2025 civics test · Question 42 · System of Government
Who is Commander in Chief of the U.S. military?
Official answer
- The President (of the United States)
What this means
The President is the Commander in Chief of the U.S. military.
This means the country’s armed forces answer to an elected civilian, the president, rather than to a general or the military itself. The Constitution placed this power with the president on purpose, to keep the military under civilian control.
The president leads the military, but only Congress can formally declare war, another example of the branches balancing each other.
Both tests ask this the same way. Answer: the President.
Why this is on the test
The idea that a civilian leader controls the military is a basic principle of American government, and both tests ask who fills that role.
How this question is asked
On the 2025 civics test, the officer asks up to 20 of the 128 questions out loud and you pass by answering 12 correctly. You answer in your own words. There is no multiple choice and nothing to write down for the civics portion.
Related questions
More from System of Government.
- 16 Name the three branches of government.
- 17 The President of the United States is in charge of which branch of government?
- 18 What part of the federal government writes laws?
- 19 What are the two parts of the U.S. Congress?
- 20 Name one power of the U.S. Congress.
- 21 How many U.S. senators are there?