In actuality, bureaus are a subset of cabinet departments and are similar in organization and function to administrative offices. The main kinds of federal executive agencies are: cabinet departments, independent regulatory commissions, government corporations, and independent executive agencies. There are fifteen cabinet departments in total, each charged with managing a specific realm of policy and each (besides the Department of Justice) led by a secretary selected personally by the President and approved by the Senate. Independent regulatory commissions oversee sectors of the economy that are most pertinent to the public interest, assembling and then enforcing rules to ensure fair practice. Government corporations handle issues that could also be managed by the private sector but are administered by the government instead. Currently, the biggest government corporation is the Post Office. Independent executive agencies are all those other government agencies that do not fit into any of the other three categories, such as the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

The President holds the ultimate position of authority over nearly every single bureaucratic agency, in keeping with the Constitution’s charge that the President must “take care that the laws shall be faithfully executed.” However, the President merely oversees bureaucrats on a general level, while the true work of creating agencies, writing policies, and allocating funds is done by Congress. Meanwhile, potential bureaucrats are tested, assessed, and ultimately hired by the Office of Personnel Management (OBM), which is headed by a director chosen personally by the President. The OBM classifies its bureaucrats according to the General Schedule (GS) rating system, which tallies test scores and work experiences to assign each individual a rating (from one to eighteen). Only the most highly qualified bureaucrats (those who earn a GS rating of sixteen or above) are considered to be part of the Senior Executive Service. These senior executives are highly prized within the bureaucratic realm and are often moved amongst different agencies by the President, in order to maximize optimal performance.

The Secretary of Veterans Affairs leads the Department of Veterans Affairs, which deals with caring for and supporting military veterans as well as maintaining military cemeteries. The Veterans Health Administration is the organization within the Department charged with providing healthcare for veterans.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) used to be an independent agency, though not of Cabinet-rank. FEMA was brought under the control of the Department of Homeland Security when it was created on March 1, 2003.