Within the hierarchy of the federal bureaucracy, the cabinet is

higher than independent agencies.
higher than the vice president.
lower than executive departments.
lower than administrators and staff.

The answer is: higher than independent agencies.

The independent agencies were created specifically to outsource the jobs that required to do by the federal government.  Every year, the federal government would tasks these independence agencies to enforce the legislation that it made in a specific area of governance.

Examples of independent agencies are Commodity future trading commission, federal emergency management agency, National Credit Union, etc.

the right answer is a

answer; existed; limited;