By virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States, it is hereby ordered as follows: SECTION 1. Interdepartmental Highway Safety Board. (a) The Interdepartmental Highway Safety Board is terminated. (b) Executive Order No. 10898 of December 2, 1960, and Executive Order No. 10986 of January 12, 1962, are revoked. (c) Executive Order No. 11382 of November 28, 1967, is amended by deleting section 8. SEC. 2. Interagency Committee on International Athletics. The Interagency Committee on International Athletics is terminated and Executive Order No. 11117 of August 13, 1963, is revoked. SEC. 3. President's Committee on Manpower. The President's Committee on Manpower is hereby terminated and Executive Order No. 11152 of April 15, 1964, is revoked. SEC. 4. Ohio River Bridge Tragedy. There is hereby terminated the task force established by the President by announcement made on December 19, 1967, in connection with the collapse of the Ohio River Bridge on Highway U.S. 35 connecting Gallipolis, Ohio, and Pt. Pleasant, West Virginia. SEC. 5. Medal of Freedom. Executive Order No. 9586 of July 6, 1945, as amended, is hereby further amended: (1) By substituting for subsection (b) of section 2 the following: "(b) The President may select for the award of the Medal any person recommended to the President for award of the Medal or any person selected by the President upon his own initiative." (2) By striking out all numbered sections of the order except sections 1 and 2. SEC. 6. Winding up of affairs. Such actions as may be necessary to wind up any outstanding affairs of the bodies terminated by this order shall be carried out by the Bureau of the Budget or by such other agencies as may be designated therefor by the Director of the Bureau of the Budget. RICHARD NIXON The White House March 13, 1970
Executive Order 11515 ⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
Executive Order 11515—Terminating Certain Bodies Established by the President
Executive Brief • At a Glance
⏱️ 2 min read (306 words) •
● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate
The Interdepartmental Highway Safety Board is terminated.
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight
Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Executive Branch Departments General Body of the People
Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis
Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.
Signed by President Richard Nixon on March 13, 1970, this order concerns Terminating Certain Bodies Established by the President. Interdepartmental Highway Safety Board. (a) The Interdepartmental Highway Safety Board is terminated. (b) Executive Order No. 10898 of December 2, 1960, and Executive Order No. 10986 of January 12, 1962, are revoked. (c) Executive Order No. 11382 of November 28, 1967, is amended by deleting section 8. SEC. 2. Interagency Committee on International Athletics.
Constitutional Assessment: This action represents an orderly exercise of Article II administrative discretion, managing the internal machinery and personnel of the executive branch without abridging the ancient liberties of the people.
Key Directives & Operative Actions
▪
The Interdepartmental Highway Safety Board is terminated.
▪
Executive Order No. 10898 of December 2, 1960, and Executive Order No. 10986 of January 12, 1962, are revoked.
▪
Executive Order No. 11382 of November 28, 1967, is amended by deleting section 8.
▪
The Interagency Committee on International Athletics is terminated and Executive Order No. 11117 of August 13, 1963, is revoked.
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
🏛️ Executive Branch Departments
🏛️ General Body of the People
Policy Areas & Topics
🏛️
The Framers' Constitutional Council
1787 PrismEvaluating this order against the constitutional debates of 1787 and the limits of Article II executive power.
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight)
§
"When the President acts in absence of either a congressional grant or denial of authority, he can only rely upon his own independent powers, but there is a zone of twilight in which he and Congress may have concurrent authority."
— Justice Robert H. Jackson, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952) Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
JM
James Madison
Separation of Powers & Legislative Primacy
"Power is of an encroaching nature, and it ought to be effectually restrained from passing the limits assigned to it." — Federalist No. 48 (1788)
Madison would view this order with watchful scrutiny. Operating in the 'Zone of Twilight' where Congress is silent, each such directive establishes an administrative precedent that steadily expands the executive perimeter at the expense of legislative primacy.
Madisonian Stance: Vigilant / Cautionary
AH
Alexander Hamilton
The Energetic Executive & Unified Command
"A feeble Executive implies a feeble execution of the government; and a government ill executed, whatever it may be in theory, must be, in practice, a bad government." — Federalist No. 70 (1788)
Hamilton would view this directive as the natural and indispensable functioning of administrative leadership. Without the power to coordinate agencies, manage personnel, and resolve operational ambiguities, the modern presidency would be reduced to an impotent figurehead.
Hamiltonian Stance: Defends Vigor & Dispatch
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
📐
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
30 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8
Low Friction
Legislative Encroachment & Purse
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
Low Friction
Executive Scope & Faithfulness
Exercises standard supervisory executive authority to faithfully execute existing statutes.
Benchmark: Faithfully execute laws enacted by Congress vs. unilateral decree.
Dimension 3 • 10th Amendment
Moderate Friction
Federalism & State Sovereignty
Engages state and local partners in cooperative federalism programs.
Benchmark: Police powers and un-delegated responsibilities reserved to the States.
Dimension 4 • 5th & 14th Amendments
Low Friction
Due Process & Individual Rights
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
Moderate Friction
Youngstown Jacksonian Tier
The order relies on inherent Article II executive discretion, civil service management, or foreign diplomacy where Congress has neither expressly approved nor prohibited action.
Benchmark: Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
⚖️
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%).
ℹ️
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
306
1,831 characters
Estimated Read Time
2 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
9.7
High School
Text size:
Related Executive Orders
6 orders cited directly in this text, plus related actions from this administration.
EO 10898 Dec 2, 1960
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 10898—Establishing the Interdepartmental Highway Safety Board
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
For the purpose of providing Federal leadership and guidance of existing and future official activities that affect the safety of travel on public streets and highways and to establish a coordinated traffic safety program, for Federal agencies, there is hereby established the…
Dwight D. Eisenhower College Level • 3m
EO 10986 Jan 12, 1962
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 10986—Amendment of Executive Order No. 10898, Establishing the Interdepartmental Highway Safety Board
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
Executive Order No. 10898 of December 2, 1960, entitled "Establishing the Interdepartmental Highway Safety Board," be, and it is hereby, amended by substituting for subsection (b) of section 1 thereof the following: (1) The Secretary of Commerce, who shall be the Chairman of…
John F. Kennedy High School • 1m
EO 11382 Nov 28, 1967
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 11382—Amendment of Executive Orders Relating to Functions of the Department of Transportation
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
Classified information. (a) Executive Order No. 10501 of November 5, 1953, as amended, is further amended by— (1) inserting "Department of Transportation" in the list of departments and agencies in subsection (a) of section 2 thereof after "Department of Labor" and (2) deleting…
Lyndon B. Johnson College Level • 9m
EO 11117 Aug 13, 1963
🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 11117—Establishing an Interagency Committee on International Athletics
📜 10th Amend: Intergovernmental Federalism Cooperation
. There is hereby established the Interagency Committee on International Athletics. The Committee shall collect, exchange, and review information concerning amateur athletic matters that might tend to affect the foreign relations or general welfare of the United States.
John F. Kennedy Post-Graduate Legal • 3m
EO 11152 Apr 15, 1964
🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority) Fidelity (+0.33)
Executive Order 11152—Establishing the President's Committee on Manpower
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
There is hereby established a President's Committee on Manpower (hereinafter referred to as the "Committee"). (b) The Committee shall be composed of the Secretary of Labor, who shall be the Chairman, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of…
Lyndon B. Johnson Post-Graduate Legal • 4m
EO 9586 Jul 6, 1945
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 9586—The Medal of Freedom
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
There is hereby established a medal to be known as the Medal of Freedom with accompanying ribbons and appurtenances for award to any person, not hereinafter specifically excluded, who, on or after December 7, 1941, has performed a meritorious act or service which has aided the…
Harry S Truman Post-Graduate Legal • 2m
📜
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 11,515 (Mar. 13, 1970), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-11515-terminating-certain-bodies-established-the-president.
