Trump signs bombshell executive order to make himself the most powerful president in history as he enacts controversial Constitutional theory

UK DAILY MAIL ^ | 19 February 2025 | STEPHEN M. LEPORE

[dennisw]

Donald Trump has signed an executive order that could make him the most powerful president in history by using an obscure Constitutional theory to enact his vision of presidential authority.

The new order seeks to 'reign in independent agencies' by seizing various departments that normally act in accordance with Congress and bring them under control of the executive branch in the White House.

The order also states that the president and attorney general will interpret the law, leaving Trump free from Congressional and judicial oversight.

Observers suggest that Trump is using unitary executive theory which grants the president a wide swath of authority.

The conservative theory argues that Article II of the U.S. Constitution, which delineates presidential powers, gives the president sole authority over all the executive branch's officials and employees.

The unitary executive theory also claims the president has robust powers to override Congressional oversight on restrictions such as the ability to fire the heads of independent agencies.

Trump's new executive order grants him power over various agencies such as The Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Trade Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Russel Vought, the so-called architect of Project 2025 turned head of the Office of Management and Budget, is said to be a big proponent of nixing executive bureaucracies, according to Politico.

[dennisw]

The Supreme Court should clear its calendar, to hear nothing but expedited Trump cases for a year or two.

[Telepathic Intruder]

"...gives the president sole authority over all the executive branch's officials and employees."

As head of the executive branch, that's pretty much a given. It's not controversial or theoretical at all. The three branches of the government are supposed to be separate and outside of each others' authority. Obama basically replaced half the executive branch with his Marxist purges, and no one complained about it.

[redfreedom]

I tend to agree with your comment. The article is leftist drivel.

[KSCITYBOY]

yup

[Rockingham]

The Constitution reads: “The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.” There is no provision in the Constitution for independent executive officials or agencies. Hence, all such provisions by statute are either unconstitutional or have effect only at the sufferance of the President.

[piasa]

Sure enough, young read down and there it cites the far left rag Politico.

[9YearLurker]

It really can’t be any other way without Congress having usurped the president’s clearly stated constitutional powers.

That said, the federal government should do about a fourth of what it does now, so all three branches should have significantly less power.

[servo1969]

Has to be done. The bureaucracy is out of control and Congress, both Dem and Rep, is totally fine with it. The Legislative Branch is basically setting things up under the Executive Branch’s roof and then saying, “All these people work for you but you aren’t allowed to touch them even if they won’t do their jobs correctly.”

[Jonty30]

Trump is not doing that but is using what Democrats created.

[fruser1]

The brits don’t seem to understand our system. GAO is an example of an office under the direct purview of Congress, but the Executive agencies are under the Prez.

[EBH]

I can understand Trump wanting to do this. It does make sense from a business person’s perspective.

I can also see how this can be problematic with the current size of the bureaucracy.

But here is where it can get tricky, many of these agencies were codified, in the laws passed over the years, to answer to Congress. Which essentially redefined and neutered the Executive Branch in many ways.

[Skwor]

Wow, that is some serious insanity in that article.

They are totally ignorant of the US constitution and likely expect their readers to be as well.

Congress can’t limit constitutionally vested power in the Executive, all they can do is defund them. If they disagree with those powers they can change the constitution. If they find the president acting badly they have the impeachment option, it really is that elegant and simple.

3 COEQUAL branches neither of which can usurp the others vested powers.

[Skwor]

Does not make them any less unconstitutional.

[Petrosius]

Congress correctly exercises its control by passing more explicit laws rather than ones that say “at the discretion of the secretary, etc.”

[EBH]

I did not mean to make it sound like they were magically Constitutional, just that much of it was codified. If one looks at the laws passed and many signed by Presidents, this is how the bureaucracy we have today came into being.

Could a Court rule that past Presidents basically authorized their power away, thus ruling that made it Constitutional? Hard to say these days.

[Leaning Right]

> an executive order that could make him the most powerful president in history <

Hey, it’s the UK Daily Mail. Like most British newspapers, they sensationalize literally everything. It doesn’t matter whether they’re talking about Trump, Harris, or the morning traffic report.

Dramatic headlines get attention. That’s the name of the game.

[Liz]

Trump’s new executive order grants him power over various agencies such as The Federal Communications Commission, the Federal Trade Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The conservative theory argues that Article II of the U.S. Constitution, which delineates presidential powers, gives the president sole authority over all the executive branch’s officials and employees.

The unitary executive theory also claims the president has robust powers to override Congressional oversight on restrictions such as the ability to fire the heads of independent agencies.

[dennisw]

It's agent orange hair time, as The Donald does slash and burn through the Deep State.

Unsung hero is President of Argentina, who spent a few days at Mar A Lago in December. Javier Milei despises socialism -communism and gave Trump hours of explanations and pep talks. Javier Milei is a very deep thinker on this. So laid it all out for Donald Trump. My take on their interactions.

Another unsung hero is Norman Vincent Peale. The father of positive thinking. Fred Trump took his family to Peal's The Marble Collegiate Church, founded in 1628, in Manhattan. Trump married Ivana there. Trump is a super strong positive thinker. This is how he survived the 4 years of Biden era lawfare.

[popdonnelly]

I thought a bloated federal government was bad, but a dictatorship is worse.