The government undertakes responsibilities beyond creating laws, resolving disputes, and setting national priorities, which are primary functions of Congress, the judiciary, and the president. It is also tasked with constructing roads, delivering mail, securing borders, inspecting food, carrying out medical research, safeguarding the environment, collecting taxes, ensuring citizen safety, and distributing Social Security payments, among other duties. In fact, government agencies provide many essential services that contribute to modern civilised life. These responsibilities, along with numerous others, are managed by bureaucrats, and government employees who have faced substantial criticism throughout American history. The federal bureaucracy is sometimes referred to as the fourth branch of government, despite only a vague reference to it in the Constitution. From its beginnings under the Articles of Confederation, the administrative arm of the national government has grown significantly, extending its reach across the nation and globally.

Concerns regarding the expanding role of government have persisted for many years, with the terms bureaucracy and bureaucrat often associated with inefficiency, excessive regulation, and the unwanted intrusion of governmental authority into areas better suited for the private sector. When Ronald Reagan took office as president in 1981, he highlighted bureaucracy as a critical issue in American society. In discussing the economic challenges facing the nation at that time, he argued emphatically that “Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.” This skepticism towards government intervention has not been limited to Republican leaders. Democrat Jimmy Carter, during his 1976 presidential campaign, criticized Washington and promised to reorganise the government and reduce the national budget, which he perceived as burdened by wastefulness. Similarly, President Bill Clinton echoed these sentiments in a speech to Congress on January 23, 1996.

We know big government does not have all the answers. We know there’s not a program for every problem. We have worked to give the American people a smaller, less bureaucratic government in Washington. And we have to give the American people one that lives within its means… . The era of big government is over. 

Multiple factors have shaped a uniquely American approach to public bureaucracy, including a cultural skepticism towards government authority and capability, the absence of constitutional grounding, ambiguous guidance, political obligations imposed on neutral agents, and trial-and-error organisational frameworks.

Cultural skepticism toward government authority and capability has been noted for decades. Political scientist Harold Laski remarked that many Americans perceive government actions as inferior to those executed by individuals or private corporations. This perspective remains relevant today. Recent Gallup polls indicate that less than half of Americans have confidence in the government’s ability to address both domestic and international issues. Trust in handling domestic matters hovered around fifty per cent during the Obama administration and has declined further under President Trump. Many Americans equate bureaucracy with sluggishness and ineffectiveness. They hold a strong belief that individual choices within a marketplace result in greater efficiency, viewing government spending as wasteful. By 2014, it was estimated that 51 cents of every dollar paid in taxes to Washington, D.C. was perceived as squandered. In contrast, many European countries possess longstanding traditions of robust central government bureaucracies that played a crucial role in their development as nation-states. In some of these countries, such as France, government officials often maintain a distinct identity separate from politicians, leading citizens to demonstrate more respect and support for bureaucratic actions than is common in the United States. However, this trend may be shifting. The rise of populist movements across Europe has resulted in an increase in public distrust of traditional institutions, with the military being a notable exception. As faith in national governments wanes in Europe, the respect historically shown towards government administrators may also diminish.