Contents
Get to know the current political landscape of the United States by reading about the most important figures in American politics today.
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The President
The current President of the United States is Donald Trump. He is a Republican. He was elected in 2016 and his term will end in 2020. The next presidential election will be held in November 2020.
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is the 45th and current President of the United States. Before entering politics, he was a businessman and television personality. Trump was born and raised in Queens, New York City, and received an economics degree from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He took charge of his family’s real estate business in 1971, renamed it The Trump Organization, and expanded it from Queens and Brooklyn into Manhattan. The company built or renovated skyscrapers, hotels, casinos, and golf courses. Trump later started various side ventures, mostly by licensing his name. He managed the company until his 2017 inauguration as President. He co-authored several books, including The Art of the Deal. He owned the Miss Universe and Miss USA beauty pageants from 1996 to 2015, and he produced and hosted The Apprentice, a reality television show, from 2003 to 2015. Forbes estimates his net worth to be $3.1 billion
The Vice President
The Vice President of the United States is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the President of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The Vice President is also an officer in the legislative branch, as President of the Senate. In this capacity, the Vice President presides over Senate deliberations, but may not vote except to cast a tie-breaking vote.
Mike Pence
The Vice President of the United States is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the President of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The current Vice President is Mike Pence, who was sworn in on January 20, 2017.
The Speaker of the House
The Speaker of the House is the leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives, and is responsible for presiding over debates and voting. The current Speaker of the House is Nancy Pelosi, who has been in office since January 2019.
Nancy Pelosi
As the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi is second in the presidential line of succession, after the Vice President. She was first elected to Congress in 1987 and has represented her district, which includes most of San Francisco, for more than three decades. She became the Democratic leader in the House in 2002 and served in that role until 2007, when she was elected Speaker after the Democrats took control of Congress in the 2006 elections. Pelosi remained Speaker until 2011, when Republicans took back control of the House following the 2010 elections. She resumed her role as Democratic leader in 2017 after her party regained control of the chamber in the 2016 elections. Pelosi has been a leading voice on issues ranging from healthcare to taxation to foreign policy during her time in Congress, and she played a key role in negotiating several major pieces of legislation, including the Affordable Care Act and the stimulus package passed in response to the financial crisis of 2008.
The Senate Majority Leader
Mitch McConnell is the Senate Majority Leader and has been in office since January 3, 2015. He is the second longest-serving Republican leader in history. McConnell was born in 1942 in Sheffield, Alabama. He attended the University of Louisville and then the University of Kentucky College of Law.
Mitch McConnell
Mitch McConnell is the current Senate Majority Leader, having assumed the role in 2015. He is also the senior United States Senator from Kentucky. A member of the Republican Party, he has been a senator since 1985. McConnell is currently serving his sixth term in the Senate, having been elected in 2014. He previously served as the Senate Minority Leader from 2007 to 2015.
The Supreme Court
The Supreme Court is the highest court in the United States. It is the court of last resort and can be considered the final interpreter of the Constitution. The Court is made up of nine justices who are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate.
Chief Justice John Roberts
John Glover Roberts Jr. (born January 27, 1955) is the 17th and current Chief Justice of the United States. He took his seat on September 29, 2005, having been nominated by President George W. Bush after the death of Chief Justice William Rehnquist. Roberts was born in Buffalo, New York, and raised in Long Beach, Indiana. He was a lawyer and managing editor of the Harvard Law Review before serving as Special Assistant to Attorney General William French Smith from 1981–1982. From 1982–1986, he was Associate Counsel to President Ronald Reagan, and from 1986–1989 he was Principal Deputy Solicitor General under Edwin Meese.Roberts succeeded Rehnquist as Chief Justice after being nominated by Bush and taking his seat on September 29, 2005. Since becoming Chief Justice Roberts has maintained the Court’s conservative stances on certain issues while moderating its approach when considering other issues before it.
