Executive Order 11700 Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)

Executive Order 11700—Providing for the Closing of Government Departments and Agencies on Thursday, January 25, 1973

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Tuesday, January 23, 1973

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1 min read (160 words)

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

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

This executive order, signed by President Richard Nixon on 1973-01-23, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Providing for the Closing of Government Departments and Agencies on Thursday, January 25, 1973." 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

▪ All executive departments, independent establishments, and other governmental agencies, including their field services, shall be closed on Thursday, January 25, 1973 as a mark of respect for Lyndon Baines Johnson, the thirty-sixth President of the United States.

▪ That day shall be considered as falling within the scope of 5 U.S.C.

▪ The first sentence of Section 1 of this order shall not apply to those offices and installations, or parts thereof, in the Department of State, the Department of Defense, or other departments, independent establishments, and governmental agencies which the heads thereof determine should remain open for reasons of national security or defense or other public reasons.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners

Total Words

160

993 characters

Estimated Read Time

1 min

@ 200 words / min

Flesch-Kincaid

14.6

Post-Grad reading level

Constitutional Polarity

+0.02

Framers' Alignment index

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 11700, Richard Nixon (Jan 23, 1973). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-11700-providing-for-the-closing-government-departments-and-agencies.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)

Original Source →

By virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States, it is hereby ordered as follows: SECTION 1. All executive departments, independent establishments, and other governmental agencies, including their field services, shall be closed on Thursday, January 25, 1973 as a mark of respect for Lyndon Baines Johnson, the thirty-sixth President of the United States. That day shall be considered as falling within the scope of 5 U.S.C. 6103 (b), and of all statutes so far as they relate to the compensation and leave of employees of the United States. SEC. 2. The first sentence of Section 1 of this order shall not apply to those offices and installations, or parts thereof, in the Department of State, the Department of Defense, or other departments, independent establishments, and governmental agencies which the heads thereof determine should remain open for reasons of national security or defense or other public reasons. RICHARD NIXON The White House, January 23, 1973.