How Presidents Can Remove Laws And Their Limits

The President of the United States has the power to issue executive orders, which are subject to judicial review and may be overturned if they lack support by statute or the Constitution. While the Constitution does not explicitly permit the use of executive orders, it states that The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. This power includes the ability to remove executive officers, which has been interpreted by some to mean that the President can make laws without congressional approval. However, others argue that Congress may limit presidential removals and that the President's power of removal does not extend to judges. The Supreme Court has also overturned several executive orders, indicating that they must be supported by the Constitution.

The US President's power to remove executive officers

The US President does have the power to remove executive officers. This power is granted by Article II of the US Constitution, which states that the President has the power to "remove executive officers".

The President's removal power has been a topic of debate and discussion among Justices, scholars, and politicians. Some argue that Congress has the power to limit the grounds for presidential removal, while others assert that Congress lacks the authority to alter or diminish constitutional grants of power, including the removal power. The Court has endorsed the view that the Constitution grants the President the removal power, but it has also shown skepticism about congressional authority to limit removal, especially in cases where multiple layers of officers within a single agency enjoy for-cause removal protection.

The President's removal power is not without limits. Congress generally may not impose two layers of removal protection on a specific office, meaning they cannot provide that an inferior officer can only be removed for a specific cause if their superior officer is also protected by a for-cause removal provision. Additionally, the President's removal power does not extend to independent agencies, such as the Interstate Commerce Commission and the Federal Trade Commission.

The power to remove executive officers is an important aspect of the US President's authority, and it has been a topic of discussion and debate throughout US history, with different interpretations and applications arising in various contexts.

Congress's power to overturn executive orders

While the US Constitution does not explicitly address executive orders, a president's power to issue them is accepted as an inherent aspect of their power. This power stems from two primary sources: the Constitution and the powers granted to the president by Congress.

Congress can grant additional powers to the president by statute, including the use of executive orders. For example, under 8 U.S.C. § 1182, Congress has granted the president the power to "suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens" if it is deemed detrimental to US interests. Congress can also approve an executive order by including its text in a statute. While an executive order can have the same effect as federal law under certain circumstances, Congress can pass a new law to override an executive order, but only for those orders enacted "pursuant to powers delegated to the President" by Congress.

Congress cannot directly modify or revoke an executive order issued under powers granted exclusively to the president by the Constitution. However, Congress has used other methods to restrain executive orders, such as attempting to withhold spending on programs created by an executive order. The courts have also played a role in deciding cases where presidential executive orders have been challenged. In the landmark Youngstown case, the Supreme Court struck down an executive order issued by President Harry Truman in 1952, which attempted to seize control of steel mills during a labour dispute amid the Korean War. The Court ruled that the president did not have the express or implied power to seize private property amid a labour dispute, nor had he been granted such power by law.

Justice Robert Jackson's concurring opinion in the Youngstown case established a three-part test for analyzing conflicts between presidential and congressional powers, which has been used to define the limits of a president's power to issue executive orders. According to Jackson, the president's powers are at their peak when they have direct or implied authorization from Congress to act; they are in a "zone of twilight" when both Congress and the president may have "concurrent authority"; and at their "lowest ebb" when the president acts against the expressed wishes of Congress.

The President's power to make laws without Congress

The President of the United States does not have the power to make laws without Congress. The US Constitution divides the government into three branches: the legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The legislative branch, comprising the House of Representatives and the Senate, is responsible for making laws. While the President can recommend or suggest measures to Congress, they cannot create laws independently.

The President's role in the law-making process is to approve or veto bills passed by Congress. If the President approves a bill, they sign it into law. However, if the President vetoes a bill, Congress can override the veto and pass the bill into law anyway. The President also has the power to remove executive officers, as seen in cases such as Free Enterprise Fund v. Public Co. Accounting Oversight Board and Seila Law LLC v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Additionally, the President can issue executive orders, which are directives issued by the President to manage government operations. These orders carry the force of law but are not the same as laws passed by Congress.

While the President cannot make laws without Congress, they have significant influence over the legislative process. As the head of their political party, the President can drive legislative agendas, especially at the beginning of their term. The President can also convene Congress on "extraordinary occasions" to consider nominations, war, and emergencies. Furthermore, the Take Care Clause grants the President broad enforcement authority to execute federal laws and oversee executive officers' execution of those laws.

The President's power to remove executive officers and issue executive orders, as well as their influence over the legislative process, gives them a degree of influence over policy-making. However, it is important to clarify that the President's role in law-making is limited to approving or vetoing bills passed by Congress, and they cannot independently create laws without Congressional approval.

The President's power to revoke executive orders

While the US Constitution does not explicitly mention or define executive orders, a president's authority to issue them is generally accepted as part of their power as the country's executive. Executive orders are written policy directives issued by the president with much of the same power as federal law. They are enforceable to the extent that they represent a valid exercise of the president's power, i.e., the action must be within the president's constitutional authority.

The president has two primary sources of power to issue directives and executive orders: the Constitution and powers granted to the president by Congress. This was affirmed in the 1952 Youngstown Sheet and Tube Co. v. Sawyer Supreme Court decision by Justice Hugo Black: "The President's power, if any, to issue the order must stem either from an act of Congress or from the Constitution itself."

Any president is permitted to amend, repeal, or replace any previous executive order. They can modify or revoke not only an executive order issued during their term but also orders issued by past presidents that have not been revoked, as executive orders generally do not have expiration dates. However, executive orders cannot contradict or violate the Constitution, federal laws, or Americans' fundamental rights. Courts have struck down executive orders in many instances, such as in Trump v. Hawaii (2018), where a federal appeals court determined that the Trump administration did not have the authority to issue an executive order withholding federal funding from "sanctuary cities".

Congress can also pass a new law to override an executive order, but only for those orders enacted "pursuant to powers delegated to the President" by Congress. Congress cannot directly modify or revoke an executive order that was issued pursuant to powers granted exclusively to the president by the Constitution.

The President's power to remove civil officers

The President of the United States has the power to remove civil officers, a power known as the "executive power of removal". This power is derived from Article II of the Constitution, which grants the President "the general administrative control of those executing the laws, including the power of appointment and removal of executive officers". The President's power of removal is also established as an extension of their power of appointment, which is done with the advice of the Senate.

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