Executive Order 11601 Constitutional Friction / Overreach (-0.19)
Executive Order 11601—Amending Executive Order No. 11390, Providing for the Delegation of Certain Functions of the President to the Secretary of Defense
Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.
This executive order, signed by President Richard Nixon on 1971-06-29, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Amending Executive Order No. 11390, Providing for the Delegation of Certain Functions of the President to the Secretary of Defense." It is a direct, concise executive instruction delivering focused administrative or military commands to department leadership.
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
▪11390 of January 22, 1968, is amended by adding thereto the following: "(15) The authority vested in the President by section 6386(c) of title 10, United States Code, to suspend, during a war or national emergency, certain provisions of law relative to the mandatory retirement or separation of officers of the Navy and Marine Corps." RICHARD NIXON The White House June 29, 1971
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments
🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
Total Words
95
542 characters
Estimated Read Time
1 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
16.4
Post-Grad reading level
Constitutional Polarity
-0.19
Framers' Alignment index
📜
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 11601, Richard Nixon (Jun 29, 1971). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-11601-amending-executive-order-no-11390-providing-for-the-delegation.
Official Document Text
Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)
By virtue of the authority vested in me by section 301 of tide 3 of the United States Code, and as President of the United States, section 1 of Executive Order No. 11390 of January 22, 1968, is amended by adding thereto the following: "(15) The authority vested in the President by section 6386(c) of title 10, United States Code, to suspend, during a war or national emergency, certain provisions of law relative to the mandatory retirement or separation of officers of the Navy and Marine Corps." RICHARD NIXON The White House June 29, 1971
