Executive Order No. 11726 of June 29, 1973, established in the Executive Office of the President an Energy Policy Office. Executive Order No. 11748 of December 4, 1973, established in the Executive Office of the President a Federal Energy Office. In order to permit an orderly transition, the Energy Policy Office was continued in being on an interim basis. That transition has been successfully completed and the Energy Policy Office should now be abolished. Now, THEREFORE, by virtue of the authority vested in me as the President of the United States of America it is hereby ordered as follows: SECTION 1. The Energy Policy Office is hereby abolished and Executive Order No. 11726 of June 29, 1973, is hereby superseded. SEC. 2(a). Section 8 of Proclamation No. 3279, as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows: "Sec. 8. The Oil Policy Committee shall consist of the Administrator of the Federal Energy Office as Chairman, and the Secretaries of State, the Treasury, Defense, the Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, and Transportation, the Attorney General, the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. The President may, from time to time, designate other officials to serve as members of the Committee." (b) The Oil Policy Committee, as reconstituted by the amendment made by subsection (a) of this section, is hereby continued. (c) So much of the personnel, property, records, and unexpended balances of appropriations, allocations, and other funds employed, used, held, available, or to be made available in connection with the functions transferred by the amendment made by subsection (a) of this section from the Director of the Energy Policy Office, to the Administrator of the Federal Energy Office, as Chairman of the Oil Policy Committee, as the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall determine, in conformity with section 202 (I)) of the Budget and Accounting Act of 1950 (31 U.S.C. 581c(b)), shall be transferred at such time or times as he shall direct for use in connection with the functions transferred. (d) Executive Order No. 11743 of October 23, 1973, is hereby superseded. SEC. 3. The Administrator of General Services shall take such steps as may be necessary to wind up the affairs of the Energy Policy Office, and unobligated funds, if any, that may remain available to defray the expenses of that Office shall be returned to the Emergency Fund of the President. RICHARD NIXON The White House, March 26, 1974.
Executive Order 11775 ⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
Executive Order 11775—Abolishing the Energy Policy Office
Executive Brief • At a Glance
⏱️ 2 min read (410 words) •
● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate
The Energy Policy Office is hereby abolished and Executive Order No. 11726 of June 29, 1973, is hereby superseded.
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight
Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Armed Forces & Military Establishments Sovereign State Governments & Localities Financial Institutions & Monetary Authorities
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 26, 1974, this order concerns Abolishing the Energy Policy Office. The Energy Policy Office is hereby abolished and Executive Order No. 11726 of June 29, 1973, is hereby superseded. SEC. 2(a). Section 8 of Proclamation No. 3279, as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows: "Sec. 8.
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
▪
The Energy Policy Office is hereby abolished and Executive Order No. 11726 of June 29, 1973, is hereby superseded.
▪
Of Proclamation No. 3279, as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows: "Sec. 8.
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The Oil Policy Committee shall consist of the Administrator of the Federal Energy Office as Chairman, and the Secretaries of State, the Treasury, Defense, the Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, and Transportation, the Attorney General, the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
▪
The President may, from time to time, designate other officials to serve as members of the Committee." (b) The Oil Policy Committee, as reconstituted by the amendment made by subsection (a) of this section, is hereby continued.
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments
🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities
🏛️ Financial Institutions & Monetary Authorities
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
"The direction of war implies the direction of the common strength; and the power of directing and employing the common strength must be under the direction of the single hand of the Executive." — Federalist No. 74 (1788)
Hamilton would forcefully champion executive discretion here. For foreign entanglements, commerce defense, and national security, deliberative assemblies are too slow and faction-ridden. A unified, energetic Executive exercising swift command is precisely what the Philadelphia Convention intended for national preservation.
Hamiltonian Stance: Strong Prerogative Support
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
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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
53 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8
Moderate Friction
Legislative Encroachment & Purse
Administers commerce or fiscal programs requiring ongoing statutory delegation and legislative oversight.
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
High Friction
Federalism & State Sovereignty
Creates friction with the Tenth Amendment by conditioning state grants, mandating local compliance, or preempting state police powers.
Benchmark: Police powers and un-delegated responsibilities reserved to the States.
Dimension 4 • 5th & 14th Amendments
Moderate Friction
Due Process & Individual Rights
Applies regulatory or compliance standards to private contractors or commercial entities.
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
410
2,520 characters
Estimated Read Time
2 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
13.2
College Level
Text size:
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Referenced By Later Executive Orders (1)
Subsequent presidents who cited, amended, continued, or revoked this directive in later orders.
Richard Nixon • 1974-06-25
Related Executive Orders
3 orders cited directly in this text, plus related actions from this administration.
EO 11726 Jun 29, 1973
🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority) Fidelity (+0.29)
Executive Order 11726—Energy Policy Office
📜 Art. II §3: Faithful Execution of Statutory Law
Energy Policy Office SECTION 1. There is hereby established in the Executive Office of the President an Energy Policy Office. The office shall be under the immediate supervision and direction of a Director of the Energy Policy Office who shall be designated or appointed by the…
Richard Nixon Post-Graduate Legal • 2m
EO 11748 Dec 4, 1973
🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority) Fidelity (+0.29)
Executive Order 11748—Federal Energy Office
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
There is hereby established in the Executive Office of the President a Federal Energy Office. The Office shall be under the immediate supervision and direction of an Administrator and a Deputy Administrator of the Federal Energy Office.
Richard Nixon College Level • 3m
EO 11743 Oct 23, 1973
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 11743—Modifying Proclamation 3279, as Amended, With Respect to the Oil Policy Committee
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
The Oil Policy Committee, as reconstituted by this order is hereby continued. SEC. 2. Sec. 8 of Proclamation No. 3279, as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows: "SEC. 8.
Richard Nixon College Level • 1m
EO 11774 Mar 26, 1974
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 11774—Amending Executive Order No. 11768, Placing Certain Positions in Levels IV and V of the Executive Schedule
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
Of Executive Order No. 11768, of February 20, 1974, placing certain positions in level IV of the Executive Schedule, is amended by deleting " (7) Director of Program Analysis and Evaluation, Department of Defense." and inserting in lieu thereof "(7) Director of…
Richard Nixon College Level • 1m
EO 11776 Mar 28, 1974
🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority) Fidelity (+0.57)
Executive Order 11776—Continuing the President's Committee on Mental Retardation and Broadening its Membership and Responsibilities
📜 5th Amend: Regulatory Execution with Due Process
Committee continued and responsibilities expanded. The President's Committee on Mental Retardation (hereinafter referred to as the Committee), with expanded membership and expanded responsibilities, is hereby continued in operation. SEC. 2. Composition of Committee.
Richard Nixon College Level • 4m
EO 11773 Mar 21, 1974
🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 11773—Revoking the Authority of the Department of Agriculture to Inspect Income Tax Returns
📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution
Executive Order No. 11697 of January 17, 1973, and Executive Order No. 11709 of March 27, 1973, are hereby revoked and the authority conferred upon the Department of Agriculture by those Orders to inspect income tax returns is hereby revoked.
Richard Nixon High School • 1m
📜
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 11,775 (Mar. 26, 1974), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-11775-abolishing-the-energy-policy-office.
