It's The Unitary Executive, Stupid

American Bar Association:

Misty Roundtree - JustLaw

The Unitary Executive

In American law, the unitary executive theory is a Constitutional law theory according to which the President of the United States has sole authority over the executive branch. It is "an expansive interpretation of presidential power that aims to centralize greater control over the government in the White House". The theory often comes up in jurisprudential disagreements about the president's ability to remove employees within the executive branch; transparency and access to information; discretion over the implementation of new laws; and the ability to influence agencies' rule-making. There is disagreement about the doctrine's strength and scope, with more expansive versions of the theory becoming the focus of modern political debate. These expansive versions are controversial for both constitutional and practical reasons. Since the Reagan administration, the Supreme Court has embraced a stronger unitary executive, which has been championed primarily by its conservative justices, the Federalist Society, and the Heritage Foundation.

The theory is largely based on the Vesting Clause, which singularly grants the president with the "Executive Power" and places the office atop the executive branch. Critics debate over how much power and discretion the vesting clause gives a president, and emphasize other countermeasures in the Constitution that provide checks and balances on executive power.

The Commander in Chief Clause has also been interpreted to reinforce the unitary executive theory, as it makes the president the highest ranking officer of the United States Armed Forces.

Historically, as part of the campaign to support ratification, Alexander Hamilton contrasted the powers of the presidency and that of the King of Great Britain. Namely, the King exercised powers in military affairs that would be delegated to Congress. In the 2020s, the Supreme Court held that, regarding the powers granted by the vesting clause, "the entire 'executive Power' belongs to the President alone".