On the political system of the United States of America
Politics of the United States
Polity type
Federal presidential constitutional republic
Constitution
United States Constitution
Formation
March 4, 1789; 235 years ago (1789-03-04)
Legislative branch
Name
Congress
Type
Bicameral
Meeting place
Capitol
Upper house
Name
Senate
Presiding officer
Kamala Harris, Vice President & President of the Senate
Appointer
Direct Election
Lower house
Name
House of Representatives
Presiding officer
Mike Johnson, Speaker of the House of Representatives
Appointer
First-past-the-post voting
Executive branch
Head of State and Government
Title
President
Currently
Joe Biden
Appointer
Electoral College
Cabinet
Name
Cabinet of the United States
Current cabinet
Cabinet of Joe Biden
Leader
President
Deputy leader
Vice President
Appointer
President
Headquarters
White House
Ministries
15
Judicial branch
Name
Federal judiciary of the United States
Courts
Courts of the United States
Supreme Court
Chief judge
John Roberts
Seat
Supreme Court Building
This article is part of a series on the
Politics of the United States
Federal government
Constitution of the United States
Law
Taxation
Policy
Legislature
United States Congress
House of Representatives
Speaker Mike Johnson (R)
Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R)
Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D)
Congressional districts (list)
Non-voting members
Senate
President Kamala Harris (D)
President Pro Tempore Patty Murray (D)
Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D)
Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R)
Executive
President of the United States
Joe Biden (D)
Vice President of the United States
Kamala Harris (D)
United States Attorney General
Merrick Garland
Cabinet
Federal agencies
Executive Office
Judiciary
Supreme Court of the United States
Chief Justice John Roberts
Thomas
Alito
Sotomayor
Kagan
Gorsuch
Kavanaugh
Barrett
Jackson
Inferior Courts of the United States
Courts of appeals
District courts (list)
Court of International Trade
Multidistrict Litigation Judicial Panel
Alien Terrorist Removal Court
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review
Other tribunals
Elections
National Elections
Presidential elections
Midterm elections
Off-year elections
Primary elections
Presidential primary
Elections by State and Territory
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming
American Samoa
Guam
Northern Mariana Islands
Puerto Rico
U.S. Virgin Islands
Elections in the District of Columbia
(List of Elections)
Political parties
Democratic
Republican
Third parties
Libertarian
Green
List of political parties
Political ideologies
Conservatism
history
Black
Neo-
Paleo-
Social
Traditionalist
Liberalism
Modern
Progressivism
Abolitionism
Constitutionalism
Environmentalism
Feminism
Libertarianism
Monarchism
Populism
Protectionism
Republicanism
Socialism
Anarchism
Individualist anarchism
Political culture
Political polarization
Federalism
State and Territorial government
Governors
Legislatures (list)
Courts
Local government
District of Columbia Government
District Council
Mayor
Superior Court
Foreign relations
Department of State
Secretary of State: Antony Blinken
Diplomatic missions of / in the United States
Nationality law
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Visa policy
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In the United States, politics functions within a framework of a constitutional federal republic and presidential system, with three distinct branches that share powers: the U.S. Congress which forms the legislative branch, a bicameral legislative body comprising the House of Representatives and the Senate; the executive branch, which is headed by the president of the United States, who serves as the country's head of state and government; and the judicial branch, composed of the Supreme Court and lower federal courts, and which exercises judicial power.
Each of the 50 individual state governments has the power to make laws within its jurisdiction that are not granted to the federal government nor denied to the states in the U.S. Constitution. Each state also has a constitution following the pattern of the federal constitution but differing in details. Each have three branches: an executive branch headed by a governor, a legislative body, and judicial branch. At the local level, governments are found in counties or county-equivalents, and beneath them individual municipalities, townships, school districts, and special districts.
Officials are popularly elected at the federal, state and local levels, with the major exception being the President, who is instead elected indirectly by the people through the Electoral College. U.S. politics is dominated by two parties, which since the American Civil War have been the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, although other parties have run candidates. Historically,[1][2] the Democratic Party has generally supported left-leaning policies, while the Republican Party has generally supported right-leaning ones. Both parties have no formal central organization at the national level that controls membership, elected officials or political policies; thus, each party has traditionally had factions and individuals that deviated from party positions. Almost all public officials in America are elected from single-member districts and win office by winning a plurality of votes cast (i.e. more than any other candidate, but not necessarily a majority). Suffrage is nearly universal for citizens 18 years of age and older, with the notable exception of registered felons in some states.
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