“By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:”
- January 20, 2025 Trump Sworn Into Office
- Source of the President’s Powers, the United States Constitution, Article II – Executive Branch
- Article II of the U.S. Constitution establishes the Executive Branch of the federal government. The Executive Vesting Clause, in Section 1, Clause 1, provides that the federal executive power is vested in the President. Section 3 of Article II further requires the President to
take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.
The executive power thus consists of the authority to enforce laws and toappoint the agents charged with the duty of such enforcement.
The President also has distinct authority over foreign affairs, andalone has the power to speak or listen as a representative of the nation.
As a general matter, the Supreme Court has recognized that the Constitution vests the President not only with the authorities expressly delineated therein, but also with certain implied authorities, such as the ability to supervise (and generally to remove) executive officials and the power to recognize foreign governments. At the same time, the Court has said that by granting the President the power of faithfully executing the laws, the Constitutionrefutes the idea
that the President was intendedto be a lawmaker.
Nonetheless, the Court has recognized that officials appointed by the President—even those located within the Executive Branch—may exercise regulatory or adjudicative powers that are quasi-legislative or quasi-judicial. Broadly, the Court has recognized that Executive Officers exercise authority to enforce and administer the laws, including rulemaking, administrative determinations, and the filing of lawsuits.1
- Article II of the U.S. Constitution establishes the Executive Branch of the federal government. The Executive Vesting Clause, in Section 1, Clause 1, provides that the federal executive power is vested in the President. Section 3 of Article II further requires the President to
- Authority of the President, the US President has many powers, including:
- Legislative The president can sign or veto legislation passed by Congress. They can also recommend measures to Congress and report on the state of the union.
- Military The president is the commander in chief of the US military. This gives them the power to deploy troops and direct military operations abroad.
- Foreign affairs The president is the chief diplomat of the US. They can negotiate treaties with other countries, and direct the nation’s diplomatic corps.
- Executive The president can issue executive orders to manage the federal government. They can also appoint and remove executive officers.
- Pardons The president can grant pardons and reprieves. The Supreme Court has said that the president’s pardon power is intended to be a tool of mercy and justice.
- Appointments The president can appoint Article III judges and some officers, with the approval of the Senate.
- Receiving ambassadors The president receives ambassadors from other countries.
- Convening Congress The president can call Congress into session or adjourn it.
- Source of the President’s Powers, the United States Constitution, Article II – Executive Branch
The U.S. Supreme Court has said the president enjoys immunity from civil damage actions for all his official acts and it extends to the outer rim of his official acts. SCOTUS has also ruled said that the president can be sued for his private acts — not everything the president does while he’s in the office is an official act.
U.S. Supreme Court Decision on President’s Executive Powers 2023
The Fight Over the USAID Agency
- January 20, 2025 President Trump issues executive orders, including:
- Executive Order 14158 Establishing and Implementing the President’s “Department of Government Efficiency” [DOGE]
- Section 1 . Purpose. This Executive Order establishes the Department of Government Efficiency to implement the President’s DOGE Agenda, by modernizing Federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity.
- Section 3 . DOGE Structure. (a) Reorganization and Renaming of the United States Digital Service. The United States Digital Service is hereby publicly renamed as the United States DOGE Service (USDS) and shall be established in the Executive Office of the President.
- (c) DOGE Teams. In consultation with USDS, each Agency Head shall establish within their respective Agencies a DOGE Team of at least four employees, which may include Special Government Employees, hired or assigned within thirty days of the date of this Order. Agency Heads shall select the DOGE Team members in consultation with the USDS Administrator. Each DOGE Team will typically include one DOGE Team Lead, one engineer, one human resources specialist, and one attorney. Agency Heads shall ensure that DOGE Team Leads coordinate their work with USDS and advise their respective Agency Heads on implementing the President’s DOGE Agenda.
- Section 4 . Modernizing Federal Technology and Software to Maximize Efficiency and Productivity. (a) The USDS Administrator shall commence a Software Modernization Initiative to improve the quality and efficiency of government-wide software, network infrastructure, and information technology (IT) systems. Among other things, the USDS Administrator shall work with Agency Heads to promote inter-operability between agency networks and systems, ensure data integrity, and facilitate responsible data collection and synchronization.
- (b) Agency Heads shall take all necessary steps, in coordination with the USDS Administrator and to the maximum extent consistent with law, to ensure USDS has full and prompt access to all unclassified agency records, software systems, and IT systems. USDS shall adhere to rigorous data protection standards.
- (c) This Executive Order displaces all prior executive orders and regulations, insofar as they are subject to direct presidential amendment, that might serve as a barrier to providing USDS access to agency records and systems as described above.
- Text of Executive Order 14158:
- DOGE Implementation History Congressional Research Service Report
- Executive Order 14169 Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid signed
- Section 1 . Purpose. The United States foreign aid industry and bureaucracy are not aligned with American interests and in many cases antithetical to American values. They serve to destabilize world peace by promoting ideas in foreign countries that are directly inverse to harmonious and stable relations internal to and among countries.
- Sec. 2 . Policy. It is the policy of United States that no further United States foreign assistance shall be disbursed in a manner that is not fully aligned with the foreign policy of the President of the United
- Sec. 3 (e) Waiver. The Secretary of State may waive the pause in Section 3(a) for specific programs.
- Text of Executive Order 14169:
- Executive Order 14158 Establishing and Implementing the President’s “Department of Government Efficiency” [DOGE]
- February 6, 2025 Lawsuit Filed to Stay Termination and Furlough of Certain USAID Employees
- Judge Temporarily Blocks President Trump’s USAID Employment Policies and Decisions “Judge Carl Nichols issued a ‘limited’ temporary restraining order after two unions filed a last-minute lawsuit trying to save the agency. The order will remain in place until Friday [2/14] at midnight.”
- Judge Blocks Employment Termination of USAID Employee’s Daily Mail. 02-08-25
- Vice President J.D. Vance’s response on X: “If a judge tried to tell a general how to conduct a military operation, that would be illegal. If a judge tried to command the attorney general in how to use her discretion as a prosecutor, that’s also illegal. Judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power.”2
- Complaint – American Federation of Foreign Service
- “This action seeks declaratory and injunctive relief with respect to a series of unconstitutional and illegal actions taken by President Donald Trump and his administration that have systematically dismantled the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). These actions have generated a global humanitarian crisis by abruptly halting the crucial work of USAID employees, grantees, and contractors. They have cost thousands of American jobs. And they have imperiled U.S. national security interests.”
- AFFS’s and AFGW’s Complaint and Request for Injunction
- AFFS’s and AFGW’s Brief
- Judge Carl Nichols’ Limited Temporary Restraining Order
- But at the TRO hearing, it became clear that plaintiffs’ allegations of irreparable injury flow principally from three government actions: (1) the placement of USAID employees on administrative leave; (2) the expedited evacuation of USAID employees from their host countries; and (3) Secretary Rubio’s January 24, 2025 order “paus[ing] all new obligations of funding . . . for foreign assistance programs funded by or through . . . USAID.” Dep’t of State, Memo. 25 STATE 6828. The Court finds that a TRO is warranted as to the first two actions [immediate administrative leave and short notice of overseas evacuation and return to the US] but not the third [freeze on funding new programs].
- Dep’t of State, Memo
- Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024, which requires the State Department and USAID to consult with Congress before, among other things, “reorganiz[ing]” or “redesign[ing]” USAID, including by “downsiz[ing]” it. Pub. L. 118-47 §§ 7063(a), (b), 138 Stat. 460 (2024).
- But at the TRO hearing, it became clear that plaintiffs’ allegations of irreparable injury flow principally from three government actions: (1) the placement of USAID employees on administrative leave; (2) the expedited evacuation of USAID employees from their host countries; and (3) Secretary Rubio’s January 24, 2025 order “paus[ing] all new obligations of funding . . . for foreign assistance programs funded by or through . . . USAID.” Dep’t of State, Memo. 25 STATE 6828. The Court finds that a TRO is warranted as to the first two actions [immediate administrative leave and short notice of overseas evacuation and return to the US] but not the third [freeze on funding new programs].
- “This action seeks declaratory and injunctive relief with respect to a series of unconstitutional and illegal actions taken by President Donald Trump and his administration that have systematically dismantled the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). These actions have generated a global humanitarian crisis by abruptly halting the crucial work of USAID employees, grantees, and contractors. They have cost thousands of American jobs. And they have imperiled U.S. national security interests.”
- U.S. Congress. “ArtII.1 Overview of Article II, Executive Branch.” The Constitution Annotated. https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artII-1/ALDE_00000243/ ↩︎
- https://x.com/JDVance/status/1888607143030391287 ↩︎