Claim: Independent agencies of the United States government, defined as agencies that exist outside the federal executive departments and the Executive Office of the President, are distinguished by their structural and functional characteristics and their officers can be protected from removal by the president.
Evidence: Independent agencies of the United States federal government are agencies that exist outside the federal executive departments (those headed by a Cabinet secretary) and the Executive Office of the President. Independent agencies can be distinguished from the federal executive departments and other executive agencies by their structural and functional characteristics. Their officers can be protected from removal by the president, they can be controlled by a board that cannot be appointed all at once, and the board can be required to be bipartisan.