The non-elected officials who implement laws and policies across government are collectively known as what?

• A. Cabinet
• B. Administration
• C. Civil Service
• D. Bureaucracy

Answer: (D)

The concept here is the group of people and organizations that carry out government work on a day-to-day basis, applying laws and policies across the entire government. This is the bureaucracy: the network of departments, agencies, and the civil service staff who implement programs, enforce regulations, and administer government functions regardless of who is in office.

Political leaders and their top aides—often referred to as the Cabinet or Administration—set policy and oversee agencies, but they aren’t the non-elected implementers. The Civil Service is the portion of government workers who aren’t political appointees and are part of the bureaucracy. So, the best term for the whole system that executes laws and policies is the bureaucracy.