Who has the authority to reorganize agencies?
- Congress has constitutional authority for the structural organization of the executive branch, the creation of the agencies within it and the reorganization of any of those agencies. The president and agency heads, however, have the authority to make smaller-scale structural and procedural changes to agencies provided they don’t conflict with the law.
- In the past, Congress has delegated some reorganization authority to presidents.
What reorganization actions can the executive branch take without congressional approval or action?
- Without special authority from Congress, presidents have the power not only to appoint agency heads who have the discretion to organize and manage day-to-day operations of their organizations but also to issue executive orders to create agency offices.
- Agency heads are responsible for the powers, duties and functions of their agency’s subcomponents and may effect small organizational changes by delegating those responsibilities.
- When an agency undergoes a statutory reorganization or a smaller-scale reorganization authorized by the president, the agency can influence the impact of the reorganization through its internal operations, such as by deciding whether to relocate responsibilities from one of its operational locations to another.
- The distinction of when a president can and cannot implement agency organizations may not always be clear. For more information, the Congressional Research Service has evaluated several agency reorganization proposals presidents could implement as well as those that would require Congress to pass legislation.
Are employees of agencies that undergo reorganization guaranteed a job?
- No. Agencies have the statutory authority to conduct Reductions in Force (RIF), the federal term for layoffs, as part of a reorganization—but not all agency reorganizations lead to RIFs. (See more information on Reductions in Force below).