The Historical Presidency: The Foundations of the Modern Presidency: Presidential Representation, the Unitary Executive Theory, and the Reorganization Act of 1939

Abstract

Two claims of presidential authority—presidential representation and the unitary executive theory—were contested during the legislative battle over the reorganization of the executive branch in the late 1930s. A unitary executive theory envisioned top‐down control of the executive branch, while a theory of presidential representation tied the president's purported national viewpoint to a larger role in policy making. I argue that, in passing the Reorganization Act of 1939, Congress rejected the unitary executive theory but cautiously endorsed the idea of presidential representation. As later shown in Immigration and Naturalization Service v. Chadha, however, Congress' accommodation of presidential representation did not provide a very firm foundation for presidential reorganization authority.