Executive Order 10549 Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)
Executive Order 10549—Providing for the Placing of Positions in the Department of Defense in Grades 16, 17, and 18 of the General Schedule of the Classification Act of 1949
Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.
This executive order, signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on 1954-08-02, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Providing for the Placing of Positions in the Department of Defense in Grades 16, 17, and 18 of the General Schedule of the Classification Act of 1949." It outlines operative directives for executive department officers, delegating enforcement responsibilities and establishing official governance guidelines.
Constitutional Assessment: Scrutinized through Article II, Section 2, this action exercises the President's constitutional role as Commander in Chief. Early Framers recognized broad executive discretion in commanding military forces during conflict, provided it remains bounded by congressional declarations and respects civilian domestic courts.
Key Directives & Operative Actions
▪713, and as President of the United States, it is ordered as follows: SECTION 1.
▪There is hereby delegated to the Secretary of Defense the authority vested in the President by section 806 of the Supplemental Appropriation Act, 1954, 67 Stat.
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments
🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners
Total Words
266
1,557 characters
Estimated Read Time
1 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
18.7
Post-Grad reading level
Constitutional Polarity
+0.02
Framers' Alignment index
📜
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 10549, Dwight D. Eisenhower (Aug 2, 1954). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-10549-providing-for-the-placing-positions-the-department-defense-grades-16.
Official Document Text
Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)
By virtue of the authority vested in me by section 301 of title 3 of the United States Code, 65 Stat. 713, and as President of the United States, it is ordered as follows: SECTION 1. There is hereby delegated to the Secretary of Defense the authority vested in the President by section 806 of the Supplemental Appropriation Act, 1954, 67 Stat. 429, and section 737 of the Department of Defense Appropriation Act, 1955, approved June 30, 1954 (Public Law 458, 83d Congress), to authorize positions in the Department of Defense to be placed temporarily in grades 16, 17, and 18 of the General Schedule of the Classification Act of 1949. SEC. 2. The placing of positions in the said grades 16, 17, and 18 pursuant to the delegation made by section 1 of this order shall not require the approval, ratification, or other action of the President; but no position shall be placed in grade 16 or grade 17 pursuant to such authority without the prior approval of the Civil Service Commission, and no position shall be placed in, or removed from, grade 18 pursuant to such authority without the prior recommendation of the Civil Service Commission and approval of the Chairman of the Civil Service Commission. SEC. 3. This order supersedes the letter of the President to the Secretary of Defense of September 4, 1953, authorizing the Secretary, under section 806 of the Supplemental Appropriation Act, 1954, to place temporarily in the said grades 16, 17, and 18 additional positions in the Department of Defense. DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER THE WHITE HOUSE, August 2, 1954.
