ap gov executive branch

Departments

Largest units (e.g., State, Defense), led by Cabinet secretaries

Agencies

Smaller units within departments or independent (e.g., FBI, NASA).

Commissions

Independent bodies that regulate specific areas, often bipartisan (e.g., FCC, SEC).

Iron Triangle

A stable relationship between a congressional committee, an interest group, and a bureaucracy.

Issue Network

A more fluid, temporary alliance of experts, media, interest groups, and government officials around a policy issue.

Patronage

Jobs given based on loyalty or political connections.

Merit System

Jobs awarded based on qualifications and exams.

Pendleton Act

created the civil service system and required government jobs to be filled based on merit, not political patronage and ended the spoils system

Discretionary Rule-Making

Bureaucrats decide how to write regulations to enforce laws.

Implementation

Carrying out and enforcing the laws and rules that already exist.

Congress

Oversight, budget control, hearings, laws.

President

Appointments, executive orders, reorganization

Courts

Judicial review — can rule actions unconstitutional.