Question

How are formal and informal powers of Congress, the president, and the courts over the bureaucracy used to maintain its accountability?

Answer 1

In general, you could say that neither Congress, the presidents, or the courts have full authority, and their powers are all dependent on one another. The basic idea is that different branches of government will work together to keep the government running, without any single branch having too much power. This is related to the governing concept of "checks and balances", which you can research for more details

For a specific example, we can look at how laws are passed in the US; after Congress votes to pass a law, the president still has to sign it in order to make it official; the president also has the power to "veto" a potential law so it does not pass. On the other hand, in most cases Congress has the power to decide which laws to present to the president in the first place

Answer 2

As for the distinction between "formal" and "informal" powers, a "formal" power is any specifically granted by a legal document, often in the Constitution; an "informal" power is one that has been added after-the-fact, or as those in government have felt it necessary