The correct answer is D) The federal government has authority over the states, but the states have a great deal of political independence.
The statement that best summarizes the relationship between the federal government and state governments is "The federal government has authority over the states, but the states have a great deal of political independence."
This affirmation is true. The state governments have considerable independence to establish laws ad regulations in each state. However, those regulations can never override federal law. If there is any controversy, the solution resides in the United States Constitution. It includes a "Supremacy Clause." It says that federal laws represent the supreme law of the land. This means that when there is a conflict between the states and the federal government, the federal government rule stands.