When Congress Asserts Itself: Examining Legislative Challenges to Executive Power
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Andrew J. Taylor
Abstract
This article presents a unique dataset of 72 cases from across American history in which Congress asserts itself in its relationship with the executive. Patterns suggest that assertiveness occurs in clusters pulled together by a unifying theme, such as Congress’ response to the Civil War and Cold War. Much of this is in direct response to executive antagonism and perceived abuse of power. The House tends to be the more assertive body in the early part of American history, the Senate more so today. Quantitative analyses show divided party control to best explain House assertiveness. By contrast, the Senate is generally assertive when member policy preferences are homogeneous and turnover is low. It also frequently pushes back against popular presidents. Both bodies assert themselves when their legislative workload is high.
©2012 Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, Berlin/Boston
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Articles in the same Issue
- Introduction
- Introduction
- Article
- Presidency, the Power of the Purchaser and Public Policy
- When Congress Asserts Itself: Examining Legislative Challenges to Executive Power
- Of Closed Minds and Open Mouths: Indicators of Supreme Court Justice Votes during the 2009 and 2010 Sessions
- Delegation, Control, and the Study of Public Bureaucracy
- State Resistance to "ObamaCare"
- Learning Presidents: Do Presidents Learn from the Public's Reactions to Their Behavior?
- Did the Tea Party Win the House for the Republicans in the 2010 House Elections?
- The End of the Reform Era? Campaign Finance Retrenchment in the United States and Canada
- The New American Political System: Popular Discontent and Professional Government
- Review
- Review of Do Not Ask What Good We Do and It's Even Worse Than It Looks
- Review of The Lost Majority
