do bureacrats have more real power in the national government than Congress or the president?

“Bureaucrats hold the real power in national government. Because they are able to make policy independently of both the President and the Congress and without meaningful input from the public, the American political system is, in fact, not democratic.”
For quote…
The government could not perform its numerous duties without its huge bureaucracy, or public administration, to carry them out. They are the ones who make the important decisions and bear great responsibilities (Wise and Cummings, 465).
As they hold the greatest power, they are also victims to the greatest pressures of interest groups. This has the potential to create many undemocratic situations, as the bureaucrats often only get one-sided arguments for a certain group’s selfish interest and are fueled by money or other incentives to comply.
Peter F. Drucker argues that there is no government that can control all of its bureaucracy as their desire for power, narrow vision, and incompetence fail to meet the greater goals of government (Wise and Cummings, 466).
The President and the Congress do not have the expertise necessary to argue with the detailed technical knowledge of the Bureaucrats (Wise and Cummings, 467).
The bureaucracy is certainly not Democratic because its members are not elected by the public (Wise and Cummings , 469).
Bureaucrats often have their own agendas and only present limited options to Congress and the President to choose from. They generally act based on what’s best for their own constituencies, “interest groups, or client groups, either directly regulated by the bureaucracy or vitally affected by its decisions” (Wise and Cummings, 470)
Against quote…
Bureaucrats are not able to make policy independently of both the President and the Congress. They do play an important role in proposing different plans to achieve one goal or another but it is ultimately Congress and the President who decide which proposal to choose. The bureaucrats also give Congressmen and the President advice, but it is up to them to decide whether or not to listen to the bureaucrats, who often make mistakes as well.
However, it is in their best interest to serve those elected officials to the best of their abilities, seeing as how they control the budget which determines the appropriations they are allowed. The Office of Management and Budget, created in 1970, was created to shift more control and power to the president and his budget officials over the bureaucrats (Wise & Cummings, 474).
The Bureaucracy, Interest groups, and Congress work together and form a powerful triangle alliance of mutual benefit through much cooperation and interaction Many of the participants often move to a different corner within this “triangle” by changing jobs(Wise & Cummings, 472). The bureaucrats do not hold the “real power” in the national government; they share power with each other branch of government and the people who vote for elected officials in the system of checks and balances.
The media and the private sector also keep the bureaucracy in check. According to Francis Rourke, “the private sector now abounds with think tanks, consulting firms, and watchdog groups that are widely regarded as more reliable sources of information and advice than the government itself” (Wise & Cummings, 475). When these groups discover controversial information regarding the bureaucracy the media will pick it up and feed it to the public and the bureaucrats’ higher-ups.

Works Cited:

Wise, David, and Milton C. Cummings Jr. Democracy Under Pressure. 10. Belmont:
Thomas Wadsworth, 2007.