Glossary
Administrative state
A term for the federal agencies that make and enforce rules with binding effect, often seen as a fourth branch of government.
Also called: bureaucracy, fourth branch of government, regulatory state
The administrative state refers to the large set of executive agencies and independent commissions that write regulations, enforce them and adjudicate disputes under authority delegated by Congress. Examples include the Environmental Protection Agency, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Communications Commission.
It grew markedly during the Progressive Era and the New Deal, as Congress turned to specialized agencies to address complex economic problems, and again in the 1960s and 1970s. The Administrative Procedure Act of 1946 sets the basic procedures for rulemaking and judicial review. Because agencies combine lawmaking, enforcement and judging functions, critics say they conflict with the separation of powers.
Conservatives and libertarians often argue that the administrative state operates with too little democratic accountability, citing tools such as the nondelegation doctrine, the major questions doctrine and the end of chevron deference as limits. Defenders say agencies bring expertise, continuity and flexibility that a legislature cannot supply, and that Congress and the courts supervise them. The phrase is sometimes used interchangeably with the more pejorative deep state, though the two have different meanings. regulatory-capture is a related critique.
Last reviewed November 8, 2026