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Executive Orders Historical Archive
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Executive Order 10590 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Fidelity (+0.29) 📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority

Executive Order 10590—Establishing the President's Committee on Government Employment Policy

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight D. Eisenhower
•
Tuesday, January 18, 1955
•
5 min read (1,022 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 5 min read (1,022 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

There is hereby established the President's Committee on Government Employment Policy (hereinafter referred to as the Committee).

View all 4 directives ↓
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
Framers' constitutional debate ↓
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Armed Forces & Military Establishments Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants Private Citizens & Property Owners
Inspect unabridged text ↓

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.

Signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on January 18, 1955, this order concerns Establishing the President's Committee on Government Employment Policy. There is hereby established the President's Committee on Government Employment Policy (hereinafter referred to as the Committee). The Committee shall be composed of five members, as follows: (a) One representative of the Civil Service Commission, to be designated by the Chairman thereof, (b) one representative of the Department of Labor to be designated by the Secretary of Labor, (c) one representative of the…

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

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There is hereby established the President's Committee on Government Employment Policy (hereinafter referred to as the Committee).

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The Committee shall be composed of five members, as follows: (a) One representative of the Civil Service Commission, to be designated by the Chairman thereof, (b) one representative of the Department of Labor to be designated by the Secretary of Labor, (c) one representative of the Office of Defense Mobilization, to be designated by the Director thereof, and (d) two public members to be appointed by the President.

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Not more than two alternate public members may be appointed by the President as he may deem necessary.

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Three members of the Committee shall constitute a quorum, provided that at least one public member or alternate public member is present.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners

Policy Areas & Topics

🏷️ Labor & Employment 🏷️ Government Operations & Civil Service 🏷️ Civil Rights & Liberties
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The Framers' Constitutional Council

1787 Prism

Evaluating this order against the constitutional debates of 1787 and the limits of Article II executive power.

🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority)
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"When the President acts pursuant to an express or implied authorization of Congress, his authority is at its maximum, for it includes all that he possesses in his own right plus all that Congress can delegate."

— Justice Robert H. Jackson, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952) Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
JM

James Madison

Separation of Powers & Legislative Primacy

"The constitutional magistracy was designed not to invent policy, but to be the faithful instrument of the laws passed by the people's representatives." — Speech in the First Congress (1789)

Madison would approve the structural posture of this order. The President acts strictly in subordination to statutory authority granted under Article II, Section 3 ("take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed"). The checks and balances hold firm because the policy origin remains with the legislature.

Madisonian Stance: Concurring (Statutory)
AH

Alexander Hamilton

The Energetic Executive & Unified Command

"The direction of war implies the direction of the common strength; and the power of directing and employing the common strength must be under the direction of the single hand of the Executive." — Federalist No. 74 (1788)

Hamilton would forcefully champion executive discretion here. For foreign entanglements, commerce defense, and national security, deliberative assemblies are too slow and faction-ridden. A unified, energetic Executive exercising swift command is precisely what the Philadelphia Convention intended for national preservation.

Hamiltonian Stance: Strong Prerogative Support
GM

George Mason

Bill of Rights, Due Process & 10th Amendment

"The president will be surrounded by flatterers and sycophants... and the great powers of the executive will gradually absorb the liberties of the people." — Cato IV (Anti-Federalist, 1787)

The Anti-Federalist prism advises continuous democratic vigilance. Even routine administrative directives aggregate centralized federal power away from town halls and state assemblies toward a distant executive apparatus.

Anti-Federalist Stance: Eternal Vigilance Required
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Five Measurable "Constitutional Friction" Dimensions

An objective audit measuring potential separation-of-powers tension against the United States Constitution and established Supreme Court doctrine.

⚖️ Discretionary Twilight Zone
35 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8

Legislative Encroachment & Purse

Low Friction

Operates within delegated statutory execution without modifying legislative appropriations or taxing powers.

Benchmark: Power of the purse, taxes/tariffs, and rule of law reserved to Congress.
Dimension 2 • Art. II, §1 & §3

Executive Scope & Faithfulness

Moderate Friction

Directs internal executive branch machinery, agency workflows, and federal personnel.

Benchmark: Faithfully execute laws enacted by Congress vs. unilateral decree.
Dimension 3 • 10th Amendment

Federalism & State Sovereignty

High Friction

Creates friction with the Tenth Amendment by conditioning state grants, mandating local compliance, or preempting state police powers.

Benchmark: Police powers and un-delegated responsibilities reserved to the States.
Dimension 4 • 5th & 14th Amendments

Due Process & Individual Rights

Low Friction

Focuses on internal governmental operations with no direct impairment of private rights or property.

Benchmark: Protection of private property, contracts, liberty, and procedural justice.
Dimension 5 • Separation of Powers

Youngstown Jacksonian Tier

Low Friction

The President operates strictly as the constitutional Chief Executive, carrying out policy established by Congress with strong statutory backing.

Benchmark: Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
⚖️ Audit Synthesis

This order operates within Justice Jackson’s Zone of Twilight, resting upon concurrent presidential authority or congressional silence.

Weighted composite: Art. I (25%), Art. II (25%), Federalism (15%), Due Process (15%), Youngstown (20%).
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How to read these dimensions: Executive power expands whenever an administration acts without explicit statutory authorization from Congress (Article I), touches upon police powers historically reserved to the states (Tenth Amendment), or limits private rights and property without judicial process. A low friction score indicates strict concordance with enacted law; a high friction score highlights orders testing the limits of presidential discretion.
Total Words
1,022
6,441 characters
Estimated Read Time
5 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
23.3
Post-Graduate Legal
Language Tone Score
+0.29
Constitutional Fidelity
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document

WHEREAS it is the policy of the United States Government that equal opportunity be afforded all qualified persons, consistent with law, for employment in the Federal Government; and WHEREAS this policy necessarily excludes and prohibits discrimination against any employee or applicant for employment in the Federal Government because of race, color, religion, or national origin; and WHEREAS it is essential to the effective application of this policy in all civilian personnel matters that all departments and agencies of the executive branch of the Government adhere to this policy in a fair, objective, and uniform manner:

NOW, THEREFORE, #now-therefore

by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and statutes, and as President of the United States, and consistent with the provisions of section 214 of the act of May 3, 1945, 59 Stat. 134 (31 U.S.C. 691), it is hereby ordered as follows: SECTION 1. There is hereby established the President's Committee on Government Employment Policy (hereinafter referred to as the Committee). The Committee shall be composed of five members, as follows: (a) One representative of the Civil Service Commission, to be designated by the Chairman thereof, (b) one representative of the Department of Labor to be designated by the Secretary of Labor, (c) one representative of the Office of Defense Mobilization, to be designated by the Director thereof, and (d) two public members to be appointed by the President. Not more than two alternate public members may be appointed by the President as he may deem necessary. Three members of the Committee shall constitute a quorum, provided that at least one public member or alternate public member is present. The President shall designate the Chairman and the Vice-Chairman of the Committee, and each member of the Committee shall serve at the pleasure of the President. SEC. 2. The Committee shall: (a) Advise the President periodically as to whether the civilian employment practices in the Federal Government are in conformity with the non-discriminatory employment policy recited in the preamble of this order, and, whenever deemed necessary or desirable, recommend methods of assuring uniformity in such practices; (b) At the request of the head of a department or agency, or the Employment Policy Officer thereof, consult with and advise them concerning non-discriminatory employment policies under this order and regulations of such department or agency relating to such policies; (c) Consult with and advise the Civil Service Commission with respect to civil-service regulations relating to nondiscriminatory practices under this order; (d) Review cases referred to it under the provisions of this order and render advisory opinions on the disposition of such cases to the heads of the departments or agencies concerned; (e) Make such inquiries and investigations as may be necessary to carry out its responsibilities under this section. SEC. 3. The head of each executive department and agency shall be responsible for the effectuation of the policy of this order with respect to all civilian personnel matters under his authority and shall: (a) Prescribe regulations for the administration of the employment policies under this order that will insure a complainant of an appeal to the proper authorities within his department or agency, a fair hearing, and a just disposition of his case. The regulations shall in all cases provide that subsequent to the recommendations of the Employment Policy Officer, as provided in section 6 (b) of this order, and prior to the final decision of the department or agency, and upon the written request of the complainant, the complainant's case shall be referred to the Committee for its review and an advisory opinion as provided under section 2 (d) of this order. (b) File with the Committee a copy of the regulations prescribed for his agency pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, and report to the Committee all instances in which complaints are made regarding the actions of the department under the policy of this order, together with a statement of the disposition made of the complaint. SEC. 4. The head of each executive department and agency, or his designated representative, may refer any case coming within the purview of this order to the Committee for review and an advisory opinion whenever he deems necessary. SEC. 5. The head of each executive department and agency shall designate an official of his department or agency as Employment Policy Officer, and shall designate such Deputy Employment Policy Officers as may be necessary to assist the Employment Policy Officer to effectively carry out the policy of this order. The position of Employment Policy Officer shall be established outside of the division handling the personnel matters of the department or agency concerned. Each Employment Policy Officer shall be under the immediate supervision of the head of his department or agency, and shall be given the authority necessary to enable him to carry out his responsibilities under this order. All officials and employees of each department and agency shall be advised of the name of its Employment Policy Officer. SEC. 6. Each Employment Policy Officer shall: (a) Advise the head of his department or agency with respect to the preparation of regulations, reports, and other matters pertaining to the policy of this order and the conformity therewith of the conduct of personnel matters in his department or agency; (b) Receive and investigate complaints of alleged discrimination in personnel matters within his department or agency and make recommendations to appropriate administrative officials for such corrective measures as he may deem necessary; (c) Appraise the personnel operations of the department or agency at regular intervals to assure their continuing conformity to the policy expressed in this order. SEC. 7. The Civil Service Commission shall in connection with its responsibilities under the law issue such regulations as may be necessary to implement the policy of this order. SEC. 8. This order supersedes Executive Order No. 9980 of July 26, 1948, and the Fair Employment Board established thereby in the Civil Service Commission is abolished. The records and property of the Fair Employment Board shall remain with the Civil Service Commission and shall be available for the use of the Committee. DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER

THE WHITE HOUSE, #signature

January 18, 1955.

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Referenced By Later Executive Orders (3)

Subsequent presidents who cited, amended, continued, or revoked this directive in later orders.

References Executive Order 10925—Establishing the President's Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity
John F. Kennedy • 1961-03-06
References Executive Order 10773—Delegating and Transferring Certain Functions and Affairs to the Office of Defense and Civilian Mobilization
Dwight D. Eisenhower • 1958-07-01
References Executive Order 10722—Amendment of Executive Order No. 10590, Establishing the President's Committee on Government Employment Policy
Dwight D. Eisenhower • 1957-08-05
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Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 10,590 (Jan. 18, 1955), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-10590-establishing-the-presidents-committee-government-employment-policy.