Government trifecta

A government trifecta is a political situation in which the same political party controls the executive branch and both chambers of the legislative branch in countries that have a bicameral legislature and an executive that is not fused. The term is primarily used in the United States, where the term originated—being borrowed from horse race betting.

From 2017 to 2019 in the United States, the Republican Party held the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the presidency. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, President Donald Trump, and Vice President (President of the Senate) Mike Pence, all Republicans, are pictured.

From 2021 to 2023 in the United States, the Democratic Party held the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the presidency. Vice President (President of the Senate) Kamala Harris, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, President Joe Biden, and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, all Democrats, are pictured. The Democrats controlled the Senate with the tie-breaking vote from the Vice President.

Most countries and all democracies have some degree of separation of powers into separate branches of government, typically consisting of an executive, a legislative, and a judicial branch, but the term government trifecta is primarily applied to countries in which the executive is not elected by the legislature and where the legislature is not sovereign; in parliamentary systems, the executive or part of it is elected by the legislature and must have the support of the majority of Parliament.

Government trifectas are seen as beneficial by some and as undesirable by others. Those in favor argue that government trifectas are efficient and avoid gridlocks. Opponents argue that trifectas discourage policing of those in power by the opposition and that they do not limit spending and the expansion of undesirable laws. Opponents also argue that government trifectas do not tend to lead to compromise since one party can simply implement its goals unopposed. Consequently, the incumbent party may alter the structure of executive agencies to prepare for when it is bound to lose its incumbency. These alterations are performed to secure control over the agencies for when the party is no longer incumbent. Examples of these include political appointments that extend beyond the political cycle, contract or grant awards, and debt issuances.

The situation is common in developing nations but rare in developed ones. Early in the 20th century, for example, government trifectas were common in the United States, but they have become increasingly rare since the 1970s. State government trifectas have become more common since the 2010s, going from 24 states having trifectas to 36 in 2020.

Government trifectas are contrasted by divided governments—a situation in which one party controls the executive branch while another party controls one or both houses of the legislative branch.

In systems that use fusion of powers and where the executive has to rely on the confidence of the legislature, the executive is almost always composed of members of the party or coalition that controls the lower house of the legislature, essentially creating a situation where there always is a government trifecta, assuming the upper chamber is in the same party's control. If there is no government trifecta a legislature may pass a motion of no confidence to force the government to resign, thereby giving the legislature the power to create a government trifecta and making government trifectas not as significant compared to systems that use separation of powers, since one has to wait for a new election to establish or abolish a government trifecta.

United States

See also: Divided government in the United States

Control of the Senate, Presidency, and House since 1855: any column where all three sections show the same color is a trifecta.

The term is primarily used in the United States, where the federal government level consists of the president and the Congress with its two chambers (the House and the Senate).

Because of the coattail effect, most newly elected presidents have a majority with them in both chambers of Congress. The six-year itch conversely means that the last two years of a two-term president rarely have trifectas. The most recent federal trifecta was held by the Democratic Party from January 20, 2021 to January 3, 2023. The longest trifectas were two stints of 14 years, one for each major party: 1932-1946 for the Democrats, coinciding with Franklin D. Roosevelt's three terms plus Harry S. Truman's first two years, and the 1897 to 1911 Republican trifecta, spanning the presidencies of William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft.

State government trifectas

At the state level, a trifecta means that one party holds the governorship and both legislative houses. The sole exception is in Nebraska, where there is a unicameral legislature.

Year	Total	Dem	Rep	Spread
2024	40	17	23	R+6
2023	39	17	22	R+5
2022	37	14	23	R+9
2021	38	15	23	R+8
2020	36	15	21	R+6
2019	36	14	22	R+8
2018	33	7	26	R+19
2017	31	5	26	R+21
2016	31	6	25	R+19
2015	31	7	24	R+17
2014	30	7	23	R+16
2013	36	12	24	R+12
2012	34	11	23	R+12
2011	32	11	21	R+10
2010	24	16	8	D+8
2009	26	17	9	D+8
2008	23	14	9	D+5
2007	24	15	9	D+6
2006	20	8	12	R+4
2005	20	8	12	R+4
2004	21	9	12	R+3
2003	21	9	12	R+3
2002	20	9	11	R+2
2001	21	9	13	R+4
2000	24	8	15	R+7
1999	23	9	14	R+5
1998	19	6	13	R+7
1997	18	6	12	R+6
1996	21	7	14	R+7
1995	23	8	15	R+7
1994	20	16	4	D+12
1993	21	18	3	D+15
1992	18	15	3	D+12

Sources:

A visual representation of US state government trifectas over time:

See also

• Two-party system
• Dominant-party system

External links

• State government trifectas at Ballotpedia.