Trump Executive Order Wipes Out 90 Years of Practice and Permanently Changes the Executive Branch

President Trump signed an executive order Tuesday affirmatively pulled all the "independent" boards, commissions, and agencies that have proliferated since the Roosevelt administration under the management of the White House. The order, titled Ensuring Accountability for All Agencies – The White House, states, "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 people’s elected President."

In an informational document about the executive order, shared with The Washington Post, White House officials referred to “so called independent agencies,” citing the FTC, FCC and SEC as examples of agencies over which Trump is seeking to exert more control. A White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the objectives of the new executive order, said it aims to rein in “rogue agencies.”

“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,” White House officials wrote in the document. “They also spend American tax dollars and set priorities without consulting the President, while setting their own performance standards.”

 The new order has several points. First, it does not apply to the Federal Reserve. I think Trump's strategists believe that having the White House take control of the Fed might be a bridge too far.

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 formerly independent agencies must clear all regulations through OMB.

Moreover, 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 in the Federal Register. 

The White House will have a rep in every agency, "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. "

The White House, not agencies, will provide interpretation of the law. This, in particular, is going to stop agencies like the EPA from using their interpretation of the law to increase their regulatory power.

The President and the Attorney General, subject to the President’s supervision and control, shall provide authoritative interpretations of law for the executive branch.  The President and the Attorney General’s opinions on questions of law are controlling on all employees in the conduct of their official duties.  No employee of the executive branch acting in their official capacity may advance an interpretation of the law as the position of the United States that contravenes the President or the Attorney General’s opinion on a matter of law, including but not limited to the issuance of regulations, guidance, and positions advanced in litigation, unless authorized to do so by the President or in writing by the Attorney General. 

There are several legal fights underway as this over-arching order is issued. The White House is seeking to invalidate federal statutes that limit the ability of the president to fire any appointed officer for any reason: see Judge Orders Biden Appointee Fired by Trump Reinstated to Office – RedState and  Trump Sends Scorching Appeal of DC Court Order Reinstating Biden Appointee to the Supreme Court – RedState.

If this order sticks, Trump has permanently and fundamentally changed the Executive Branch as it has existed since 1935 in less than a month.