 Includes the White House Office
 Serves the President
 Must be approved by the Senate
 Any advice given to the President will usually be on
issues related to their departments
 President will determine when they meet and how
much to rely on their advise.
 The Executive Branch is shaped like a triangle.
 Top down:
President
depts
hundreds of executive agencies
Departments and agencies carry out government
programs in 3 ways:
1. Develop procedures for putting new laws into
practice
2. Administer day-to-day operations of
government
3. Regulate or police various governmental
activities
This all helps shape government policy

 “Red Tape” – inefficiency caused by rules and
regulations
 Each person has a designed function & must
operate within a chain of command
 Assist in enforcing laws
 Federal
 FBI – handles violations of federal law
 Counterfeiting
 Bank Robbery
 Espionage & spying
 Kidnapping
 SBI – state – violations of state law
 Highway patrol
 Murder if suspect & body stay in state
 County – the county
 Local Police
 Spoils System – giving federal jobs to people that
helped the winner – “To the Victor belong the Spoils”
 Government grew more and more incompetent as
people who weren’t qualified filled positions (late
1800s)
 Americans demanded change (Progressives)
 Reformed system came about – called the Merit
System
 Pendleton Act (1883) – instituted the Merit system
where those most qualified get the jobs
 Jobs are divided into 2 categories
 Classified – jobs given based on exams &
kept no matter who is president
 Unclassified – jobs filled by appointment
as in the spoils system – Appointed
positions
 Hatch Act (1939)
 Forbids civil servants from working in a
campaign or participating in party politics
 Office of Personnel Management – administers
tests and hires workers
 Merit System Protection Board – handles
promotions based on merit
political appointees
Employment usually ends when the President
leaves office
90% of national government employees are civil
service workers
Hiring is usually based on open, competitive
examinations and merit.
Before 1883, hiring was based on “who you knew”
 Top department jobs usually go to




 15 Executive department heads – advisers
 Makes the president’s job easier by dividing the work
 Head of the Dept of Justice is the Attorney General.
All other heads are have the title of secretary
 Department of Homeland Security – most recent
addition – terrorism
 President Washington’s Cabinet – Department of
State, Department of Treasury and Department of
War



State – Secretary of State – manages relations with
other countries
Treasury – Secretary of Treasury – manages the nations
money
Defense – Secretary of Defense – manages the military
John Kerry
Jack Lew
Chuck Hagel



Justice – Attorney General – legal affairs and the chief
law enforcement officer in the US
Interior – Secretary of the Interior – manages public
lands and natural resources
Agriculture – Secretary of Agriculture – designed to help
farmers
Eric Holder
Sally Jewell
Tom Vilsack


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Commerce – Secretary of Commerce – trade and
promotes US business and tourism
Labor – Secretary of Labor – deals with working
conditions and wages
Transportation – Secretary of Transportation – manages
highways, railroads, airlines, and sea traffic
Penny Pritzker
Thomas E Perez
Anthony Foxx



Energy – Secretary of Energy – tries to find alternative
sources of energy
Health and Human Services – Secretary of HHS – well
being and health of Americans
Veterans Affairs – Secretary of Veterans Affairs –
services for armed forces veterans
Ernest Moniz
Sylvia Matthews Burwell
Robert McDonald



Education – Secretary of Education – advice and
funding for schools
Housing and Urban Development (HUD) – Secretary of
Housing and Urban Development – special needs and
problems of cities
Homeland Security – Secretary of Homeland Security –
oversees America’s defenses against terrorist attacks
Arne Duncan
Julian Castro
Jeh Johnson
 Not a part of any cabinet, but still have to report out
to the President
 3 types: Executive Agencies
Government Corporations
Regulatory Commissions
 Specialized areas of government
 President chooses the head of each agency
 Examples
 EPA – Environmental Protection Agency
 FDA – Food and Drug Administration
 CDC – Center for Disease Control and Prevention
 Others – NASA, FED, NSA, FDA
 DOES NOT REPORT TO THE PRESIDENT
 President appoints the head of regulatory commissions





but only Congress can remove (impeach)
Protects the public by making and enforcing rules for
certain industries
Ex. FCC, FAA
Controls certain types of business
Must be impartial with no political pressure
Run by a board appointed by the President and
approved by the Senate
 US Nuclear Regulatory Commission
 Similar to private corporations – but the
government owns and runs them.
 General manager & board of directors runs each
corporation
 They charge for services, but are not supposed to
make a profit, all $ goes back into the business
 Examples
 Post Office
 Sallie Mae, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac
 President addresses Congress every year to discuss his/her
goals and concerns
 Required by the Constitution
 “He shall from time to time give to Congress information of the State
of the Union and recommend to their Consideration such measures
as he shall judge necessary and expedient.” Article II, Section 3
 Congress is in joint session – both houses are together to
hear the President speak
 Includes the White House Office
 Serves the President
 Created by FDR – 1939
 Assists the President in doing his job
 Includes over 2000 employees and $100 million
budget
 Prepares reports, drafts bills, checks the work of
various executive agencies
 Chief of Staff – decides what issues are brought to




the President
Press Secretary – provides reporters with news
Office of Management & Budget – prepares the
nation’s budget & makes reports to the President
on the fiscal soundness of the nation
National Security Council – provides for the safety of
the nation – CIA – gathers information on other
nations
Core of EOP is the White House Office – 500 people
who work for the President
 Chief of Staff – Denis
McDonough
 Press Secretary – Jay
Carney
 Senior Advisors to the
President – Valerie
Jarrett and Jennifer
Palmieri
 Prepares the federal budget and helps the President
monitor government spending
 Federal budget lays out the administrations plans
and goals for the upcoming year
 Helps President coordinate the military and
construct foreign policy.
 Includes the V.P., Sec. of State, Sec. of Defense,
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and top
commanders of each of the armed forces.
 Forms our nations foreign policies and principles
of the U.S. Supervises the CIA.
 Contains three independent members or economists
 Advise the President about economic matters:
employment in the U.S., tax policy, inflation, trade
with other countries, etc.
 Not a part of any cabinet, but still have to report out
to the President
 3 types:
Executive Agencies
Government Corporations
Regulatory Commissions
 Specialized areas of government
 President chooses the head of each agency
 Examples
 EPA – Environmental Protection Agency
 FDA – Food and Drug Administration
 CDC – Center for Disease Control and Prevention
 Others – NASA, FED, NSA, FDA
 DOES NOT REPORT TO THE PRESIDENT
 President appoints the head of regulatory commissions





but only Congress can remove (impeach)
Protects the public by making and enforcing rules for
certain industries
Ex. FCC, FAA
Controls certain types of business
Must be impartial with no political pressure
Run by a board appointed by the President and
approved by the Senate
 US Nuclear Regulatory Commission
 Similar to private corporations – but the
government owns and runs them.
 General manager & board of directors runs each
corporation
 They charge for services, but are not supposed to
make a profit, all $ goes back into the business
 Examples
 Post Office
 Sallie Mae, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac