Executive Order 11623 Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)
Executive Order 11623—Delegating to the Director of Selective Service Authority to Issue Rules and Regulations Under the Military Selective Service Act
Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.
This executive order, signed by President Richard Nixon on 1971-10-12, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Delegating to the Director of Selective Service Authority to Issue Rules and Regulations Under the Military Selective Service Act." 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
▪By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and statutes of the United States, including the Military Selective Service Act, as amended (50 U.S.
▪Regulations heretofore issued by the President to carry out such provisions shall continue in effect until amended or revoked by the Director pursuant to the authority conferred by this Order.
▪The Director may (not less than 30 days after publication in the Federal Register) issue such rule or regulation as published unless, within 10 days after being furnished with the proposed rule or regulation as published, any such official shall notify the Director that he disagrees therewith and requests that the matter be referred to the President for decision.
▪Such rule or regulation shall be effective upon such publication in the Federal Register or on such later date as may be specified therein.
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments
🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
🏛️ Public Health & Medical Institutions
Total Words
536
3,207 characters
Estimated Read Time
3 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
20.3
Post-Grad reading level
Constitutional Polarity
+0.02
Framers' Alignment index
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Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 11623, Richard Nixon (Oct 12, 1971). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-11623-delegating-the-director-selective-service-authority-issue-rules-and.
Official Document Text
Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)
By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and statutes of the United States, including the Military Selective Service Act, as amended (50 U.S. Code App., sections 451 et seq., hereinafter referred to as the Act), and section 301 of title 3 of the United States Code, it is hereby ordered as follows: SECTION 1. The Director of Selective Service (hereinafter referred to as the Director) is authorized to prescribe the necessary rules and regulations to carry out the provisions of the Act. Regulations heretofore issued by the President to carry out such provisions shall continue in effect until amended or revoked by the Director pursuant to the authority conferred by this Order. SEC. 2. (a) In carrying out the provisions of this Order, the Director shall cause any rule or regulation which he proposes to issue hereunder to be published in the Federal Register as required by section 13 (b) of the Act. Prior to such publication, the Director shall request the views of the Secretary of Defense, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, the Secretary of Transportation (when the Coast Guard is serving under the Department of Transportation), the Director of the Office of Emergency Preparedness, and the Chairman of the National Selective Service Appeal Board with regard to such proposed rule or regulation, and shall allow not less than 10 days for the submission of such views before publication of the proposed rule or regulation. (b) Any proposed rule or regulation as published by the Director shall be furnished to the officials required to be consulted pursuant to subsection (a). The Director may (not less than 30 days after publication in the Federal Register) issue such rule or regulation as published unless, within 10 days after being furnished with the proposed rule or regulation as published, any such official shall notify the Director that he disagrees therewith and requests that the matter be referred to the President for decision. (c) Any rule or regulation issued by the Director pursuant to this Order shall be published in the Federal Register with (1) a statement reciting compliance with the prepublication requirement of section 13 (b) of the Act, and (2) either (i) approval of such rule or regulation by the President, or (ii) a certification of the Director that he has requested the views of the officials required to be consulted pursuant to subsection (a) and that none of them has timely requested that the matter be referred to the President for decision. Such rule or regulation shall be effective upon such publication in the Federal Register or on such later date as may be specified therein. SEC. 3. Nothing in this Order shall be deemed to (i) authorize the exercise by the Director of the President's authority to waive the requirements of section 13(b) of the Act, or (ii) derogate from the authority of the President himself to waive the requirements of such section 13 (b), or (iii) derogate from the authority of the President himself to issue such rules or regulations as he may deem necessary to carry out the provisions of the Act. RICHARD NIXON The White House October 12, 1971