

2、The checks and balances of the judicial power on the executive power

Hamilton and Montesquieu’s theory on the judicial power has greatly influenced the U.S. Constitution. Now, let’s have a close look at this aspect.

The judges of the Federal Supreme Court are appointed by the President, but once appointed, unless they commit a crime, they will be on the position for the whole life. That is to say, the President does not have the right to remove the judges from office. Consequently, without the control and threaten from the President, the judges can make judgments relatively fairly.

In addition, the Supreme Court can declare that the executive order issued by the President is unconstitutional so that the order will not take effect. For instance, in May 1935, U.S. Supreme Court announced that the “National Industrial Recovery Act” signed by President Roosevelt was unconstitutional.

What I’d like to point out is that the separation of the three powers in America is not divided by the characteristic or functioning field of power，and does not mean the division of powers among the administration，legislature and court．Under American system of the separation of three powers，the power of each part of the federal government does not maintain unchanged from the start to the end，but read just and change incessantly．In the real political life，the American system of the separation of powers bears both the harm of power partition an d power sharing．It tends to lead the political deadlock，and it also hampers the effective implementation of governmental function．As a matter of fact，such system is just a tool to protect the whole ruling interest of the bourgeois．

英语国家社会与文化论文How is the Power of the US President Checked and Balanced