In January, the United States will enter another period of divided government. If past is prologue, we will see an even more aggressive executive branch, deploying its agencies in “whole-of-government” strategies that render the people’s representatives in Congress irrelevant.

While many are rightly focused on the regulations that agencies will roll out, it’s important also to keep in mind the other ways agencies exercise power. For instance, agencies enforce the laws they administer, and they also adjudicate offenses under those same laws.