President

The executive branch consists of the President and those to whom the President's powers are delegated. The President is both the head of state and government, as well as the military commander-in-chief and chief diplomat. The President, according to the Constitution, must "take care that the laws be faithfully executed", and "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution". The President presides over the executive branch of the federal government, an organization numbering about 5 million people, including 1 million active-duty military personnel and 600000 postal service employees. The forty-fourth and current president is Barack Obama.

The President may sign legislation passed by Congress into law or may veto it, preventing it from becoming law unless two-thirds of both houses of Congress vote to override the veto. The President may be impeached by a majority in the House. The President may not dissolve Congress or call special elections but does have the power to appoint Supreme Court justices and federal judges.

Vice President

The Vice President is the second-highest executive official in rank of the government. As first in the U.S. presidential line of succession, the Vice President becomes President upon the death, resignation, or removal of the President, which has happened nine times in U.S. history. Under the Constitution, the Vice President is President of the Senate. By virtue of this role, he or she is the head of the Senate.

Cabinet, executive departments and agencies

The Cabinet of the United States is composed of the most senior appointed officers of the executive branch of the Federal government of the United States, who are generally the heads of the federal executive departments. The existence of the Cabinet dates back to the Constitution of the United States (Article II, Section 2) and the first President of the United States, George Washington, who appointed a Cabinet of four men: Secretary of State; Secretary of the Treasury; Secretary of War; and Attorney General.

All cabinet officers are nominated by the President and then presented to the Senate for confirmation or rejection by a simple majority. If they are approved, they are sworn in and then begin their duties. The President may dismiss members of the Cabinet or reappoint them (to other posts) at will.

JUDICIAL BRANCH

Levels of U.S. federal courts

• The United States district courts are the general federal trial courts

• The United States courts of appeals are the federal intermediate appellate courts..

• The Supreme Court of the United States is the supreme court (court of last resort). There is generally no right of appeal to the Supreme Court.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Local government in the United States is structured in accordance with the laws of the various individual states, territories, and the District of Columbia. Typically each state has at least two separate tiers of local government: counties and municipalities.. There are several different types of local government at the municipal level, generally reflecting the needs of different levels of population densities; typical examples include the city, town, borough, and village. The types and nature of these municipal entities varies from state to state. Many rural areas and even some suburban areas of many states have no municipal government below the county level. In other places the different tiers are merged, for example as a consolidated city–county in which city and county functions are managed by a single municipal government.

The local governments described above are classified general purpose local governments by the United States Census Bureau.