It’s called separation of powers.

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Pay attention to how leaders are seated in the ceremony. Current & past presidents sit near the family near the front, and heads of state from other countries are seated alphabetically by the English name of their country. This photo is from H. W. Bush's funeral in 2018.

Some traditions to watch for: The riderless horse with boots in the stirrups backwards during the funeral procession. One description of the symbology is "the warrior will never ride again." The photo below is the horse for Reagan's funeral, Sergeant York.

Some traditions to watch for: the casket lying in state in the US Capitol. This happens before the funeral itself, and is a chance for the public to pay their respects. You don't have to be president to get this honor.

And fwiw, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy pulled off a remarkable funeral for her late husband under extreme circumstances. That funeral is full of fascinating stories, from building one of the first eternal flames in the US, to handling hundreds of thousands of mourners.

Most presidents, and their families, plan the funeral far in advance, as early as their first year in office. These plans might be modified as time goes on, but more deliberate planning became the norm after the Kennedy assassination in 1963.

Who pays for them? The federal government pays for labor, transportation, and security. The execution is overseen by an agency in the Dept. of Defense known as the Joint Task Force - National Capital Region (JTF-NCR).

Watching President Jimmy Carter's funeral today? Here are some things to know about presidential funerals. (and BTW, our episode on mourning presidents has even more info: .

If you're curious about what the Secretary of Transportation does, American infrastructure generally, and how the DoT funds projects, today's guest, @SecretaryPete, knows the job VERY well. #sschat #apgov #hsgovchat.

Curious about how our democracy works (or how it's supposed to work, anyway?) Check out Civics 101 - we've got over 300 episodes - the role of the speaker of the house, if the president controls the price of gas, and how authoritarianism works.

There is no federal law prohibiting faithless electors, but many states have state laws that prohibit or penalize faithless electors.

And about faithless electors: A faithless elector is an elector who was supposed to vote for the winner that represented the results in their state or district, but didn't. There are faithless electors in nearly every election, but they haven't changed the final outcome.

By the way. In 2020, it was this 2-hour recess debate (over Arizona's results) that was interrupted by rioters. Also, the threshold to object used to be much lower (1 Rep + 1 Senator). The Electoral Count Reform Act of 2022 now requires 20% of each chamber to sign petition.

Each house of Congress meets separately and debates for 2 hours, they all come back, and then everyone votes on whether to sustain or reject the objection. You need the majority of both houses to sustain a rejection of results.

Rules for objecting to a state's results: At least 20% of members of both the House and Senate must sign on to an objection. BUT! That doesn't mean those votes are thrown out or changed.

In legal terms (according to the Electoral Vote Count Act of 2022): .1) The electors of a state were not lawfully certified. 2) An elector's vote was not "regularly given".

OR (2) There were issues with how the state chose electors or certified those electoral votes (for example, the state didn't include all certification materials, or 2 slates of electors submitted votes for one state).

Speaking of members of Congress. They can challenge state electoral votes IF (1) There were issues with how electors voted (for example, they didn't follow protocols, cast their ballots on December 17th, or were bribed).