The 2016 election cycle has lead to a new partisan government. It’s not a Democrat President vs Republican Congress, but now Republican President with Republican Congress. So what’s the problem? Well, the system of “Checks and Balances” is reliant on a two party system, and this new government could make or break the ground our country lives on.

For those of you who haven’t taken a Government class yet, “Checks and Balances” is a system to keep every branch of the government in line. This system was put into place to ensure no branch of government became too powerful. According to the U.S. Constitution.net, “ The American constitutional system includes a notion known as the Separation of Powers. In this system, several branches of government are created and power is shared between them. At the same time, the powers of one branch can be challenged by another branch. This is what the system of checks and balances is all about.” This separation of power gives the public the power.  The Republicans rule the Legislative and the Executive branches in this tree of government. With the two Republican branches of government, passing legislation becomes easier for the party. The election results also mean that President- Elect Trump has deciding power of the filling of the Supreme Court’s open seats, potentially dominating the final Branch of government, Judicial.

What does this all mean? The last eight years the government has been at a standoff, Democrat vs Republican, which is why most issues ended in gridlock, not allowing past Presidents to get their policies through.

Now, no matter the outcome, laws have a chance of passing more smoothly. The government is going into a confusing time for the next 4-8 years. Only time will tell if this is the government we need or not.