United States of America

Senate

Political system
Presidential system
Structure of parliament
Bicameral
IPU membership
No

Oversight

Oversight tools

Parliament/Chamber has the power to summon members of the government
Yes

Sources: No constitutional provisions, but established by various Supreme Court rulings.

Parliament/chamber has the power to summon senior government officials
Yes
Parliament has the power to approve key government appointments
Yes

Sources: Constitution, Article II, Section 2

Approximate number of government appointments subject to parliamentary approval
1,200
Parliament/chamber has the power to approve key government appointments
Yes
Number of written questions asked, per year
Not applicable
(2023)
Number of written questions answered by the government, per year
Not applicable
(2023)
Percentage of written questions answered by the government, per year
Not applicable
(2023)
Parliament/chamber has power to carry out inquiries
Yes

Sources: Annual data is not available on the number of parliamentary inquiries, only by legislature. Information and a tally of investigative oversight hearings, starting from the 116th Congress (commencing 3 January 2019) can be found here: https://oversight-index.thelugarcenter.org/

Number of parliamentary inquiries, per year
Click for historical data

Notes: Information and a tally of investigative oversight hearings, starting from the 116th Congress (commencing 3 January 2019) can be found here: https://oversight-index.thelugarcenter.org/. Data is for the legislature and is not available per chamber.

Head of State and/or Government

Parliament’s role in the designation of the Head of Government
Parliament does not play a role

Sources: Constitution, Article II, Section 1

The Head of Government is also the Head of State
Yes
Parliament’s role in the designation of the Head of State
No information available

Impeachment and confidence motions

Parliament is automatically dissolved when a motion of no confidence is adopted
Not applicable
Chambers that can be dissolved when a motion of no confidence is adopted
No information available

Impeachment procedure

There is a procedure for parliament to dismiss or impeach the following persons/institution
The Head of Government
Individual members of the Executive
Chambers that play a role in the dismissal or impeachment
Lower chamber
Upper chamber

Sources: Article II, Section 4 of the Constitution. Article I, Sections II and III. The House of Representatives has the sole power of impeaching, while the United States Senate has the sole power to try all impeachments.

No confidence processes

There is a procedure for parliament to express no confidence in the following persons/institution
Not applicable (there is no procedure)
Chambers that play a role in motions of no confidence
Not applicable

Historical data for IPU membership

Historical data for IPU membership
Year IPU membership
2020-09
List of values for 2020-09
No
2019-04
List of values for 2019-04
No
2018-06
List of values for 2018-06
No