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Article II entrusts to the President of the United States “the executive Power.” Under President George Washington （1789-1801）， the entire executive branch consisted of the President， Vice President， and the Departments of State， Treasury， War， and Justice. As the nation grew， the executive branch grew with it. Today there are 15 Cabinet-level Departments. Each houses a number of Bureaus， Agencies， and other entities. Still other parts ofthe executive branch lie outside these Departments. All exercise executive power delegated by the President and thus are responsible ultimately to him. In some areas，the relationship between the executive and the other two branches is clear. Suppose one or more individuals rob a bank. Congress has passed a statute criminalizing bank robbery （United States Code，Title 18， Section 2113*）。 The Federal Bureau of Investigation （FBI）， a bureau within the Department ofJustice，would investigate the crime. When it apprehended one or more suspects， a Federal Prosecutor （also Department of Justice） would attempt to prove the suspects guilt in a trial conducted by U.S.District Court. The bank robbery case is a simple one. But as the nation modernized and grew， the relationship of the three branches within the legal system evolved to accommodate the more complex issues ofindustrial and post-industrial society. The role ofthe executive branch changed most ofall. In the bank robbery example， Congress needed little or no special expertise to craft a statute that criminalized bank robbery. Suppose instead that lawmakers wished to ban dangerous drugs from the marketplace， or restrict the amount of unhealthful pollutants in the air.Congress could， if it chose， specify precise definitions of these terms. Sometimes it does so， but increasingly Congress instead delegates a portion of its authority to administrative agencies housed in the executive branch. The Food and Drug Administration （FDA） thus watches over the purity ofthe nations food and pharmaceuticals and the Environmental Protection Agency （EPA） regulates how industries impact the earth， water， and air. Although agencies possess only powers that Congress delegates by statute， these can be quite substantial. They can include the authority to promulgate rules that define with precision more general statutory terms. A law might proscribe dangerous amounts ofpollutants in the atmosphere， while an EPA rule defines the substances and amounts of each that would be considered dangerous. Sometimes a statute empowers an agency to investigate violations ofits rules， to adjudicate those violations， and even to assess penalties！ The courts will invalidate a statute that grants an agency too much power. An important statute called the Administrative Procedure Act （United States Code Title 5，Section 551，et.seq.） explains the procedures agencies must follow when promulgating rules，judging violations， and imposing penalties. It also lays out how a party can seek judicial review ofan agencys decision.
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