Title: Executive Agencies Overview :: Justia
Headings: Executive Agencies
Executive Agencies
Executive Agencies Resources

Content: Executive Agencies Overview :: Justia
Executive Agencies
Administrative agencies are created to develop, enforce, and oversee the voluminous rules and regulations currently in force in the United States. There are two principal ways that administrative agencies can be created: executive agencies and legislative agencies. Executive agencies are created by the president, while legislative agencies are established by an act of Congress. One of the main differences between an executive agency and a legislative agency is that the president may remove the head of an executive agency at any time with or without cause. To remove the head of a legislative agency, the president must show cause. The United States Constitution does not provide specific and direct authority for the establishment of executive agencies or the appointment of Cabinet members. However, Article II, section 2, the Constitution states that the president may “require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices.” As the government grew larger, executive agencies developed as a way to help the president discharge his duties and attend to his affairs.