HY 357 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Usa Freedom Corps, Office Of The United States Trade Representative
6 Jun 2018
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Organization of the Executive Branch
Policy is not developed nor are all executive decisions made by the president alone. Presidents
have come to rely on a large staff based in the White House to handle a wide range of
administrative tasks from policymaking to speechwriting. The staff is loyal to the president, not
to Congress or a government agency. Unchecked by the president, the White House staff can
become a source of scandal. Watergate under President Nixon is a good example.
The Constitution gives practically no direction on the organization of the executive branch. It
does mention "executive departments," which became the basis for the cabinet. While relying
primarily on the White House staff for advice, a president turns to members of the cabinet for
advice in their areas of expertise. In the main, however, cabinet secretaries are responsible for
running the departments they head.
The Executive Office of the President
The Executive Office of the President (EOP) comprises four agencies that advise the president in
key policy areas: the White House Office, the National Security Council, the Council of
Economic Advisors, and the Office of Management and Budget.
The president's main advisers, often long-time personal friends or people who played a key role
in the election, make up the White House Office. It includes the president's personal lawyer,
press secretary, appointments secretary, and other support personnel. The most important
position in this group is the chief of staff, who is responsible for seeing that the president's
legislative goals are carried out by working with Congress on the legislative agenda.
The National Security Council (NSC), organized in 1947, deals with domestic, foreign, and
military policies affecting security issues. By law, the NSC is composed of the president, vice
president, secretary of defense, and secretary of state. Representatives of the intelligence and
defense communities are also members. The president's national security advisor supervises the
council's activities.
The Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) was created in 1946 to provide the president with
information on economic policy. It is best known for predicting national economic trends.
The enormously complex task of preparing the federal budget for submission to Congress falls to
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Originally established in the Treasury
Department as the Bureau of the Budget, the OMB has had its powers expanded considerably
since 1970. It is involved in drafting the president's legislative program and evaluating how
effectively federal agencies use their appropriations.
The Executive Office of the President also includes the Council on Environmental Quality, the
Office of National AIDS Policy, the Office of National Drug Policy, and the Office of the United
States Trade Representative. The president is free to establish new agencies within the EOP.
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