In the United States of America, divided government is a situation in which one party controls the White House (executive branch), while another party controls one or both houses of the United States Congress (legislative branch). Divided government is seen by different groups as a benefit or as an undesirable product of the model of governance used in the U.S. political system. Under said model, known as the separation of powers, the state is divided into different branches.

Each branch has separate and independent powers and areas of responsibility so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with the powers associated with the others. The degree to which the president of the United States has control of Congress often determines their political strength, such as the ability to pass sponsored legislation, ratify treaties, and have Cabinet members and judges approved. Early in the 19th century, divided government was rare. Since the 1970s it has become increasingly common.

Features The model can be contrasted with the fusion of powers in a parliamentary system where the executive and legislature, and sometimes parts of the judiciary, are unified. Those in favor of divided government believe that such separations encourage more policing of those in power by the opposition, as well as limiting spending and the expansion of undesirable laws. Opponents argue that divided governments become lethargic, leading to many gridlocks.

In the late 1980s, Terry M. Moe, a professor of political science at Stanford University, examined the issue. He concluded that divided governments lead to compromise which can be seen as beneficial, but he also noticed that divided governments subvert performance and politicize the decisions of executive agencies. Further research has shown that during divided governments, legislatures will pass laws with sunset provisions in order to achieve a political consensus.

Party control of legislative and executive branches

List Key

D denotes the Democratic Party, DR denotes the Democratic-Republican Party, F denotes the Federalist Party, I denotes the Independents, R denotes the Republican Party, W denotes the Whig Party Bold indicates a divided government.

YearSenateHousePresident1789–1791FFIWashington1791–1793FFI1793–1795FDRI1795–1797FDRI1797–1799FFFJ. Adams1799–1801FFF1801–1803DRDRDRJefferson1803–1805DRDRDR1805–1807DRDRDR1807–1809DRDRDR1809–1811DRDRDRMadison1811–1813DRDRDR1813–1815DRDRDR1815–1817DRDRDR1817–1819DRDRDRMonroe1819–1821DRDRDR1821–1823DRDRDR1823–1825DRDRDR1825–1827DDRDRJ.Q. Adams1827–1829DDDR1829–1831DDDJackson1831–1833DDD1833–1835WDD1835–1837DDD1837–1839DDDBuren1839–1841DDD1841–1843WWWW. Harrison / Tyler1843–1845WDITyler1845–1847DDDPolk1847–1849DWD1849–1851DDWTaylor / Fillmore1851–1853DDWFillmore1853–1855DDDPierce1855–1857DWD1857–1859DDDBuchanan1859–1861DRD1861–1863RRRLincoln1863–1865RRR1865–1867RRDA. Johnson1867–1869RRD1869–1871RRRGrant1871–1873RRR1873–1875RRR1875–1877RDR1877–1879RDRHayes1879–1881DDR1881–1883RRRGarfield / Arthur1883–1885RDRArthur1885–1887RDDCleveland1887–1889RDD1889–1891RRRB. Harrison1891–1893RDR1893–1895DDDCleveland1895–1897RRD1897–1899RRRMcKinley1899–1901RRR 1901–1903RRRMcKinley / T. Roosevelt1903–1905RRRT. Roosevelt1905–1907RRR1907–1909RRR1909–1911RRRTaft1911–1913RDR1913–1915DDDWilson1915–1917DDD1917–1919DDD1919–1921RRD1921–1923RRRHarding1923–1925RRRHarding / Coolidge1925–1927RRRCoolidge1927–1929RRR1929–1931RRRHoover1931–1933RDR1933–1935DDDF.D. Roosevelt1935–1937DDD1937–1939DDD1939–1941DDD1941–1943DDD1943–1945DDD1945–1947DDDF.D. Roosevelt / Truman1947–1949RRDTruman1949–1951DDD1951–1953DDD1953–1955RRREisenhower1955–1957DDR1957–1959DDR1959–1961DDR1961–1963DDDKennedy1963–1965DDDKennedy / L. Johnson1965–1967DDDL. Johnson1967–1969DDD1969–1971DDRNixon1971–1973DDR1973–1975DDRNixon / Ford1975–1977DDRFord1977–1979DDDCarter1979–1981DDD1981–1983RDRReagan1983–1985RDR1985–1987RDR1987–1989DDR1989–1991DDRG.H.W. Bush1991–1993DDR1993–1995DDDClinton1995–1997RRD1997–1999RRD1999–2001RRD2001–2003DRRG.W. Bush2003–2005RRR2005–2007RRR2007–2009DDR2009–2011DDDObama2011–2013DRD2013–2015DRD2015–2017RRD2017–2019RRRTrump2019–2021RDR2021–2023DDDBiden2023–2025DRD2025–2027RRRTrumpYearSenateHousePresident

Presidential impact Many presidential elections produced what is known as a coattail effect, in which the success of a presidential candidate also leads to electoral success for other members of their party. In fact, all newly elected presidents except Zachary Taylor, Richard Nixon, and George H. W. Bush were accompanied by control of at least one house of Congress.

Presidents by congressional control and terms Most columns are in numbers of years.

No.PresidentPresident's partyElections wonYears servedSenate withSenate opposedHouse withHouse opposedCongress withCongress dividedCongress opposed1George WashingtonNone2880444402John AdamsFederalist1440404003Thomas JeffersonDemocratic-Republican2880808004James MadisonDemocratic-Republican2880808005James MonroeDemocratic-Republican2880808006John Quincy AdamsDemocratic-Republican National-Republican1404220227Andrew JacksonDemocratic2862806208Martin Van BurenDemocratic1440404009William HarrisonWhig10.10.100.100.10010John TylerWhig Independent03.93.901.921.92011James PolkDemocratic14402222012Zachary TaylorWhig11010100113Millard FillmoreWhig03030300314Franklin PierceDemocratic14402222015James BuchananDemocratic14402222016Abraham LincolnRepublican National Union24.14.104.104.10017Andrew JohnsonNational Union Democratic03.903.903.9003.918Ulysses GrantRepublican28806262019Rutherford HayesRepublican14220402220James GarfieldRepublican10.500.50.5000.5021Chester ArthurRepublican03.53.501.521.52022Grover ClevelandDemocratic14044004023Benjamin HarrisonRepublican14402222024Grover ClevelandDemocratic14222220225William McKinleyRepublican24.54.504.504.50026Theodore RooseveltRepublican17.57.507.507.50027William TaftRepublican14402222028Woodrow WilsonDemocratic28626260229Warren HardingRepublican12.42.402.402.40030Calvin CoolidgeRepublican15.65.605.605.60031Herbert HooverRepublican14402222032Franklin RooseveltDemocratic412.212.2012.2012.20033Harry TrumanDemocratic17.85.825.825.80234Dwight EisenhowerRepublican28262620635John KennedyDemocratic12.82.802.802.80036Lyndon JohnsonDemocratic15.25.205.205.20037Richard NixonRepublican25.605.605.6005.638Gerald FordRepublican02.402.402.4002.439Jimmy CarterDemocratic14404040040Ronald ReaganRepublican28620806241George H. W. BushRepublican14040400442Bill ClintonDemocratic28262620643George W. BushRepublican284.53.5624.51.5244Barack ObamaDemocratic28622624245Donald TrumpRepublican14402222046Joe BidenDemocratic14402222047Donald TrumpRepublican111010100No.PresidentPresident's partyElections wonYears servedSenate withSenate opposedHouse withHouse opposedCongress withCongress dividedCongress opposed

See also Divided government Government trifectas in the United States Party divisions of United States Congresses Political party strength in U.S. states Gridlock (politics) Vetocracy, a system of governance where no single entity can acquire enough power to make decisions

Notes

References

Further reading

Morris Fiorina, Divided Government, 1996. David R. Mayhew, Divided We Govern, 1991.