What Article Outlines the Largest Branch of Government?

The United States government consists of three branches: legislative, executive and judicial. By far the largest of these branches is the executive branch, which consists of the president, vice president and more than 4 million federal employees serving in a wide array of capacities, ranging from cabinet-level advisers to government clerks and soldiers in the military. The executive branch is outlined in Article II of the U.S. Constitution.

Article II establishes the executive branch of government, but does little to specifically outline the positions of the vast majority of those who serve as part of the executive branch. Section 1 of Article II outlines the requirements and method of electing the highest offices in the executive branch: the president and the vice president.

Section 2 enumerates the president's responsibilities, including that of commander in chief of the armed forces and the power to appoint, with the advice and consent of the Senate, "Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law."

Rounding out Article II, Section 3 outlines the president's relationship with Congress, including the chief executive's responsibility of addressing the state of the union to legislators, and Section 4 lists the basic conditions under which those in the executive branch may be impeached and removed from office.