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In the United States, a presidential directive, or executive action, is a written or oral instruction or declaration issued by the
president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...
, which may draw upon the powers vested in the president by the
Constitution of the United States The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...
,
statutory law A statute is a law or formal written enactment of a legislature. Statutes typically declare, command or prohibit something. Statutes are distinguished from court law and unwritten law (also known as common law) in that they are the expressed wi ...
, or, in certain cases,
congressional A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ad ...
and
judicial The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...
acquiescence. Such directives, which have been issued since the earliest days of the
federal government A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...
, have become known by various names, and some have prescribed forms and purposes. Presidential directives remain in effect until they are revoked, which the president is free to do. The classification of presidential directives is not easily done, as the distinction between the types can be quite arbitrary, arising from convenience and bureaucratic evolution, and none are defined in the Constitution. The different types may overlap. As one legal scholar put it, "it is a bit misleading to overclassify presidential directives as comprising separate and distinct 'types' just because they have different headings at the top of the first page." In terms of legal applicability, what matters is the substance of the directive, not the form, unless a certain kind of directive is specifically required by relevant statute.


Checks and balances

Presidential directives may be challenged in court or through congressional action. Congress may revoke or modify a presidential directive, directly or indirectly, but only insofar as the directive is based on congressional legislation. Direct repeal by Congress is quite rare in modern times, because it may be necessary to override a presidential
veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president (government title), president or monarch vetoes a bill (law), bill to stop it from becoming statutory law, law. In many countries, veto powe ...
, which requires an elusive two-thirds
supermajority A supermajority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level of support which is greater than the threshold of one-half used for a simple majority. Supermajority rules in a democracy can help to prevent a majority from eroding fun ...
in both chambers.


Executive order and presidential proclamations

Two of the oldest and best-known directives are the
executive order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of the ...
and the
presidential proclamation In the United States, a presidential proclamation is a statement issued by the president of the United States on an issue of public policy. It is a type of presidential directive. Details A presidential proclamation is an instrument that: *s ...
. In 1907, the
State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...
undertook to retroactively number executive orders and presidential proclamations. The denomination of "executive order" was largely due to the fact that the first executive order they chose to number (from 1862) was titled "Executive Order Establishing a Provisional Court in Louisiana". It was an imperfect exercise, however, and many directives were missed. The Federal Register Act of 1935 required both executive orders and proclamations to be published in the ''
Federal Register The ''Federal Register'' (FR or sometimes Fed. Reg.) is the government gazette, official journal of the federal government of the United States that contains government agency rules, proposed rules, and public notices. It is published every wee ...
'', with few exceptions. The proper form and routing of executive orders and presidential proclamations has been governed since 1962 by 11030, as amended. The first presidential proclamation appeared in October 1789 declaring a day of
thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in October and November in the United States, Canada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Germany. It is also observed in the Australian territory ...
at the request of Congress. The use of executive orders also stretches back at least to 1789.


Administrative order

The first directive called an administrative order appeared in 1940. Subsequent directives denominated as administrative orders have taken a variety of forms, and have sometimes overlapped with other kinds of presidential directives. A researcher for the
Congressional Research Service The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is a public policy research institute of the United States Congress. Operating within the Library of Congress, it works primarily and directly for members of Congress and their committees and staff on a ...
in 2008 found that in "general, indications are that, during at least the past 40 years, presidential directives published in the ''Federal Register'' in forms other than those of executive orders, or proclamations, have been denominated as administrative orders when reproduced in ''CFR'' Title3 compilations." These forms included: "delegations of authority, determinations, directives, findings, letters,
memoranda A memorandum (: memorandums or memoranda; from the Latin ''memorandum'', "(that) which is to be remembered"), also known as a briefing note, is a Writing, written message that is typically used in a professional setting. Commonly abbreviation, ...
, and orders". A research guide by the
National Archives National archives are the archives of a country. The concept evolved in various nations at the dawn of modernity based on the impact of nationalism upon bureaucratic processes of paperwork retention. Conceptual development From the Middle Ages i ...
defined administrative orders as "unnumbered signed documents through which the President of the United States conducts the administrative operations of the Federal Government" which "include but are not limited to memoranda, notices, determinations, letters, and messages".


National security directive

Directives commonly known as national security directives have been issued within the
National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a n ...
by every president since Truman in various forms, involving foreign, military and domestic policies. Generally, such directives are highly classified, are not required to be published in the ''Federal Register'', and are available to the public only after "a great many years" have elapsed. Unlike executive orders, national security directives are usually directed only to the National Security Council and the most senior executive branch officials, and embody foreign and military policy-making guidance rather than specific instructions.


Homeland Security Presidential Directive

Homeland Security Presidential Directives (HSPDs) appeared soon after the September 11 attacks, and are sometimes issued concurrently as a .


Selected list of HSPDs

*The first such directive created the
Homeland Security Council The Homeland Security Council (HSC) is an entity within the Executive Office of the President of the United States tasked with advising the president on matters relevant to Homeland Security. The current homeland security advisor is Stephen Mi ...
. *The second changed
immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as Permanent residency, permanent residents. Commuting, Commuter ...
policies to combat
terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...
. * HSPD5 directed the
Secretary of Homeland Security The United States secretary of homeland security is the head of the United States Department of Homeland Security, the federal department tasked with ensuring public safety in the United States. The secretary is a member of the Cabinet of the U ...
to develop and run nationally coordinated emergency incident management systems. * HSPD-7 defines policy for protecting certain key infrastructure; the National Infrastructure Protection Plan was developed to implement the policy. * HSPD-8 directed Federal agencies to prepare in certain ways for emergencies. * HSPD-9 established policy to protect against attacks on food and agriculture. * HSPD-12 assigned responsibility for setting standards for the identification to be shown by persons entering federal government buildings. The technical standard FIPS 201 was developed to satisfy this requirement. *HSPD-13 established a Maritime Security Policy Coordinating Committee from across federal government agencies. *HSPD-14 established a Domestic Nuclear Detection Office to coordinate efforts to protect the domestic U.S. against dangers from nuclear or radiological materials. * HSPD-20 makes definitions and procedures for continuing the federal government after a catastrophic emergency. Federal agencies developed Continuity of Operations Plans in response to this directive. *HSPD-21, issued October 18, 2007, called for public and private healthcare organizations, hospitals, and healthcare facilities to form " disaster healthcare" system. * HSPD-23 defines cybersecurity objectives. It was secret at first. The
National Cybersecurity Center The National Cybersecurity Center (NCC) is a 501(c)(3) organization, 501(c)(3) Nonprofit organization, nonprofit organization founded in early 2016 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The creation of the NCC was initially conceived by Governor of C ...
began in response to this directive.


Presidential finding

Presidential findings are required by statute to be written and signed before covert activities are undertaken, and they must be reported to Congress as soon as possible, before the covert action in question has been initiated. The finding must also be submitted to certain congressional committees. Presidential findings, given their sensitive nature, are
classified Classified may refer to: General *Classified information, material that a government body deems to be sensitive *Classified advertising or "classifieds" Music *Classified (rapper) (born 1977), Canadian rapper * The Classified, a 1980s American ro ...
upon issuance.


Presidential announcement

Presidents often make oral announcements which can be classified as presidential directives, such as
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...
's inauguration of the National Performance Review on 3March 1993. Although they are not included in the ''Federal Register'', they are often recorded in the ''Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents''.


Other directives

*''Presidential reorganization plans''. First permitted by statute in 1939, these directives were used to reorganize the executive branch. *''Designations of officials''. First appearing in 1941, these are used to designate individuals to hold specified official positions, and have also been used to delegate presidential authority. *''Letters on tariffs and international trade''. These directives have appeared in the ''Federal Register'' from its first publication in 1936 to 1979. All but the last were addressed to the
secretary of the treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...
. *''Military orders''. Twelve military orders were issued between 1939 and 1948. No such directives were published in the ''Federal Register'' until 2001, when
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
issued a controversial military order on the detention, treatment, and trial by military tribunals of noncitizens alleged to be terrorists. Hosted by FAS.org. *''Presidential certificates''. Only one such instrument under that designation, from 1940, has appeared in the ''Federal Register'', although there is evidence that similar certificates had been issued earlier. *''Regulations''. Nine directives so designated were published in the ''Federal Register'' between 1939 and 1945, and most of them cited explicit statutory authority for their issuance. *''Presidential general licenses''. Only one such directive has been published in the ''Federal Register''. Issued shortly after the
attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...
in 1941, it permitted certain transactions which would otherwise be prohibited by the
Trading with the Enemy Act Trading with the Enemy Act is a stock short title used for legislation in the United Kingdom and the United States relating to trading with the enemy. ''Trading with the Enemy Acts'' is also a generic name for a class of legislation generally pas ...
. *''Presidential interpretations''. Two presidential interpretations appeared in the ''Federal Register'' in 1942–1943, although they were not actually presidential directives, but rather interpretations of earlier ones.


See also

*
Executive order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of the ...
* Presidential finding *
Presidential proclamation In the United States, a presidential proclamation is a statement issued by the president of the United States on an issue of public policy. It is a type of presidential directive. Details A presidential proclamation is an instrument that: *s ...
*
National security directive National security directives are presidential directives issued for the National Security Council (NSC). Starting with Harry Truman, every president since the founding of the National Security Council in 1947 has issued national security directi ...
* Presidential determination *
Presidential memorandum A presidential memorandum (from Latin ''memorare'', 'to remember') is a type of directive issued by the president of the United States to manage and govern the actions, practices, and policies of the various departments and agencies found under ...
* Presidential Emergency Action Documents


Notes


References


Sources

* * * * * * * *


Further reading

* * *{{cite book, last1=Mayer, first1=Kenneth R., title=With the Stroke of a Pen: Executive Orders and Presidential Power, date=2002, publisher=Princeton University Press, isbn=978-0691094991, edition=New Executive branch of the government of the United States United States presidential directives