What is the term for when the Congressional majority represents the opposite party of the President?
In the United States, the term divided government is used when the President is a member of one party but the other party controls one or both houses of the Congress.
Polls vary, but currently somewhere around 70% of Americans consider themselves to be either Democrat or Republican (leaving about 30%, who call themselves Independents). But despite party loyalties, it seems Americans favor divided government. As you can see in the table below, since the 1950s, only three presidents (Carter, Johnson, and Kennedy) never had to contend with a divided government.
|
Year
|
President
|
House of Representatives
|
Senate
|
|
2013
|
D
|
R
|
D
|
|
2011
|
D
|
R
|
D
|
|
2009
|
Barack Obama (D)
|
D
|
D
|
|
2007
|
R
|
D
|
D
|
|
2005
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
|
2003
|
R
|
R
|
R
|
|
2001
|
George W. Bush (R)
|
R
|
D
|
|
1999
|
D
|
R
|
R
|
|
1997
|
D
|
R
|
R
|
|
1995
|
D
|
R
|
R
|
|
1993
|
Bill Clinton (D)
|
D
|
D
|
|
1991
|
R
|
D
|
D
|
|
1989
|
George H.W. Bush (R)
|
D
|
D
|
|
1987
|
R
|
D
|
D
|
|
1985
|
R
|
D
|
R
|
|
1983
|
R
|
D
|
R
|
|
1981
|
Ronald Reagan (R)
|
D
|
R
|
|
1979
|
D
|
D
|
D
|
|
1977
|
Jimmy Carter (D)
|
D
|
D
|
|
1975
|
Gerald Ford (R)
|
D
|
D
|
|
1973
|
R
|
D
|
D
|
|
1971
|
R
|
D
|
D
|
|
1969
|
Richard Nixon (R)
|
D
|
D
|
|
1965
|
D
|
D
|
D
|
|
1963
|
Lyndon Johnson (D)
|
D
|
D
|
|
1961
|
John F. Kennedy (D)
|
D
|
D
|
|
1959
|
R
|
D
|
D
|
|
1957
|
R
|
D
|
D
|
|
1955
|
R
|
D
|
D
|
|
1953
|
Dwight Eisenhower (R)
|
R
|
R
|