The Administrative State

The administrative state is the network of executive departments, bureaus, and independent agencies that carry out federal law, now numbering in the hundreds. It grew in waves: the Interstate Commerce Commission in 1887 was the first independent regulatory commission, the Progressive Era added the FTC and the Federal Reserve, the New Deal created dozens of agencies to manage an industrial economy, and the 1960s and 1970s brought the EPA, OSHA, and consumer protection bodies. Congress created each one by statute and delegated it authority.

Agencies combine powers the Constitution divides. They write regulations with the force of law, investigate and enforce violations, and adjudicate disputes before administrative law judges, who number around 2,000, most of them deciding Social Security disability claims. The Administrative Procedure Act of 1946 governs how they act and how courts review them. Supporters argue that a complex economy and society require expert, specialized bodies that Congress could never replace by legislating every detail.

Critics argue that agencies make law without the accountability of elections, and that combining legislative, executive, and judicial functions is what the framers feared. The Supreme Court has recently curbed agency power in several directions: ending Chevron deference in Loper Bright in 2024, requiring clear congressional authorization for major policies under the major questions doctrine, holding in SEC v. Jarkesy in 2024 that defendants facing civil fraud penalties are entitled to a jury, and strengthening presidential control over agency heads. In 2025 the administration moved to shrink agencies directly through staff cuts, reorganizations, and closures.