The Constitution for the United States of America establishes three separate branches of government.  The Legislative branch legislates (passes laws); the Executive executes (carries out) that law; and the Judicial adjudicates (settles) disagreements according to that law.

·         Article I, Section 1 of the Constitution states; “All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.”  “Vested” means “fixed”--meaning that ONLY Congress has the legislative powers.

·         Article II, Section 1, Clause 1 states; “The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.”  This means that only the President has any executive power.

·         Article III, Section 1 states; “The judicial Power of the United States, shall be vested in one supreme Court, and in such inferior Courts as the Congress may from time to time ordain and establish.”  This means these courts have all the judicial power.

It is evident that the branches are separate from one another and have separate powers (minor cross-over of powers such as the Senate’s confirmation of officers, Vice-President’s role as President of Senate, etc., not relevant here).  It is also evident that the sum of their individual powers relates to 100% of the government’s powers--that there is no federal authority not delegated to one of the three.

Article I, Section 8, Clause 18 vests Congress with the power “To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.”

The mandate in this clause for Congress to “make all Laws” for the Government and any Department leaves no room for the executive branch to make some of the laws or that which is treated as law.

With the above in mind, please look at the chart above showing the organization of the federal government.

The Legislative Branch, the Executive Branch, and the Judicial Branch all fall under the head of the Constitution.  Most everyone is readily familiar with this concept.  We are also well aware of the Executive Departments needed for executing the laws.  The Department of Foreign Affairs was the first Executive Agency (established by the First Session of the First Congress on July 27, 1789--it was renamed the Department of State two months later).  The Department of War (now Department of Defense) was established August 7, 1789.  The Treasury Department was established on September 2, 1789.  Various Executive agencies have been with us, for all practical purposes, since the very beginning of the government.

However, many people do not realize that many “agencies” such as the Environmental Protection Agency, Central Intelligence Agency, or the Interstate Commerce Commission are not Executive agencies, but comprise the group of entities known as “Independent Establishments and Government Corporations.”

The entities within this group are, as the name directly acknowledges, established “independently” of the Constitution.  They cannot, therefore, have any federal governmental authority within the United States as defined by the Constitution.