Federal government

Federal government
The US federal government is based in Washington DC and is comprised of the

President, US Congress (two houses - House of Representatives and the Senate) and
the US Supreme Court.
There are 435 members of the House of Representatives. The number each state
elects is dependent on its population. States with bigger populations have more
Congressmen or Congresswomen.
There are 100 senators, two per state regardless of the population of each state.
There are nine members of the Supreme Court. Supreme Court judges are nominated
for life by the President and with the approval of the Senate.
Each of the 50 individual states of the USA has its own Governor, State Congress and
State Court.
Republicans
The Republican Party or the Republicans is the USA’s oldest political party and is
economically conservative . Traditionally it stands for business, small government
and low taxation.
The Republican Party has a strong support base among White Christian voters, many
of whom disagree with liberal causes such as abortion rights and same-sex marriage.
Many Republican Party voters are found in the central states of the US/Mid-west (e.g.
Iowa, Montana, or Nebraska) and the South of the US in states such as Texas,
Mississippi, or Louisiana. Older voters also tended to marginally favour Trump over
Biden.
In the 2020 US presidential elections, the then Republican President Donald Trump
lost to his Democratic Party rival Joe Biden. However, Trump won more of the vote
from White, older voters than Biden. (Source: BBC News).
After the 2022 mid-term US elections, the Republican Party took control of the House
of Representatives with 222 congressmen and women to the Democratic Party’s 213
congressmen and women.(Source: BBC News).
Democrats
The Democratic Party or the Democrats are, in general, more liberal on social issues
such as rights for minorities, abortion and assistance for the poor. Economically,
Democrats are more likely to believe in a bigger role for government in the economy,
for example in providing health insurance.
The trade unions in America are a strong base of support for the Democrats, who are
more likely to support workers’ rights and issues such as the national minimum wage.
Americans who are environmentalists, anti-war, support a woman's right to choose
abortion or support same-sex marriage, are termed “liberals”.
At the 2020 US Presidential election, Democrat Joe Biden received more votes from
women, minority groups (87% of Black Americans voted for Biden), younger voters and
those with higher education levels than did Republican Trump. (Source: BBC
News)
States with large cities like New York tend to have more Democratic Party supporters,
as do the New England states. Democrat support is also very strong in the West of the
US in states such as California, Oregon and Washington State.
After the 2022 mid-term US elections, the Democratic Party took outright control of the
US Senate returning 51 of the Senators to the Republican Party’s 49 Senators.
If brought to court an American citizen can take the Fifth. This means that he or she
does not have to give evidence that may self-incriminate (make themselves appear
guilty).
Guantanamo Bay Detention Centre
There has been controversy surrounding the Guantanamo Bay Detention Centre since
it opened in 2002. Many of prisoners held there continue to be detained without a fair
trial with a jury.
The US government describes the men held at Guantanamo Bay as enemy
combatants. However, human rights groups such as Amnesty International accuse the
US military who run the camp of human rights abuse.
When President Obama was elected, he said he would close this facility, but failed to
do so. In 2023, 35 men remained in the detention centre. (Source: Amnesty
International)
The Constitution of the USA does not specify how candidates are nominated.
Candidates have to go through state primaries and caucuses. Here, each candidate is
given a specific number of votes by the electorate. Next, these candidates get a fixed
number of delegates who will vote for them at the party’s convention.
In the early 1900s, a significant shift occurred in American politics as states started
conducting primary elections to choose delegates for national nominating conventions.
This move aimed to curb the corrupt influence of party and state leaders. However, the
immediate and widespread adoption of primary elections did not establish their current
pivotal role in determining a party’s candidate.
Libertarian Party:
The Libertarian Party was founded by David Nolan in 1971. It called for lesser
government intervention in both social and economic matters of the USA. Moreover, it
advocated for greater individual liberty and a laissez-faire economic system. The party
has failed to create any major impact, however, it has influenced political discourse and
managed to reduce government spending.

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The US federal government is based in Washington DC and is comprised of the

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