The federal bureaucracy consists of the fifteen Cabinet departments plus more than 2,000 agencies, which together employ more than 2.7 million people. Its role is to carry out the functions of the federal government. The Cabinet departments are elements of the executive branch, and they ultimately report to the president. Other agencies generally are created by acts of Congress, and they enjoy various degrees of independence. Given the vast size and scope of the current bureaucracy, it is sometimes referred to as the "fourth branch" of the government.
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