AO1: Congress’s legislative power can be overturned by a presidential veto the Constitution allows a President to overturn Congress even if they have a more recent mandate and yet Congress has displayed only a minimal ability to use the veto override AO3: this shows, therefore, weaknesses in the exercise of its power, shows that the President is more powerful and that Congress power is restricted and cannot be wholly effective. AO1: Congressional oversight is often reactive Congress reacts with enumerated powers, such as investigations and veto override, which need the President to act first, these powers of Congress restrict its ability to act proactively AO3: therefore this has allowed the President to dominate so that the oversight is ineffective as the balance of power still remains with the President and Congress is not in control. AO1: Congressional oversight is dependent on party control In times of unified government there is often reduced scrutiny of the President, increasing its power, yet in times of divided government, Presidents often rely on more imperial powers to bypass Congress AO3: consequently in both cases, Congress fails to appropriately check the President and it cannot effectively act as a check or balance on Presidential power whatever the political landscape of the time and the mechanisms in place fail. AO1: In foreign policy, Congress has limited powers to oversee the President the power to ratify treaties, control the budget and the vagueness of Article II has allowed the dominance of the President in foreign policy and to circumvent congressional powers AO3: therefore all these elements ensure that Congress cannot be effective in limiting the power of the President and that the system needs reviewing in order for Congress to be more effective. AO1: Approval ratings reduce the impact that Congress can have. AO2: Higher approval ratings for a President than Congress are normal and give the President more freedom for manoeuvre, which means it can be difficult for Congress to utilise the media in order to scrutinise the President AO3: thus it is clear evidence that Congressional oversight is ineffective, as the President has better access to influencing the voting public and the media, which in the 21st century is a crucial way of gaining and maintaining power and Congress is always going to be less able to affect change this way.

AO1: The Constitution still grants considerable checks to Congress Congress has proven it is capable of thwarting Presidents’ demands with Constitutional checks and where Presidents have tried to circumvent them, they have been found unconstitutional by the Supreme Court or suffered in the media AO3: consequently reducing his power and showing themselves to be effective in how it checks presidential power and also how it uses the other mechanisms to aid this checking. AO1: During divided government, scrutiny is often better in divided government, the opposition party is more willing to exercise its powers and directly challenge the President AO3: therefore the resulting gridlock could be considered an effective check on the President preventing them from acting alone. AO1: Congress is especially effective when a President is weaker, or towards the end of their presidency Congress is especially effective when a President is weaker, or towards the end of their presidency when their mandate is weaker and elections are looming, as challenging the President will not lose them votes AO3: therefore it is able to maximise public opinion in order to prevent unpopular presidential actions, which is clearly an effective check on presidential power. AO1: Congress retains control over the budget through the legislative process, Congress can decide on which presidential policies pass into law. AO2: Executive actions can be overruled and amended in this manner, preventing the President’s will becoming law AO3: therefore it is clearly effective in stopping the actions of the President and have power to intervene, these actions are a highly effective way to curb presidential actions and are used. AO1: In domestic policy, Congress is much more effective as it controls the legislative process. by controlling the budget, Congress has the ability to defund wars and retain some control over foreign policy, even in times of government shutdown AO3: thus this has prevented unilateral action from the President and therefore is clear evidence that Congress is effective in overseeing the actions of the President and can have a huge impact on what happens both in the country and abroad.