The very size off the bureaucracy has a problem, when you look at the numbers employed by them, its nearly 3 million, around 2.3% of the civilian workforce which is w very large number to coordinate, as you can’t bring them all together, it’s a large number of to get orders down to and them thinking in your political way. Also the structure of it as it is divided into executive departments, bureaux, commission and agencies.
The Executive departments are cabinet ranks departments are responsible for broad areas of policy such as defence, commerce and transportation, there are around 15 16 departments with the newest being the Department of Homeland Security, each department is headed and represent in the cabinet by a secretary. Which the president meets with and they are appointed by the president so he would not really have any difficulties with them as he can replace them.
Bureaux have more specialised responsibilities, FBI being one of them, they are generally located within executive department, like the bureau of Indian affairs is situated within the department of the interior.
Commissions and agencies can cause presidents difficulties, as he can’t all was control them as he wants. Independent regulatory commissions (IRCs) have quasi- legislative and quasi- judicial functions, they monitor a particular sector of the economy or society, and they make judgements on what is permitted or not, and those who violate IRCs rulings are subject to prosecution. There are a large number of agencies like the CIA and NASA, which causes difficulties as they spend a lot of public money, they don’t always work with the president and what his wants to do, and don’t really do good for the country and work on their own thing, and some of these agencies a president may not know anything about it, like NASA and the space, but after The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003, the government and the public all considered the future of the space program.
Iron Triangles cause problems for a President as they are interest group makes links with a department and agencies and a congressional committee, work together to pass what they want, and they all get something out of it, like an interest group who may gets it issues raise and put more in the light and may get them changed to what they want, department and agencies can add what they want to make it easier for their department to run, or get more funding and get more notices from higher up bodies. The congressional members get a lot out, if it something there state needs and they get it, they win favours and votes for re-election, they also hope for endorsement from them as well.
So presidents do face difficulties with the executive branch due to the size of it, the number of department, agencies, commissions and bureaux, there are too many for the president to keep an eye on and lead as head of the executive branch, and can’t give orders to all of them, and they all are fighting for more funding, and for the president to look at them more. so it is difficult for the president to coordinating the work of the executive branch, and work as head of the executive branch.
