The Bureaucracy

The bureaucracy is the fourth branch of government. It’s unelected, often invisible, and enormously powerful.

What Is the Bureaucracy?

The federal bureaucracy consists of the agencies, departments, and commissions that implement federal law and policy. About 2.1 million civilian employees (plus 1.3 million military).

Types of Bureaucratic Organizations

Cabinet Departments: 15 major departments headed by secretaries who report to the president. State, Treasury, Defense, Justice, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, HHS, HUD, Transportation, Energy, Education, Veterans Affairs, Homeland Security.

Independent Agencies: Not part of cabinet departments. Examples: CIA, NASA, EPA, Social Security Administration.

Independent Regulatory Commissions: Regulate specific sectors. Headed by boards/commissions with fixed terms. Examples: FCC (communications), SEC (securities), FTC (trade), FEC (elections). Designed to be insulated from political pressure.

Government Corporations: Government-owned entities that provide services. Examples: USPS, Amtrak, FDIC.

What the Bureaucracy Does

Implementation

Congress passes laws; bureaucracies implement them. The Clean Air Act says reduce pollution; the EPA figures out what that means in practice.

Implementation involves:

• Writing specific regulations
• Issuing permits and licenses
• Distributing benefits
• Conducting inspections
• Enforcing rules

Rulemaking

Agencies have discretionary authority to interpret and apply laws. They exercise this through rulemaking.

The process:

1. Agency proposes a rule
2. Public comment period
3. Agency considers comments and revises
4. Final rule published in Federal Register
5. Rule has force of law

Regulations affect almost every aspect of American life: food safety, workplace conditions, environmental standards, financial markets, telecommunications, and more.

Expertise

Bureaucrats are specialists. They have knowledge that elected officials lack. When Congress debates telecommunications policy, it relies on FCC expertise. When presidents make foreign policy, they depend on State Department analysis.

This expertise is valuable but creates a power imbalance. Elected officials often defer to bureaucratic judgment because they don’t know enough to challenge it.

Iron Triangles and Issue Networks

Iron Triangles

A stable relationship among:

1. Congressional committee (writes laws and budgets)
2. Bureaucratic agency (implements policy)
3. Interest group (represents affected parties)

Each benefits the others. The committee gets campaign contributions and expertise. The agency gets budget support and political protection. The interest group gets favorable policy.

Example: Defense contractors + Armed Services Committees + Pentagon

These relationships can be cozy and resistant to change. They insulate policy from broader public input.

Issue Networks

Looser, more fluid coalitions around policy areas. Include:

• Multiple agencies
• Multiple congressional committees
• Think tanks
• Academics
• Advocacy groups
• Media

Issue networks are more open but also more chaotic. They’ve become more common as policy has grown more complex.

Civil Service

History

Until the late 1800s, the federal workforce was a patronage (or “spoils”) system. Presidents appointed supporters to government jobs. “To the victor belong the spoils.”

The Pendleton Act (1883) created the merit system. Most federal employees are now hired based on qualifications, not political connections. They can’t be fired for political reasons.

Today

About 90% of federal employees are career civil servants. They serve across administrations. This provides continuity and expertise but can also mean resistance to political direction.

Political appointees: About 4,000 positions are filled by presidential appointment. These include cabinet secretaries, agency heads, and senior advisors. They come and go with administrations.

Accountability

Congressional Oversight

Congress monitors bureaucratic performance through:

• Hearings: Agency officials testify before committees
• Investigations: GAO audits, inspector general reports
• Power of the purse: Congress controls agency budgets
• Legislation: Congress can change agency authority

Presidential Control

Presidents try to control the bureaucracy through:

• Appointments: Placing loyalists in key positions
• Executive orders: Directing agency action
• OMB review: Budget and regulatory review
• Reorganization: Restructuring agencies

Judicial Review

Courts can:

• Strike down regulations as exceeding statutory authority
• Require agencies to follow proper procedures
• Order agencies to act when they’ve unreasonably delayed

Limitations

Despite these tools, bureaucratic accountability is difficult:

• Agencies have expertise elected officials lack
• Civil servants are hard to fire
• Congressional oversight is sporadic
• Presidential attention is limited
• Legal challenges are slow

The Administrative State Debate

The Case for Bureaucracy

• Expertise: Complex problems require specialized knowledge
• Continuity: Career staff provide institutional memory
• Efficiency: Implementation requires professionals, not politicians
• Flexibility: Agencies can adapt to changing circumstances faster than Congress

The Case Against

• Unelected power: Bureaucrats make binding rules without democratic accountability
• Delegation: Congress has unconstitutionally surrendered its legislative power
• Capture: Agencies serve the interests they’re supposed to regulate
• Inefficiency: Red tape, slow processes, resistance to change

Recent Debates

The Supreme Court has questioned bureaucratic power in several recent cases:

• West Virginia v. EPA (2022): Agencies can’t make “major questions” decisions without clear congressional authorization
• Various cases limiting agency deference and regulatory authority

These reflect ongoing tension between the need for expert administration and concerns about unaccountable power.

Specific Agencies to Know

The AP exam may reference specific agencies:

The Takeaway

The bureaucracy is essential to modern government. Congress passes broad laws; agencies make them work. But this creates tension with democratic accountability.

Understanding the bureaucracy means understanding:

• How agencies implement law through regulation
• The relationships among agencies, Congress, and interest groups
• The civil service system and its limits
• The ongoing debate about bureaucratic power

The administrative state isn’t going away. The question is how to make it effective and accountable.