How a legal theory from the 1980s shapes presidential power today - CSMonitor.com
csmonitor.com
A Reagan-era legal theory is now the backbone of modern presidential power grabs — and understanding it explains why today's White House fights look nothing like those of the past.
Unitary Executive TheorySeparation of PowersConstitutional OriginalismPrincipal-Agent Problem
Theory Briefing
- The Unitary Executive Theory, born in the 1980s, holds that the Constitution grants presidents total control over the entire executive branch.
- Reagan-era lawyers developed the theory to push back against congressional limits on executive agencies, and it has grown bolder ever since.
- Today's White House invokes this decades-old framework to justify firing officials, defying oversight, and centralizing power at an unprecedented scale.