A look at how the United States’ system of checks and balances is designed to work and its current challenges.

By Dr. Michael Kryzanek | April 28, 2025

One of the fundamental concepts that students learn in a civics class is that our constitutional system is based on the principle of checks and balances. The Founding Fathers were wary of excessive power in the hands of one of the three branches of government and so they devised the idea of separation of powers — three co-equal centers of decision-making responsibility with each center having the ability to check the other two centers and thereby balance the power of governing. The language of the Constitution is filled with examples of the checks and balances system of government as the power of the President is limited by the Congress (approves spending), the Congress is limited by the power of the President (veto over proposed legislation) and the federal courts are responsible for seeing that the two other branches do not make and support laws that are unconstitutional (often termed judicial review).

The checks and balances system does not make for quick or complete public policy but is rather a means of slowing the process of governmental decision-making so that the result is based on compromise, consensus and bipartisan cooperation. The President is supposed to work with Congress to fashion legislation that is agreeable to both political parties and represents the best effort to achieve unity, while the Congress is expected to ensure that the executive branch is fully informed and supportive of the legislation and has opportunities to provide input on the final legislative proposal. Finally, the federal courts, if there are questions and concerns about the legislation, can view the law as within the boundaries of the Constitution