Presidential Use of Executive Orders to Circumvent the U.S. Constitution: Impeachable

Presidential Use of Executive Orders to Circumvent the U.S. Constitution: Impeachable

Offense or Ethics Violation?

Abstract

An executive order or a presidential decree means a written directive from the President of the United States. In other words, it is the highest authority of the executive U.S. Executive orders have existed since 1789, the year of office of George Washington and can often guide the actions of the executive (King & Riddlesperger, 1991). They sometimes acquire the force of law when complete or establish certain acts of Congress. Until the early twentieth century, executive orders were not published in general. They remained confidential at the discretion of the few government agencies (Baumgartner & Kada, 2003). However, the Department of State in 1907 instituted a system of numbered publication, with retroactive effect up to an order of October 20, 1862 signed by President Abraham Lincoln, which established then military courts in Louisiana. Till twenty-first century, only the national security directives remain secret. The paper has discussed the ethical perspective on presidential orders overriding the US constitution.

Introduction

An executive order is a decree by the President of the United States. President Executive Orders have since 1789 enacted. Neither Constitution nor federal laws contain provisions on executive orders. They are more an element of informal legal practice.

Most executive orders issued by the president to other administrators. As the President has final authority within the executive branch, executive orders are binding for all officials within this branch of government. Some executive orders were issued as a result of certain federal laws that the President discretion lend (Hillsdale College Politics Faculty, 2010).

Other Executive Orders contain instructions and decrees of the President on security, defense and internal security. The Executive Orders Presidential Proclamations are very similar to the (presidential statements), which, however, more concerned with foreign policy and are often seen as more symbolic, but they have at least the same weight as purely formal executive orders, which underlines its importance (Krent, 2008).

To judge ethical value of Executive orders, it is essential to identify the historical evolution and necessity of Presidential Executive orders. Until the 1950s, there was no rule made explicit that the president could or not decree. The decision of the Supreme Court in 1952, in the case of Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. vs. Sawyer had put an end to this state of affairs (Duignan, 2009). The Court ruled in fact illegitimate Presidential Decree of President Harry S. Truman, who placed all steel under federal control, citing the fact that the decree was trying to create a law rather than clarify