In a bold move to consolidate executive power, President Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday, bringing all the "independent" boards, commissions, and agencies that have mushroomed since the Roosevelt administration under the purview of the White House.
The order, titled Ensuring Accountability for All Agencies The White House, asserts, "For the Federal Government to be truly accountable to the American people, officials who wield vast executive power must be supervised and controlled by the peoples elected President."
As reported by RedState, the White House, in an informational document about the executive order shared with The Washington Post, referred to so-called independent agencies, such as the FTC, FCC, and SEC. These are among the agencies over which Trump is seeking to exert more control. A White House official, who chose to remain anonymous while discussing the objectives of the new executive order, stated that the order aims to rein in rogue agencies.
The official further elaborated, These agencies issue rules and regulations that cost billions of dollars and implicate some of the most controversial policy matters, and they do so without the review of the democratically elected President. They also spend American tax dollars and set priorities without consulting the President, while setting their own performance standards.
The new order, however, does not apply to the Federal Reserve. It seems that Trump's strategists believe that bringing the Fed under the White House's control might be overreaching. The order specifically states, "This order shall not apply to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System or to the Federal Open Market Committee in its conduct of monetary policy. This order shall apply to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System only in connection with its conduct and authorities directly related to its supervision and regulation of financial institutions."
The order also mandates that the formerly independent agencies must clear all regulations through the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). It reads, "All executive departments and agencies, including so-called independent agencies, shall submit for review all proposed and final significant regulatory actions to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) within the Executive Office of the President before publication."
The order further stipulates that the White House will have a representative in every agency, stating, "The heads of independent regulatory agencies shall establish a position of White House Liaison in their respective agencies. Such position shall be in grade 15 of the General Schedule and shall be placed in Schedule C of the excepted service."
In a significant move to curb agencies like the EPA from using their interpretation of the law to expand their regulatory power, the order asserts that the White House, not agencies, will provide interpretation of the law. It states, "The President and the Attorney General, subject to the Presidents supervision and control, shall provide authoritative interpretations of law for the executive branch. The President and the Attorney Generals opinions on questions of law are controlling on all employees in the conduct of their official duties."
As this sweeping order is issued, several legal battles are underway. The White House is seeking to invalidate federal statutes that limit the president's ability to dismiss any appointed officer for any reason. If this order holds, Trump will have fundamentally and permanently altered the Executive Branch as it has existed since 1935 in less than a month, marking a significant shift in the balance of power within the federal government.
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