oversight IS effective

• Congressional committees

  Have a wide range of powers to call witnesses and see papers

  Committees can be chaired

  Standing committees able to impact legislative process as they can kill a bill
• Senate approval

  Senate able to ratify any appointments

  • Obama struggled to appoint a head to the ATF for 6 years because his nominations were continually blocked
  • Bush had to back down from nominating Harriet Myers as a SC judge after Senate outrage
• Party control

  Scrutiny seen even in united government

  • Obamacare not supported by all Democrats
• Presidential legislative limits

  JASTA - example of presidential veto overturned
• NO collective responsibility

  Scrutiny can come from within, the Cabinet ministers
• Finance

  Congress have power over scrutiny through finance esp with Republican fears of high spending

  • Trump’s wall, aid to Ukraine and Gaza, Vietnam War