 Bicameral (2 houses)  House of Representatives  Senate

The House of Representatives Members elected every two years (Two year term) Requirements Minimum of 25 years old Must live in State which elects him/her Must be a seven year citizen of the United States 435 Total Members Apportioned by population

 Based on population  Population determined by diennial census  States with most Reps  California - 53  Texas – 36  New York - 27  Florida – 27

 States are guaranteed at least one Representative - regardless of population  States with only one Rep:  Alaska  Delaware  S.Dakota  N.Dakota  Vermont  Wyoming

The House of Representatives shall chuse their Speaker and other Officerschuse Speaker of the House: John Boehner Republican

 The Majority Leader of the United States House of Representatives acts as the leader of the party that has a majority of the seats in the House (currently at least 232 of the 435 seats). Elected by their party caucus.  They work with the Speaker of the House and the Majority Whip to coordinate ideas and maintain support for legislation.Speaker of the HouseMajority Whip Current Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy :

 Head of the Minority Party (Currently the Democrats) Generally responsible for maintaining party harmony and agreement on party issues. Elected by their party caucus.  Works closely with President if they are part of the Minority Party Current Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi Democrat

 The Minority Whip assists the Minority Leader.  The United States House of Representatives does not use the term "Minority Whip." The House of Representatives uses the terms "Republican Whip" or "Democratic Whip" depending on the Minority Party Current House Whip Steny Hoyer Democrat

The Majority Whip's job is to count votes and ‘whip' up support for Republican legislation and keep members in agreement and focused The Role originated in the English Parliament  Taken from job of the whip in fox hunting – responsibility for keeping the hounds focused on the job Current Majority Whip Steve Scalise Republican

100 Senators (2 per State) All States are equal in the Senate A Senator must be:  30 years old  9 years a citizen of U.S.  A resident of the State which elects him/her  Six year term Originally they were elected by the State Legislatures – 17 th Amendment provided for direct election

Senators are divided into three groups for election – every third election each State will not hold a Senatorial election Group A Group B Group C

President of the Senate: Vice-President of the United States Joseph Biden Job is to preside over the Senate cast tie-breaking votes swear in new Senators Former Senator from Maryland

Colorado Senators Michael Bennet Cory Gardner Elected 2010 Elected 2014

Job is to preside over the Senate in the absence of the Vice- President Similar to Speaker of the House, but not as powerful Typically the most Senior Senator From the Majority Party Orrin Hatch

Senate Majority Leader Elected by the majority party caucus - responsibilities are similar to those of the House Majority Leader. Current Majority Leader Mitch McConnell

Senate Minority Leader Similar to that of the House Minority Leader – elected by his party caucus. Current Minority Leader Harry Reid Democrat from Nevada

“When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies” In most States the Governor of the State Appoints a Rep to finish the term In some States there is a special Election to find a replacement

 The House of Representatives has the “sole power of Impeachment”  The Senate holds the trial with the Senators acting as jury  If the President is being impeached the Chief Justice Presides The Term Impeachment refers to the process of bringing up a Federal Official on charges – with the long term result of removal – it does not denote guilt

The first impeachment was Senator William Blount from Tennessee for a plot to help the British seize Louisiana and Florida from Spain in The Senate dismissed the charges on Jan. 14, 1799, determining that it had no jurisdiction over its own members. The Senate and the House do, however, have the right to discipline their members, and the Senate expelled Blount the day after his impeachment.

Samuel Chase was impeached but acquitted of judicial bias against anti-Federalists. The acquittal on March 1, 1805, established that political differences were not grounds for impeachment.

President Andrew Johnson – 1868 Acquitted by one vote Violation of the Tenure in office act President Bill Clinton – 1998 Acquitted Perjury and obstruction of justice