Civic education · the structure

The offices & their powers

Who holds authority, where it comes from, and how it ends. Every office below is created by the Constitution's first three articles; every power links to the clause that grants it and the checks that answer it.

Terms & limits at a glance

Only the presidency is term-limited · term limitsOnly the presidency is term-limited federally: two elected terms (Twenty-Second Amendment). Members of Congress can serve unlimited terms; states cannot change that.Full definition in the glossary

Office	Branch	How obtained	Term	Term limit	Removable by
U.S. Representative	Legislative	Elected directly by the voters of a congressional district	2 years	None	Expulsion by a two-thirds vote of the House
U.S. Senator	Legislative	Elected statewide to staggered six-year terms	6 years	None	Expulsion by a two-thirds vote of the Senate
Speaker of the House	Legislative	Elected by the full House at the start of each Congress (and whenever the office falls vacant)	2 years (the life of a Congress)	None	The House can vacate the chair by majority vote (a 'motion to vacate') or simply elect someone else at any time
President pro tempore of the Senate	Legislative	Elected by the Senate	Until the Senate chooses otherwise	None	The Senate may elect a replacement at any time
President of the United States	Executive	Elected every four years through the Electoral College: state popular votes appoint 538 electors	4 years	Two elected terms	Impeachment by the House and conviction by two-thirds of the Senate
Vice President	Executive	Elected on the presidential ticket through the same Electoral College vote (electors cast separate ballots for President and Vice President under the Twelfth Amendment).	4 years	None as VP	Impeachment and Senate conviction, like all civil officers
Cabinet Secretary (department head)	Executive	Nominated by the President and confirmed by a Senate majority. Serves at the President's pleasure.	No fixed term	None	Fired by the President at will, no Senate involvement, or impeached and convicted
Supreme Court Justice	Judicial	Nominated by the President and confirmed by a Senate majority.	Life (during good behavior)	None	Impeachment by the House and conviction by two-thirds of the Senate
Chief Justice of the United States	Judicial	Nominated to the office by the President and Senate-confirmed	Life (during good behavior)	None	Impeachment and Senate conviction, like any judge
Federal Judge (district & circuit)	Judicial	Nominated by the President and confirmed by a Senate majority	Life (during good behavior)	None	Impeachment and Senate conviction, the only way

Legislative branch

Created by Article I

U.S. Representative

435 voting members (+6 non-voting delegates)

The chamber closest to the people by design: the whole House answers to voters every two years, and revenue bills must start here.

Chosen: Elected directly by the voters of a congressional district, every district electing in every even-numbered year.
Term: 2 years
Limit: None States cannot impose congressional term limits (U.S. Term Limits v. Thornton, 1995); only a constitutional amendment could.
Qualifies: At least 25 years old, a U.S. citizen for 7 years, and an inhabitant of the state (not necessarily the district) when elected.
Removed: Expulsion by a two-thirds vote of the House. Members of Congress are not subject to impeachment.
Vacancy: Special election called by the state's governor. The House is never filled by appointment.

Signature powers

Make the laws Control the money Impeach Investigate the executive

Article I, Section 2 House.gov, The Legislative Branch explained

Terms to know: term of officeThe fixed period an elected official serves before facing voters again: 2 years for the House, 6 for the Senate, 4 for the President.Full definition in the glossary · special electionAn off-schedule election to fill a vacancy. House vacancies require one; Senate vacancies are usually filled by gubernatorial appointment until one is held.Full definition in the glossary · apportionmentThe once-a-decade division of the House's 435 seats among the states by census population. Redistricting is the states then drawing the district lines.Full definition in the glossary

U.S. Senator

100 (2 per state)

The slower, smaller chamber: six-year terms, statewide constituencies, and the exclusive powers to confirm officials and try impeachments.

Chosen: Elected statewide to staggered six-year terms; one of the three Senate classes is up in each even-numbered year. Directly elected only since the Seventeenth Amendment (1913).
Term: 6 years
Limit: None As with the House, term limits would require a constitutional amendment.
Qualifies: At least 30 years old, a U.S. citizen for 9 years, and an inhabitant of the state when elected.
Removed: Expulsion by a two-thirds vote of the Senate. Not subject to impeachment.
Vacancy: In most states the governor appoints a temporary senator until a special or regular election, as the Seventeenth Amendment permits.

Signature powers

Make the laws Control the money Confirm appointments & ratify treaties Try impeachments Investigate the executive

Article I, Section 3 Senate.gov, About the Senate

Terms to know: Senate classesThe Senate's three staggered cohorts. One class (about a third of seats) is up every two years, so the Senate never turns over all at once.Full definition in the glossary · clotureThe Senate's only procedure for ending debate over objection. Most legislation needs 60 votes; nominations need a simple majority.Full definition in the glossary · advice and consentThe Senate's shared role in appointments and treaties: nominations need a Senate majority; treaties need two-thirds.Full definition in the glossary

Speaker of the House

The House's presiding officer and, in practice, the majority party's chief strategist: the Speaker controls the floor agenda and is second in the presidential line of succession.

Chosen: Elected by the full House at the start of each Congress (and whenever the office falls vacant), which in practice means chosen by the majority party.
Term: 2 years (the life of a Congress)
Limit: None
Qualifies: The Constitution sets none, and does not even require the Speaker to be a House member, though every Speaker has been one.
Removed: The House can vacate the chair by majority vote (a 'motion to vacate') or simply elect someone else at any time.
Vacancy: The House elects a new Speaker; a Speaker pro tempore from a designated list presides in the interim.

Signature powers

Make the laws Impeach

Article I, Section 2 House.gov, Leadership

Terms to know: line of successionWho acts as President if the office is vacant: Vice President, Speaker, Senate president pro tempore, then the Cabinet in order of each department's creation.Full definition in the glossary · Rules CommitteeThe House committee that writes the terms of debate, the 'rule', for each major bill: how long debate runs and which amendments are allowed.Full definition in the glossary

President pro tempore of the Senate

The Senate's constitutional presiding officer when the Vice President is absent, third in the line of succession, and in modern practice a largely honorific post held by the majority's senior member.

Chosen: Elected by the Senate; by unbroken modern custom, the most senior senator of the majority party.
Term: Until the Senate chooses otherwise
Limit: None
Qualifies: Must be a sitting senator (the office presides 'in the Absence of the Vice President').
Removed: The Senate may elect a replacement at any time.
Vacancy: The Senate elects a successor, typically at the start of a Congress or on a change of majority.

Signature powers

Make the laws Try impeachments

Article I, Section 3 Senate.gov, President Pro Tempore

Executive branch

Created by Article II

President of the United States

The whole executive power vested in one person: chief executive, commander in chief, chief diplomat, and the only official (with the VP) elected by the nation as a whole.

Chosen: Elected every four years through the Electoral College: state popular votes appoint 538 electors, and 270 electoral votes win the office.
Term: 4 years
Limit: Two elected terms The Twenty-Second Amendment (1951) caps a President at two elected terms, plus at most two years of a predecessor's term, after Franklin Roosevelt's four elections.
Qualifies: A natural-born citizen, at least 35 years old, and 14 years a resident of the United States.
Removed: Impeachment by the House and conviction by two-thirds of the Senate. The Twenty-Fifth Amendment separately covers inability, voluntary or declared.
Vacancy: The Vice President becomes President. Further down, the Presidential Succession Act orders the Speaker, the president pro tempore, then the Cabinet.

Signature powers

Execute the laws Veto legislation Appoint officers & judges Grant pardons & reprieves Command the armed forces Make treaties Conduct foreign relations Issue executive orders & directives

Article II, Section 1 USA.gov, The executive branch

Terms to know: Electoral CollegeThe 538 state-appointed electors who formally elect the President. A candidate needs 270 electoral votes; all but two states award theirs winner-take-all.Full definition in the glossary · term limitsOnly the presidency is term-limited federally: two elected terms (Twenty-Second Amendment). Members of Congress can serve unlimited terms; states cannot change that.Full definition in the glossary · line of successionWho acts as President if the office is vacant: Vice President, Speaker, Senate president pro tempore, then the Cabinet in order of each department's creation.Full definition in the glossary

Vice President

Constitutionally a hybrid: first in line for the presidency, and president of the Senate with a vote only to break ties, everything else about the job is what the President delegates.

Chosen: Elected on the presidential ticket through the same Electoral College vote (electors cast separate ballots for President and Vice President under the Twelfth Amendment).
Term: 4 years
Limit: None as VP The Twenty-Second Amendment limits only the presidency; a two-term President could constitutionally serve later as VP, though the question has never been tested.
Qualifies: The same as the President's: natural-born citizen, 35, and 14 years a resident, since the VP must be eligible to succeed.
Removed: Impeachment and Senate conviction, like all civil officers.
Vacancy: The President nominates a new VP, confirmed by majority of both chambers (Twenty-Fifth Amendment), used for Ford (1973) and Rockefeller (1974).

Signature powers

Make the laws Execute the laws

Article II, Section 1 Senate.gov, Vice President of the United States

Terms to know: line of successionWho acts as President if the office is vacant: Vice President, Speaker, Senate president pro tempore, then the Cabinet in order of each department's creation.Full definition in the glossary · contingent electionThe House choosing the President when no candidate wins 270 electoral votes, with each state delegation casting a single vote.Full definition in the glossary

Cabinet Secretary (department head)

15 executive departments

The President's confirmed deputies, each running a department of the executive branch and, in succession order, forming the constitutional Cabinet.

Chosen: Nominated by the President and confirmed by a Senate majority. Serves at the President's pleasure.
Term: No fixed term
Limit: None
Qualifies: None in the Constitution; statutes occasionally add requirements (the Attorney General must be 'learned in the law' by tradition, the Defense Secretary must be seven years out of active military service by statute).
Removed: Fired by the President at will, no Senate involvement, or impeached and convicted.
Vacancy: The Federal Vacancies Reform Act governs acting officials until a new nominee is confirmed.

Signature powers

Execute the laws Write binding regulations

Article II, Section 2 The White House, The Cabinet

Terms to know: CabinetThe President's senior advisory body: the Vice President and the heads of the 15 executive departments, plus officials the President elevates to cabinet rank.Full definition in the glossary · advice and consentThe Senate's shared role in appointments and treaties: nominations need a Senate majority; treaties need two-thirds.Full definition in the glossary · removal powerThe President's contested authority to fire executive officers without Senate approval. Its reach over 'independent' agencies is an active constitutional battleground.Full definition in the glossary

Judicial branch

Created by Article III

Supreme Court Justice

9 (set by statute, not the Constitution)

Nine lifetime appointees with the last word on what federal law and the Constitution mean, which is why each vacancy becomes a national event.

Chosen: Nominated by the President and confirmed by a Senate majority.
Term: Life (during good behavior)
Limit: None Life tenure is the Constitution's design for judicial independence; any fixed term would require an amendment.
Qualifies: None whatsoever in the Constitution, no age, citizenship, or even law degree requirement.
Removed: Impeachment by the House and conviction by two-thirds of the Senate. One justice has been impeached (Samuel Chase, 1804); none has been removed.
Vacancy: The seat stays empty until a new nominee is confirmed; the Court simply sits short-handed.

Signature powers

Strike down unconstitutional acts Decide cases & controversies Hear cases first (original jurisdiction)

Article III, Section 1 SupremeCourt.gov, About the Court

Terms to know: certiorariThe Supreme Court's discretionary review. Losing parties petition for a 'writ of cert'; four justices must agree to hear the case.Full definition in the glossary · precedentA prior decision that guides or controls later cases. Courts must follow decisions of the courts above them; 'stare decisis' is the practice of standing by what was decided.Full definition in the glossary · judicial reviewCourts' power to strike down laws and executive acts that violate the Constitution, established by Marbury v. Madison (1803).Full definition in the glossary

Chief Justice of the United States

First among equals: one vote of nine on cases, but also head of the federal judiciary, presider over presidential impeachment trials, and assigner of majority opinions when in the majority.

Chosen: Nominated to the office by the President and Senate-confirmed, either from outside the Court or by elevating a sitting justice (which requires a fresh confirmation).
Term: Life (during good behavior)
Limit: None
Qualifies: None in the Constitution.
Removed: Impeachment and Senate conviction, like any judge.
Vacancy: Nominated and confirmed like any justice; the senior associate justice leads the Court in the interim.

Signature powers

Strike down unconstitutional acts Decide cases & controversies Try impeachments

Article III, Section 1 SupremeCourt.gov, About the Court

Terms to know: opinionA court's written explanation of its decision. The majority opinion sets precedent; concurrences agree with the result for different reasons; dissents disagree.Full definition in the glossary · impeachmentThe House's formal accusation against a President, judge, or other civil officer, by majority vote. Removal requires a separate Senate trial and a two-thirds conviction.Full definition in the glossary

Federal Judge (district & circuit)

~870 authorized Article III judgeships

The trial and appeals judges who decide nearly every federal case that will ever exist, the Supreme Court hears fewer than a hundred a year; these courts handle hundreds of thousands.

Chosen: Nominated by the President and confirmed by a Senate majority, district judges for the 94 districts, circuit judges for the 13 courts of appeals.
Term: Life (during good behavior)
Limit: None Judges may take 'senior status' at retirement eligibility, keeping a reduced caseload while opening their seat for a new appointment.
Qualifies: None in the Constitution; nominees are evaluated by custom, not constitutional rule.
Removed: Impeachment and Senate conviction, the only way. Eight federal judges have been removed this way, the only officials ever removed by impeachment.
Vacancy: The seat stays open until a new judge is confirmed; other judges of the court absorb the caseload.

Signature powers

Strike down unconstitutional acts Decide cases & controversies

Article III, Section 1 USCourts.gov, About Federal Judges

Terms to know: jurisdictionA court's legal authority to hear a case: over the subject matter, the parties, and the territory.Full definition in the glossary · appealA request that a higher court review a lower court's decision for legal error. Appeals courts review the law; they do not retry the facts.Full definition in the glossary · precedentA prior decision that guides or controls later cases. Courts must follow decisions of the courts above them; 'stare decisis' is the practice of standing by what was decided.Full definition in the glossary

The checks, mapped

Row checks column · every check names its clause

separation of powersThe Constitution's division of federal power into legislative, executive, and judicial branches, each with tools to resist the others.Full definition in the glossary is not three branches ignoring each other; it is three branches armed against each other. Each cell shows how the row's branch can resist the column's, click any check for the full power behind it.

checks ↓ on →

Legislative

Executive

Judicial

Legislative

Override vetoesTwo-thirds of both chambers can enact a bill over a veto (Art. I, §7).

Control the moneyNo spending without an appropriation (Art. I, §9), agencies run on what Congress funds.

Confirm or rejectThe Senate can refuse principal officers, judges, and treaties (Art. II, §2).

Investigate & subpoenaOversight of the executive is an implied Article I power (McGrain v. Daugherty).

Impeach & removeThe House impeaches; the Senate convicts by two-thirds (Art. I, §§2-3).

Shape the courtsCongress creates every court below the Supreme Court and sets the number of justices (Art. III, §1).

Limit jurisdictionCongress makes 'Exceptions' and 'Regulations' to appellate jurisdiction (Art. III, §2).

Impeach judgesJudges hold office only 'during good Behaviour', impeachment is the enforcement.

Amend around rulingsA constitutional amendment can supersede a Court interpretation (Art. V), as the 16th did.

Executive

VetoThe President can return any bill; only a two-thirds override answers it (Art. I, §7).

Recommend & conveneThe President sets an agenda (State of the Union) and may convene Congress (Art. II, §3).

Execution discretionHow vigorously laws are enforced is, within limits, an executive choice (Take Care Clause).

Appoint the judgesEvery federal judge arrives by presidential nomination (Art. II, §2).

PardonClemency can undo the outcome of any federal prosecution (Art. II, §2).

EnforcementCourts have no army or treasury; judgments depend on executive enforcement.

Judicial

Strike down lawsCourts void statutes that violate the Constitution (Marbury v. Madison).

Construe statutesWhat an ambiguous law means in practice is decided case by case in court.

Strike executive actsOrders and rules beyond legal authority are set aside (Youngstown; the APA).

Enjoin officialsCourts can order officials, up to the President's subordinates, to act or stop (injunctions).

Editor-written civic education, sourced to the constitutional text and the offices' own references. Real disputes about these powers are decided in Congress and the courts, not by this page.

Office

Branch

How obtained

Term

Term limit

Removable by

U.S. Representative

Legislative

Elected directly by the voters of a congressional district

2 years

None

Expulsion by a two-thirds vote of the House

U.S. Senator

Legislative

Elected statewide to staggered six-year terms

6 years

None

Expulsion by a two-thirds vote of the Senate

Speaker of the House

Legislative

Elected by the full House at the start of each Congress (and whenever the office falls vacant)

2 years (the life of a Congress)

None

The House can vacate the chair by majority vote (a 'motion to vacate') or simply elect someone else at any time

President pro tempore of the Senate

Legislative

Elected by the Senate

Until the Senate chooses otherwise

None

The Senate may elect a replacement at any time

President of the United States

Executive

Elected every four years through the Electoral College: state popular votes appoint 538 electors

4 years

Two elected terms

Impeachment by the House and conviction by two-thirds of the Senate

Vice President

Executive

Elected on the presidential ticket through the same Electoral College vote (electors cast separate ballots for President and Vice President under the Twelfth Amendment).

4 years

None as VP

Impeachment and Senate conviction, like all civil officers

Cabinet Secretary (department head)

Executive

Nominated by the President and confirmed by a Senate majority. Serves at the President's pleasure.

No fixed term

None

Fired by the President at will, no Senate involvement, or impeached and convicted

Supreme Court Justice

Judicial

Nominated by the President and confirmed by a Senate majority.

Life (during good behavior)

None

Impeachment by the House and conviction by two-thirds of the Senate

Chief Justice of the United States

Judicial

Nominated to the office by the President and Senate-confirmed

Life (during good behavior)

None

Impeachment and Senate conviction, like any judge

Federal Judge (district & circuit)

Judicial

Nominated by the President and confirmed by a Senate majority

Life (during good behavior)

None

Impeachment and Senate conviction, the only way