by The Skimm
The result? Regime change in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya. And a lot of unrest in Syria…
Syrian Civil War
In 2011, Syria caught the Arab Spring bug.
Anti-government protests broke out. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad did NOT appreciate these and responded with a massive crackdown.
Soon, this was a full-blown civil war, involving dozens of different groups with different agendas. The problem? Some of these rebel groups were extremist. ISIS was one of them.
Team Moderate Rebels was supported by the US and the West, while Assad’s gov has been supported by Russia and Iran.
Assad has been accused of launching chemical weapons attacks on his own people. And more than 500,000 have died in the conflict.
War in Afghanistan
In 2001, about a month after 9/11, the Bush administration went to war with Afghanistan.
The goal? Destroy al-Qaeda (the terror group responsible for 9/11) and the Taliban political group that helped it take root.
Today, the US is still involved in the conflict there. That’s because the Taliban is still active, powerful, and fighting the Afghan government (supported by the US) for power. There have been more than 100,000 deaths.
South Sudanese Civil War
Until 2011, South Sudan didn’t exist. It got its independence after a nearly 22-year civil war.
But since its independence, the tensions haven’t gone away. The dozens of ethnic groups in the country have been fighting for control. And in 2013, a civil war broke out, and fighting has escalated ever since. Some estimates have put the death toll at close to 400,000.
Ukrainian Conflict
Once upon a time, when the Soviet Union was a thing, Ukraine was part of it.
Since then, Ukrainians in the country’s East have been nostalgic for the old days, but most would rather strengthen ties with Europe.
In 2013, the Ukrainian president decided to pass on a trade deal with the EU in favor of cozying up to Russia. This didn’t sit well with a lot of Ukrainians, and he was eventually ousted.
But Crimea—a pro-Russian peninsula in Ukraine—voted to be part of Russia. Russia welcomed them into the fold. This sparked an uprising from pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine who wanted to join Russia too.
All of this was a big red flag to the US, since it signaled that Russia was expanding its influence in the territory, and fueling violence in Ukraine.
In 2014, the world woke up to just how bad the fighting was when a commercial plane was shot down over Ukraine, killing 298 people. The missile was allegedly fired by a Russian military unit.
Crimea is now part of Russia. File this under “Reasons the US has Russia on its sh*t list.”
Venezuelan Crisis
Venezuela’s economy was once on the upswing, thanks to its hefty oil supply. But dropping oil prices hit its economy hard.
Now the country has been in crisis mode for years. The currency is basically worthless. There’s a shortage of food, water, and other basics. And millions of people have reportedly fled the country, prompting a migrant and refugee crisis in neighboring countries.
Mass protests have called for President Nicolas Maduro and his socialist gov to step down. The US supports the opposition there led by Juan Guaido. Things seem to be getting worse for Maduro—so much so that when you’re reading this, he might be out of a job and Guaido could be in charge.
North Korea
Ever since the North and the South were divided in the aftermath of WWII, NK has been an enemy of the West.
So the West is not excited by the fact that NK has been going nuclear. For years, the country’s been trying to bulk up its nuclear weapons program—including testing missiles that some say have the capability to hit the US. Breathe.
The country is under strict UN sanctions. Millions are reportedly living in poverty, and the gov reportedly controls everything from where people live to what they do for a living to the haircuts they can get. Really.
Tensions have gotten so bad that even China—who’s traditionally supported NK by vetoing UN sanctions against the country—voted to put them in a time-out. The West is hoping that by crippling NK’s economy, they’ll be able to convince the regime to quit it with the nukes.
theSkimm: The world has billions of people and billions of years under its belt. It’s impossible to Skimm all of it. But in order to understand what’s happening now, it’s important to understand the historical context and underlying powers at play.
Things with an Org Chart
theSkimm on US Government
Overheard everywhere: “Congress can’t agree on anything.”
“Nothing will get passed.” “The government might shut down.” The political gridlock you read and hear about all the time might make you want to say “Can’t they just get sh*t done already?” There are reasons why it happens. A lot of it traces back to the two-party system. And some of it traces back to the structure of the federal government.
The Org Chart
In some ways, the federal government org chart isn’t that different from the one at your company. There are three main departments: the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. There’s a CEO: the president. And there’s a lot of interoffice drama.
Legislative
How many people are in Congress?
There are 535 people on the congressional group chat. That includes the two chambers: the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate has two senators per state. So 100 total. The House has 435 people, distributed in proportion to a state’s population. Which is why California has 53 reps and Rhode Island has two.
What is Congress’s role?
To make laws. Which is why its members are called legislators. They also have the power to remove the president from office, confirm or reject a president’s cabinet nominations, and declare war. Plus, the power of the purse, or the ability to tax, pass a budget, and decide where money goes.
When does all this actually happen?
In sessions. A session in Congress refers to a calendar year, beginning in early January. Every Congress has two sessions in one term. Senators are elected for six years (three terms), while representatives serve for two years (one term). So every two years, it’s turnover time. Hi, midterm and general elections.
How does Congress get things done?
If you find out, let them know. Here’s how two of Congress’s biggest responsibilities play out.
Turning Bills into Laws
While it might seem like Congress can’t do its job, there are hundreds of bills passed every year. It’s time to brush up on your School House Rock.
Thing to know
Authorization bills vs. appropriation bills. Authorization bills establish or continue a federal agency or program. Appropriation bills give that agency money.
Idea
This can come from anyone. A rep, senator, organization, or you. Contact your representatives if you have an idea. Really. The more specific your bill, the better chance it has. To contact them, call the Capitol switchboard at 202-224-3121.
Introduction
A senator or rep sponsors a bill, which is given a number. House bills start with “H.R.” Senate bills start with “S.” The bill’s title, sponsors, and co-sponsors (other members who support it) are published in the Congressional Record, which is like Congress’s blog. If you want to see what Congress has been up to, you can check it out at congress.gov/congressional-record.
Committee
Congress’s version of forwarding an email. The bill is sent to the appropriate committee. Committees are smaller groups of legislators who specialize in specific issues. Example: The House Homeland Security Committee gets sent bills about issues like human trafficking and border protection. After they take a red pen to the bill, they send it to a subcommittee for more revision. If people can’t agree,
the bill dies. If they can, it goes to the House or Senate floor, depending on where it originated. May the odds be ever in its favor.
House
The House has limits for how long they can debate a bill.
Senate
The Senate does not. A filibuster is when a senator makes a really, really long speech on the floor to block anything else from getting done. It’s the political way of saying pay attention to me.
Vote
Members of the House or Senate vote on the bill. If there’s a majority in favor, it goes to the other chamber for a yay or nay. That’s literal in the Senate. Senators vote by saying “yea” or “nay”; the House votes electronically.
The president’s turn
The bill is sent to the president for a thumbs-up or a veto.
Thing to know
Hopper. In the House, a bill is introduced by placing it in a box called the hopper. The term comes from the name of bins used to store grain or coal. Ho ho hopper.
Passing Budgets
Congress has money on its mind. Since it’s responsible for paying the federal bills, it needs to sign off on where money goes. Here are the steps to getting that done.
Wish list
The president submits a budget proposal to Congress. It’s pretty much a wish list, but it signals what the prez’s top priorities are.
Resolutions
The House and Senate draft budget resolutions. This is their chance to set overall spending levels. Then, the House and Senate budget committees each hold hearings with agency officials, to let them explain why they need that cash money from the gov. The final budget resolution needs to be passed by majority votes in the House and Senate.
Appropriations
The budget resolution is used as a road map to guide appropriation bills. Those bills start in the House and specify funds for each agency in the budget. That includes federal departments like the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Defense, and the National Park Service. The final bills go to the floor for a vote.
Signed, sealed, delivered
The president signs or vetoes the budget, like any other bill. With more dollars on the line.
What happens if a budget doesn’t pass?
Lights out in D.C. The gov’s fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30 of the following year. Congress has until the end of that year to agree on the bill for the upcoming year. If the deadline’s looming and they’re still fighting, you start hearing the words government shutdown. To avoid playing “Closing Time,” Congress can pass a stopgap bill, or a continuing resolution (CR)—a short-term spending bill that keeps things running temporarily. In a gov shutdown, only essential agencies (including border protection, in-hospital medical care, power grid maintenance) are allowed to keep going. Others go on furlough, which is like a forced vacay. Except it’s unpaid.
Thing to know
Omnibus bills. A two-in-one deal. This is when Congress rolls up multiple appropriations bills into one, because they can’t complete all the separate bills. It’s also a way for legislators to bury controversial provisions into one massive bill. Sneaky, sneaky.
What about the debt ceiling?
Different from the budget. But also something stressing Congress out. The debt ceiling is how much money the US gov can borrow, or how much debt it can go into. If it goes over the debt ceiling, it’s like you failing to make a mortgage payment. It can really hurt the US’s credit. Yes, countries have credit too.
Thing to know
Budget deficit vs. debt ceiling. The budget deficit is how much bigger the gov’s spending is than what it’s making in any given year. The debt ceiling is how much debt the federal gov’s allowed to have.
What are some of the VIP congressional positions?
Speaker of the House
The head of the House of Representatives and arguably the most important position in Congress. On his or her to-do list? Set the House calendar and decide when bills get voted on. Appoint committee heads, influencing how bills are formed and debated. Call the House to order. The Speaker is next in line to the presidency after the vice president.
Majority leader
The spokesperson for the party that has the majority in the chamber. There’s one of these in the House and the Senate.
Minority leader
The spokesperson for the party with a minority in the chamber. Also exists in the House and the Senate.
Whip
The Robins to the leaders’ Batmans. There’s a majority whip and a minority whip. They’re the leaders’ assistants and the party cops. They take attendance and try to convince senators to vote along party lines.
So you wanna run for Congress?
Impressed. But there are requirements. For the Senate, you have to be 30, a US citizen for at least nine years, and live in the state you rep. For the House, you have to be 25, a US citizen for seven years, and also live in the state you rep. Senators serve for six-year terms while reps serve for two. Good luck.
Executive Branch
More self-explanatory. This one’s presidential HQ, or the president and all of his or her people.
What’s the role of the executive branch?
To carry out laws. The president’s cabinet is made up of the VP plus 15 cabinet members whose job it is to enact and carry out laws in different categories. Here’s the breakdown of everyone involved.
President
The CEO of the USA. We don’t need to tell you what the president’s role represents. But we will remind you that the prez is technically the head of the government and commander in chief of the military. Oh, and that the prez has the power to veto anything passed by Congress. Or pocket veto, which is the political version of ghosting. If a president doesn’t sign a bill within 10 days, it gets signed. But if Congress goes out of session during those 10 days, it counts as an automatic rejection, aka pocket veto.
VP
The veep is the head of the Senate. The VP is also supposed to stand in for the president at events if he or she doesn’t show up. And if the president’s impeached or dies, he or she gets the top job.
Cabinet
The president’s inner circle. The VP is also included in this crew. Aside from the attorney general, they’re all called secretaries. Some of the biggest ones are sec of state, sec of the treasury, sec of homeland security, sec of defense.
Thing to know
Executive order vs. executive action. Both are enacted by a president. But an executive order is legally binding, while an executive action is more of a catchall term for something a president wants to get done. Think of them like a signed contract (executive order) vs. a verbal promise (executive action).
So you wanna run for president?
If you’re 35, were born in the USA, and have been a resident for at least 14 years…go for it.
Judicial Branch
What’s the role of the judicial branch?
To interpret the laws. They are the constitutional translators, and they weigh in on specific cases to decide whether something is legal or not. You hear about the Supreme Court all the time. But in order for a case to make it there, it has to go through a lot of lower courts first.
How many people are on the Supreme Court?
There are nine justices, aka Supremes, on the bench. A president nominates them and the Senate Judiciary Committee conducts hearings and votes whether a nomination should go to the full Senate for confirmation or rejection.
Once appointed, justices serve for their entire lives or until they want to retire.
How does the confirmation process work?
For the Supremes, you can’t hurry love or confirmation. It’s a long process. Here are the steps it takes.
Speed dating
Once someone is nominated, they start speed dating with lawmakers to try to win their vote. This is when senators get some quality one-
on-one time to ask the nominee about things like their stance on abortion or healthcare.
Background checks
Meanwhile, the Senate Judiciary Committee starts getting all up in the nominee’s business. As in reviewing background checks and taking a hard look at everything from their financial records to past court decisions.