Federal Enclave

The Federal Enclave is a secretive organization founded by Charles Héricourt and individuals loyal to him after he was forced to flee a kidnapping attempt orchestrated by the President of the Federal Republic, Frank Underwood, and the Hindustani People's Republic.

Branches of Government
The Federal Enclave maintains many of the same government branches and agencies as the Federal Republic, though their purposes and functions have more often than not been twisted into warped parodies of what they claim to be. Below are the most significant branches that have impacted the Fire Theater sim.

Office of the President
Although the Federal enclave maintains its commitment to democratic principles in its propaganda and rhetoric, these are little more than words. This can be most clearly seen in the Office of the President, which is the office of dictator in all but name. Presidents are not elected in the Federal Enclave, rather, a new president is selected according to the official line of succession upon the death of the previous president. This means that in all but the most extreme circumstances, the person selected to serve as vice president is effectively the chosen heir of the sitting president.

Once sworn in, the president serves until his death (be it the result of natural or unnatural causes) and is accountable to no one but himself. The President of the Federal Enclave exercises near absolute authority over the functions of government, and all members of the government serve at the pleasure of the president. Although not an official title, Enclave presidents often elect to refer to themselves as "Acting President of the Federal Enclave" in order to maintain the propaganda narrative that free and open elections will be held once the Federal Enclave has reclaimed the mainland and restored the "true Merigo".

Congress
Although it maintains the nomenclature of an elected legislative body, the Congress of the Federal Enclave is little more than a cabal of the Federal Enclave's elite. Although a full branch of government on paper, in practice Congress does very little save rubber stamping the initiatives of the president and serve as a mechanism for ambition and corruption to flourish. Congress does serve one other significant purpose however: serving as one of the two pools of candidates from which the president is expected to select his vice president (the other of course being the armed forces). While not a requirement, presidents of the Federal Enclave are expected to choose their vice president from one of these two bodies or risk finding a knife in their back.

Despite having effectively no ability to function as a legislative body, Congress still exerts considerable political influence within the institutions of the Federal Enclave. It is, after all, a collection of the most prominent and ambitious individuals in the nation. Through backroom dealings, corruption, and blackmail, Congress keeps the wheels of government turning at the expense of the ideals of democracy and liberty which they claim to uphold.