There is precedent. There are a number of governmental functions that don't fall neatly into one of the three branches. For example, the Federal Election Commission (http://www.fec.gov/about.shtml )
The duties of the FEC, which is an independent regulatory agency, are to disclose campaign finance information, to enforce the provisions of the law such as the limits and prohibitions on contributions, and to oversee the public funding of Presidential elections.
And then there's the Federal Reserve. It falls under "executive authority" only in so far as the power to appoint members of the board of governors is given to the president. The Fed's power to enact policy is granted by legislation, but the policies it sets are not subject to the approval of anyone in the legislative or executive branch. Members of the board of governors serve terms that are longer than that of the president. The legislators who created the Fed, and over the years have modified the law governing it, recognized the importance of creating a body empowered to set policy with a great deal of autonomy.
Similarly, legislators who shaped the laws governing the Consumer Protection Agency recognized the agency's purpose required some level of independence. The director does not serve "at the pleasure of the president," they are only subject to dismissal if the president can demonstrate “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.”
Here is a list of "Independent Regulatory Agencies" as defined by 44 U.S.C. §3502(5)
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/44/3502
the term “independent regulatory agency” means the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the Federal Maritime Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, the Interstate Commerce Commission, the Mine Enforcement Safety and Health Review Commission, the National Labor Relations Board, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, the Postal Regulatory Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, the Office of Financial Research, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and any other similar agency designated by statute as a Federal independent regulatory agency or commission;
Generally, the heads of these agencies can only be removed for cause, or they are governed by a board. Some governed by a board have limits the number of members of one political party who may serve at any one time. They usually have both rulemaking and adjudicative functions.
The status of the trade commission as an independent agency is discussed in
Humphrey's Executor v. United States (1935). Justice Sutherland, writing for a unanimous court, wrote:
In administering the provisions of the statute in respect of "unfair methods of competition" -- that is to say filling in and administering the details embodied by that general standard -- the commission acts in part quasi-legislatively and in part quasi-judicially... To the extent that it exercises any executive function -- as distinguished from executive power in a constitutional sense-- it does so in the discharge and effectiveness of its quasi-legislative or quasi-judicial powers, or as an agency of the legislative or judicial departments of the government.
Undoubtedly there are many other cases over the years addressing the question of the limits of presidential authority over certain purportedly 'executive" agencies, but I think it is pretty clear that congress and the courts (and rational presidents) recognize that some functions need to be insulated from political interference. Unfortunately, some of these agencies don't have the power to litigate on their own behalf, and must instead rely on the Department of Justice -- a fatal flaw as far as I'm concerned.
Reagan did a good job of stripping away the independence of many "independent" agencies. DT is determined to finish the job. Whatever success he has will be EXTREMELY damaging to the country for a long time to come.
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