The Executive Branch
The executive branch consists of the president, vice president and 15 Cabinet-level departments such as State, Defense, Interior, Transportation, and Education. The primary power of the executive branch rests with the president, who chooses his vice president, and his Cabinet members who head the respective departments. A crucial function of the executive branch is to ensure that laws are carried out and enforced to facilitate such day-to-day responsibilities of the federal government as collecting taxes, safeguarding the homeland and representing the United States' political and economic interests around the world.
The legislative branch consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives, collectively known as the Congress. There are 100 senators; each state has two. Each state has a different number of representatives, with the number determined by the state's population, through a process known as "apportionment." At present, there are 435 members of the House. The legislative branch, as a whole, is charged with passing the nation's laws and allocating funds for the running of the federal government and providing assistance to the 50 U.S. states.
The Constitution grants the House of Representatives several exclusive powers, including the power to initiate spending and tax-related revenue bills, impeach federal officials, and elect the President of the United States in the case of an electoral college tie.
The Senate is granted the sole power to try federal officials impeached by the House of Representatives, the power to confirm presidential appointments that require consent and to ratify treaties with foreign governments. However, the House must also approve appointments to the office of Vice President and all treaties that involves foreign trade, since they involve revenue.
Both the House and Senate must approve all legislation—bills and resolutions—before they can be sent to the president for his or her signature and final enactment. Both the House and the Senate must pass the identical bill by a simple majority vote. While the president has the power to veto (reject) a bill, the House and Senate have the power to override that veto by passing the bill again in each chamber with at least two-thirds “super majority” of the members of each body voting in favor.
The judicial branch consists of the United States Supreme Court and lower federal courts. Under the Supreme Court's constitutional jurisdiction, its primary function is to hear cases that challenge the constitutionality of legislation or require interpretation of that legislation. The U.S. Supreme Court has nine Justices, who are nominated by the president and must be confirmed by a simple majority vote of the Senate. Once appointed, Supreme Court justices serve until they retire, resign, die or are impeached.
The lower federal courts also decide cases dealing with the constitutionality of laws, as well as cases involving the laws and treaties of the U.S. ambassadors and public ministers, disputes between two or more states, admiralty law, also known as maritime law, and bankruptcy cases. Decisions of the lower federal courts can be and often are appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
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