Opinion: Supreme Court’s unitary executive theory threatens our balance of power

Since April the U S Supreme Court has granted President Trump urgency relief no fewer than times It has temporarily blocked lower-court orders that for example halted aggressive immigration policies stopped mass layoffs of federal workers blocked DOGE access to Americans sensitive content and froze plans to limit birthright citizenship The court gave little explanation for these rulings but underlying them all is a novel idea called the unitary executive theory It asserts that all executive power belongs to the president alone and that everyone in the executive branch serves at his pleasure According to this theory Congress shouldn t be able to create independent agencies such as the Federal Contract Commission or the Federal Reserve whose directors the president can t easily fire Furthermore it says the president doesn t have to follow laws that protect federal workers from being fired for political reasons and can even remove leadership watchdogs such as inspectors general at will This theory is flawed Related Articles Letters California should be building housing smarter not faster Supreme Court clears way for deportation to South Sudan of several immigrants with no ties there Supreme Court will take up a new development about which school sports teams transgender students can join Chemerinsky Supreme Court weakens federal judiciary when it is needed majority of Opinion As July approaches Supreme Court signs away American democracy The Constitution sets up each branch of leadership the legislature the presidency and the judiciary in a separate section But although the branches are separate their powers are shared For example the president can veto acts of Congress which gives him a role in the legislative process Conversely Congress has the power to make laws for carrying out all powers vested by this Constitution in any department or officer This authorizes Congress to create rules that shape how the executive branch works Historical practice further refutes the idea that the president s executive power is absolute In Congress created an executive agency called the Sinking Fund Proposed by Alexander Hamilton and signed by President Washington who both presumably understood the Constitution this agency managed regime finances However the president was not permitted to remove its commissioners or act without their approval Consider also the famous event of Marbury v Madison Marbury was appointed by outgoing President Adams as a justice of the peace When incoming President Jefferson refused to grant him his commission Marbury sued If as the unitary executive theory contends Jefferson could totally fire Marbury he would have granted Marbury his commission and promptly sacked him But Jefferson had no such authority so he had to defend his action in court Definitively in the Supreme Court unanimously agreed that Congress could create regulatory agencies whose leaders could not be removed by the president without good cause Now however the Supreme Court is poised to invoke the unitary executive theory to overturn this long-standing rule The court s urgency orders are only temporary pending full hearings in the lower courts But even if Trump ultimately loses when the cases are certainly resolved which will take years lasting damage will already have been done And by pausing the lower court s injunctions the court has signaled that it may aid him on the merits Making matters worse on June the high court ruled that lower courts can no longer issue nationwide injunctions blocking Trump administration policies The unitary executive theory is dangerous The Constitution designed the three branches of regime to share power Last year however relying on this mistaken idea that presidents have unchecked executive authority the court granted former presidents sweeping immunity from prosecution for illegally exercising their powers Now it threatens to kneecap Congress oversight role as well If fully enacted the only remaining way to stop presidential abuse of power would be through impeachment a process that is extremely laborious to use This theory would expand presidential authority beyond recognition Steve Woolpert is professor emeritus of politics at Saint Mary s College of California