By virtue of the authority vested in me by section 3347 of Title 5 of the United States Code and section 301 of Title 3 of the United States Code, and as President of the United States, it is hereby ordered as follows: SECTION 1. During any period when, by reason of absence, disability or vacancy in office, both the Secretary of Commerce and the Under Secretary of Commerce are not available to exercise the powers or perform the duties of the Office of Secretary, an Assistant Secretary of Commerce, the General Counsel of the Department of Commerce, or an officer of the Department of Commerce appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, in such order as the Secretary of Commerce may from time to time prescribe, shall act as Secretary. If no such order of succession is in effect at that time, an Assistant Secretary or the General Counsel shall act as Secretary in the order in which they shall have taken office as Assistant Secretaries or General Counsel. SEC. 2. This Order supersedes Executive Order No. 11388 of January 15, 1968. GERALD R. FORD The White House, October 2, 1975.
Executive Order 11880 Revoked ⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
Executive Order 11880—Designation of Officers of the Department of Commerce to Act as Secretary of Commerce
Executive Brief • At a Glance
⏱️ 1 min read (197 words) •
● Revoked
🎯 Primary Mandate
During any period when, by reason of absence, disability or vacancy in office, both the Secretary of Commerce and the Under Secretary of Commerce are not available to exercise the powers or perform the duties of the Office of Secretary, an Assistant Secretary of Commerce, the General Counsel of the Department of Commerce, or an officer of the Department of Commerce appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, in such order as the Secretary of Commerce may from time to time prescribe, shall act as Secretary.
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
⚖️✨ Zone 2: Zone of Twilight
Concurrent Authority / Congressional Silence
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
Legal Status & Amendment History
RevokedThis order is no longer in effect according to the Federal Register's executive order disposition tables.
Source: Office of the Federal Register executive order disposition notes. Orders before 1994 show only actions recorded by later orders.
Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis
Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.
Signed by President Gerald R. Ford on October 2, 1975, this order concerns Designation of Officers of the Department of Commerce to Act as Secretary of Commerce. During any period when, by reason of absence, disability or vacancy in office, both the Secretary of Commerce and the Under Secretary of Commerce are not available to exercise the powers or perform the duties of the Office of Secretary, an Assistant Secretary of Commerce, the General Counsel of the Department of Commerce, or an officer of the Department of Commerce appointed by the President with the advice and…
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
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During any period when, by reason of absence, disability or vacancy in office, both the Secretary of Commerce and the Under Secretary of Commerce are not available to exercise the powers or perform the duties of the Office of Secretary, an Assistant Secretary of Commerce, the General Counsel of the Department of Commerce, or an officer of the Department of Commerce appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, in such order as the Secretary of Commerce may from time to time prescribe, shall act as Secretary.
▪
If no such order of succession is in effect at that time, an Assistant Secretary or the General Counsel shall act as Secretary in the order in which they shall have taken office as Assistant Secretaries or General Counsel.
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
🏛️ Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises
🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
Policy Areas & Topics
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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
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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
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
197
1,116 characters
Estimated Read Time
1 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
16.6
Post-Graduate Legal
Text size:
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Referenced By Later Executive Orders (3)
Subsequent presidents who cited, amended, continued, or revoked this directive in later orders.
George W. Bush • 2001-12-18
William J. Clinton • 1996-04-05
Amends Executive Order 12608—Elimination of Unnecessary Executive Orders and Technical Amendments to Others
Ronald Reagan • 1987-09-09
Related Executive Orders
1 order cited directly in this text, plus related actions from this administration.
EO 11388 Jan 15, 1968
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 11388—Designation of Officers of the Department of Commerce to Act as Secretary of Commerce
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
During any period when by reason of absence, disability, or vacancy in office, neither the Secretary of Commerce nor the Under Secretary of Commerce is available to exercise the powers or perform the duties of the office of Secretary, an Assistant Secretary of Commerce or the…
Lyndon B. Johnson College Level • 1m
EO 11881 Oct 3, 1975
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 11881—Delegation of Authority to Issue Regulations With Respect to Section 459 of the Social Security Act
📜 Art. II §3: Administrative Management & Civil Service
This order is applicable to all executive agencies of the Federal Government which make any payment of money, the entitlement to which is based upon remuneration for employment, to any individual.
Gerald R. Ford Post-Graduate Legal • 2m
EO 11883 Oct 6, 1975
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 11883—Adjustments of Certain Rates of Pay and Allowances
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
Statutory Pay Systems. Pursuant to the provisions of subchapter I of chapter 53 of title 5 of the United States Code, the rates of basic pay and salaries are adjusted, as set forth at the schedules attached hereto and made a part hereof, for the following statutory pay systems…
Gerald R. Ford Grade 9 • 2m
EO 11882 Oct 6, 1975
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 11882—Membership of Energy Research and Development Administration on Established River Basin Commissions
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
Section 3 (2) of Executive Order No. 11345 of April 20, 1967, as amended, establishing the Great Lakes Basin Commission, is amended by adding "Energy Research and Development Administration," immediately after "Department of Transportation." SEC. 2.
Gerald R. Ford College Level • 1m
EO 11884 Oct 7, 1975
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 11884—Prescribing the Official Coat of Arms, Seal, and Flag of the Vice President of the United States
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
The Coat of Arms of the Vice President of the United States shall be of the following design: SHIELD: Paleways of thirteen pieces argent and gules, a chief azure; upon the breast of an American eagle displayed holding in his dexter talon an olive branch proper and in his…
Gerald R. Ford High School • 2m
EO 11885 Oct 15, 1975
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 11885—Amending Executive Order No. 11861, as Amended, Placing Certain Positions in Levels IV and V of the Executive Schedule
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
Section 2 of Executive Order No. 11861 of May 21, 1975, as amended, placing certain positions in level V of the Executive Schedule, is further amended by deleting "(1) Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Comptroller), Department of Defense." and inserting in lieu…
Gerald R. Ford College Level • 1m
📜
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 11,880 (Oct. 2, 1975), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-11880-designation-officers-the-department-commerce-act-secretary-commerce.
