Since I have a keen interest in American history, I am not an expert, but I find the history of the U.S. administration quite interesting.

Roughly at the end of the 18th century, with the establishment of the Constitution, powers were concentrated in the presidency, and from the time of George Washington, major departments like the State Department and the Treasury Department began to take shape.

Then, in the 19th century, as the territory expanded westward and significant events like the Civil War occurred, the government had to intervene more frequently. Consequently, the administration inevitably grew larger.

Especially in the 20th century, with massive crises like the Great Depression and world wars, the president and the government expanded their responsibilities to encompass the economy and society as a whole. During Roosevelt's New Deal, various agencies emerged rapidly.

As we entered the Cold War era, the fields of defense, diplomacy, and intelligence also expanded significantly. The Department of Defense and the CIA were established around this time. Since then, departments like Health and Human Services, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Homeland Security have continued to grow in response to the times, resulting in an enormous organization today.

However, that does not mean the U.S. president is an all-powerful ruler. Congress controls the budget and has the authority to pass legislation, while the judiciary checks for constitutionality, making it difficult for the president to act unilaterally. No matter how powerful the president may be, the fundamental framework of separation of powers still operates.

Ultimately, the U.S. administration has expanded its scope in response to the changing world, but at the same time, Congress and the judiciary have provided checks and balances to reach this point.

Even now, with emerging issues like counter-terrorism, economic policy, and environmental problems, it is worth watching how this massive organization of the administration will evolve in the future.

The U.S. administration is so vast that if you look up, "How many people work there?" you will find slight variations in the data. However, it is estimated that about 2 million federal employees work in the Executive Branch, based on private sector standards. Adding active military personnel (about 1.3 to 1.4 million) and postal workers (about 600,000) increases the number significantly. Although the postal service (USPS) is somewhat of an independent agency, it is often classified under the administration.

Moreover, the budget is also substantial. In recent years, the federal budget has shown total annual expenditures rising to around $5 trillion to $6 trillion. Government spending increased during the COVID period, and it is likely to remain high in areas like welfare, defense, and infrastructure, fluctuating around the $6 trillion mark.

In summary, the U.S. administration directly employs over 2 million civilian employees, and when including the military, the total exceeds 3 to 4 million, with an annual budget in the trillions of dollars.

Given its size, it is not easy to scrutinize where and how much is spent.

However, if you keep an eye on various aspects, it tends to be evenly distributed across diverse fields such as defense, healthcare, social security, transportation, and education. Ultimately, you can see that the U.S. government operates the entire country with a tremendous workforce and financial resources.