What is the rule of law?

Why this is the answer

The rule of law means that the same laws apply to everyone, including the people who write them and the people who enforce them. A senator, a governor, a police officer and the President all have to obey the law, and the government as a whole must follow the Constitution. USCIS sums it up in a phrase that is also one of the official answers: no one is above the law. The idea runs deep in American history. John Adams, one of the Founding Fathers and the second President, wrote that the country is a government of laws and not of men. During the Constitutional Convention, the Founders worried that a President with too much power could put himself above the law and become a king, and they believed the President, too, should follow the rule of law. The Constitution also provides a way to hold the highest officials to account. The House of Representatives has the sole power of impeachment, and the Senate holds the trial. When the President is the one on trial, the Chief Justice presides, and a conviction requires two-thirds of the senators present. The rule of law also explains why people accept laws they did not personally vote for. In a constitutional democracy, laws are made by the people through their elected representatives, and when everyone is governed by the same rules, each person's rights and liberties are better protected. It also helps make sure the government protects all people equally instead of violating the rights of some of them. There are four official answers, each a different way of saying the same thing: everyone must follow the law, leaders must obey the law, government must obey the law, and no one is above the law. Any one is enough, and the last is the easiest to remember. Wrong answers usually carve out an exception. Saying the President can ignore the law in an emergency, or that only citizens must follow it, breaks the whole principle, since USCIS says everyone living in the United States must follow the Constitution. When you are unsure, choose the answer that leaves nobody out.