Under and by virtue of the authority vested in me by section 301 of title 3 of the United States Code and as President of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows: SECTION 1. The Office of Consumer Affairs, established by Executive Order No. 11583 of February 24, 1971, as amended by Executive Order No. 11595 of May 26, 1971, together with its functions, is hereby transferred from the Executive Office of the President to the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. The Director of the Office of Consumer Affairs shall continue as the Special Assistant to the President for Consumer Affairs. SEC. 2. In view of the establishment of the Council on Economic Policy, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Policy, together with its functions, is hereby abolished and Executive Order No. 11453 of January 24, 1969, is hereby revoked. RICHARD NIXON The White House, January 25, 1973.
Executive Order 11702 ⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
Executive Order 11702—Relative to the Executive Office of the President
Executive Brief • At a Glance
⏱️ 1 min read (152 words) •
● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate
The Office of Consumer Affairs, established by Executive Order No. 11583 of February 24, 1971, as amended by Executive Order No. 11595 of May 26, 1971, together with its functions, is hereby transferred from the Executive Office of the President to the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight
Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants Public Health & Medical Institutions
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 January 25, 1973, this order concerns Relative to the Executive Office of the President. The Office of Consumer Affairs, established by Executive Order No. 11583 of February 24, 1971, as amended by Executive Order No. 11595 of May 26, 1971, together with its functions, is hereby transferred from the Executive Office of the President to the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.
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 Office of Consumer Affairs, established by Executive Order No. 11583 of February 24, 1971, as amended by Executive Order No. 11595 of May 26, 1971, together with its functions, is hereby transferred from the Executive Office of the President to the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.
▪
The Director of the Office of Consumer Affairs shall continue as the Special Assistant to the President for Consumer Affairs.
▪
In view of the establishment of the Council on Economic Policy, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Policy, together with its functions, is hereby abolished and Executive Order No. 11453 of January 24, 1969, is hereby revoked.
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
🏛️ Public Health & Medical Institutions
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
35 / 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
Moderate Friction
Executive Scope & Faithfulness
Directs internal executive branch machinery, agency workflows, and federal personnel.
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
152
902 characters
Estimated Read Time
1 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
12.2
High School
Text size:
Related Executive Orders
3 orders cited directly in this text, plus related actions from this administration.
EO 11583 Feb 24, 1971
🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority) Fidelity (+0.33)
Executive Order 11583—Office of Consumer Affairs
📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution
Consumer protection fosters a market place in which our competitive economic system flourishes best. It is good for businessmen because it gives the consumer greater confidence in the goods and services provided by business.
Richard Nixon Post-Graduate Legal • 8m
EO 11595 May 26, 1971
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 11595—Amending Executive Order 11583, Establishing the Office of Consumer Affairs
📜 5th Amend: Regulatory Execution with Due Process
Executive Order No. 11583 of February 24, 1971, is amended by substituting for section 1 thereof the following: "SECTION 1. Office of Consumer Affairs.
Richard Nixon High School • 1m
EO 11453 Jan 24, 1969
🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority) Fidelity (+0.33)
Executive Order 11453—Establishing the Cabinet Committee on Economic Policy
📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution
Establishment of the Committee. (a) There is hereby established the Cabinet Committee on Economic Policy (hereinafter referred to as "the Committee"). (b) The President shall preside over meetings of the Committee. The Vice President shall preside in the absence of the President.
Richard Nixon Post-Graduate Legal • 2m
EO 11701 Jan 24, 1973
🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 11701—Employment of Veterans by Federal Agencies and Government Contractors and Subcontractors
📜 10th Amend: Intergovernmental Federalism Cooperation
The Secretary of Labor shall issue rules and regulations requiring each department and agency of the executive branch of the Federal Government to list suitable employment openings with the appropriate office of the State Employment Service or the United States Employment…
Richard Nixon Post-Graduate Legal • 2m
EO 11700 Jan 23, 1973
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 11700—Providing for the Closing of Government Departments and Agencies on Thursday, January 25, 1973
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
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.
Richard Nixon College Level • 1m
EO 11699 Jan 22, 1973
🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 11699—Amending Executive Order No. 11248, Placing Certain Positions in Levels IV and V of the Federal Executive Salary
📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution
Of Executive Order No. 11248 of October 10, 1965, as amended, placing certain positions in level IV of the Federal Executive Salary Schedule, is further amended by deleting "(1) Special Assistant to the Secretary (Congressional Relations), Treasury Department.", and inserting…
Richard Nixon College Level • 1m
📜
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 11,702 (Jan. 25, 1973), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-11702-relative-the-executive-office-the-president.
