US Government and Politics September 23, 2015

The Executive Branch The executive branch of the federal government is a bureaucracy, an organization of departments, agencies, and offices. The people who work in bureaucracies are bureaucrats. 98% of federal employees work for the executive branch. The largest bureaucracy in the country is the executive branch of the U.S. federal government.

Characteristics of a Bureaucracy by Marx Weber All bureaucracies are organized hierarchically: This means there is a chain of command: leaders at the top, managers in the middle, and workers at the base. All bureaucracies have systems of rules: These rules are complete, formalized, and applied consistently. All bureaucracies have specialized components: Each office or job has specific responsibilities.

The President The President is the head of state and the symbolic head of the government. Under the Constitution, the president is the head of only one the executive branch. The president has the authority to appoint more than 2000 top bureaucrats. Every other job in the federal bureaucracy (3 million) is filled by and through the civil service system.

The Civil Service System of 1883 To end the Spoils System which had been practiced by presidents throughout the 19 th century, the civil service system created by the Pendleton Act was implemented. This new regulation prevented the president from appointing unqualified people to executive jobs and also from firing people from their executive job because of their political party affiliation. The Spoils System is the practice of awarding political supporters with government jobs.

Presidents Abuse of Appointments John Adams: Known for his Midnight Appointments. He appointed men from the Federalist political party the night before his presidency ended. He did this in order to keep Federalists in power of the federal government. Andrew Jackson: Known for firing thousands of bureaucrats from their federal jobs and replacing them with his own supporters.

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) An independent agency of the U.S. government, established by the Civil Service Reform Act of Replaced the previous Civil Service System. It is responsible for administering a nationwide merit system for federal employment, including recruitment, examination, and training programs.