Federal Bureaucracy--The Newest Branch of Government

The 21^st century has seen the debut of what could be called a fourth branch of the federal government: the administrative state. This fourth branch of government is not representative, and it combines legislative, executive, and judicial power. Thus, it poses a threat to limited government.

The following video is a clip from Q&A 4 of Hillsdale’s Online Course: “The Federalist Papers,” featuring Dr. William Morrisey, Professor of Politics, and John J. Miller, Director of the Dow Journalism Program.

Watch the full Q&A

Transcript:

 John Miller: In your lecture, one of the themes is the balance of energy and stability with liberty and republicanism, and the challenge to get this all right. Is the balance good today in the 21st century? Are we basically healthy or are there fundamental problems?

 William Morrisey: I think one of the fundamental problems is that you essentially have spawned a fourth branch of government, which is the federal bureaucracy, tenured administrators who never go away. That gets rid of the republican or representative quality of one important aspect of the government. Furthermore, the administrators themselves combine legislative, executive, and judicial powers within their own hands, so it defeats, to some degree, the separation of powers that was important to the orderly management of self-government according to the founders.