adjourn: To close a meeting or session.

amendment: A change or addition to a law or legislative bill.

appointive power: The authority to appoint people to government posts.

bill: A proposed law or other legislative measure.

cabinet: A president's chief department heads.

caucus: A political meeting, usually held in private.

chief executive: A nation's president or highest ranking administrator.

civilian supremacy: The state of affairs in which a civilian has command of a country's military forces.

civil rights: A broad range of rights, freedoms, and privileges granted by the U.S. Constitution.

conservative: In politics, tending to follow established tradition and styles, and therefore to be cautious and slower to change.

constituent: A citizen who is represented in a government by the officials for whom he or she votes.

draft: In the legislative process, to write a detailed version of a bill.

executive agreement: A foreign accord negotiated...