By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including sections 3301 and 3302 of title 5, United States Code, and having determined that it is necessary and warranted by conditions of good administration that certain positions in the Department of Agriculture continue to be excluded from the coverage of section 2302 of title 5, United States Code, and excepted from the competitive service because of their confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy- advocating character, in order to ensure their deep involvement in the development and advocacy of Administration proposals and policies and to ensure their effective and vigorous implementation, and as a result of a reorganization of the Department of Agriculture carried out pursuant to Public Law 103–354, it is hereby ordered that subsection (c) of section 6.8 of Civil Service Rule VI (5 C.F.R. 6.8) is revised to read as follows: "(c) Within the Department of Agriculture, positions the incumbents of which serve as State Executive Directors of the Consolidated Farm Service Agency and positions the incumbents of which serve as State Directors or State Directors-at-Large for Rural Economic and Community Development shall be listed in Schedule C for all grades of the General Schedule." This order supersedes Executive Order No. 12300. William J. Clinton The White House, November 28, 1994. [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 11:09 a.m., November 29, 1994]
Executive Order 12940 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Fidelity (+0.23)
📜 10th Amend: Intergovernmental Federalism Cooperation
Executive Order 12940—Amendment to Civil Service Rule VI
Executive Brief • At a Glance
⏱️ 1 min read (236 words) •
● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate
Subsection (c) of section 6.8 of Civil Service Rule VI (5 C.F.R. 6.8) is revised to read as follows: "(c) Within the Department of Agriculture, positions the incumbents of which serve as State Executive Directors of the Consolidated Farm Service Agency and positions the incumbents of which serve as State Directors or State Directors-at-Large for Rural Economic and Community Development shall be listed in Schedule C for all grades of the General Schedule." This order supersedes Executive Order No. 12300.
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 10th Amend: Intergovernmental Federalism Cooperation
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Sovereign State Governments & Localities Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants Private Citizens & Property Owners
Legal Status & Amendment History
What this order changed
- Supersedes EO 12300 (March 23, 1981)
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 William J. Clinton on November 28, 1994, this order concerns Amendment to Civil Service Rule VI. Subsection (c) of section 6.8 of Civil Service Rule VI (5 C.F.R. 6.8) is revised to read as follows: "(c) Within the Department of Agriculture, positions the incumbents of which serve as State Executive Directors of the Consolidated Farm Service Agency and positions the incumbents of which serve as State Directors or State Directors-at-Large for Rural Economic and Community Development shall be listed in Schedule C…
Constitutional Assessment: Reviewed under the Tenth Amendment and the principle of dual federalism, this order touches upon domains traditionally reserved to the sovereign States. The Framers would caution against any attempt to commandeer state officers or displace local police powers through federal executive fiat.
Key Directives & Operative Actions
▪
Subsection (c) of section 6.8 of Civil Service Rule VI (5 C.F.R. 6.8) is revised to read as follows: "(c) Within the Department of Agriculture, positions the incumbents of which serve as State Executive Directors of the Consolidated Farm Service Agency and positions the incumbents of which serve as State Directors or State Directors-at-Large for Rural Economic and Community Development shall be listed in Schedule C for all grades of the General Schedule." This order supersedes Executive Order No. 12300.
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities
🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners
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 1 (Maximum Authority)
§
"When the President acts pursuant to an express or implied authorization of Congress, his authority is at its maximum, for it includes all that he possesses in his own right plus all that Congress can delegate."
— Justice Robert H. Jackson, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952) Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
JM
James Madison
Separation of Powers & Legislative Primacy
"The constitutional magistracy was designed not to invent policy, but to be the faithful instrument of the laws passed by the people's representatives." — Speech in the First Congress (1789)
Madison would approve the structural posture of this order. The President acts strictly in subordination to statutory authority granted under Article II, Section 3 ("take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed"). The checks and balances hold firm because the policy origin remains with the legislature.
Madisonian Stance: Concurring (Statutory)
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: Supportive of Execution
GM
George Mason
Bill of Rights, Due Process & 10th Amendment
"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." — 10th Amendment to the US Constitution (1791)
Mason would scrutinize whether this federal directive intrudes into police powers, land stewardship, or municipal domains historically reserved to local citizens. The Anti-Federalist demand is that federal administration must never supplant state self-governance.
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
36 / 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
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
Low Friction
Youngstown Jacksonian Tier
The President operates strictly as the constitutional Chief Executive, carrying out policy established by Congress with strong statutory backing.
Benchmark: Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
⚖️
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
236
1,510 characters
Estimated Read Time
1 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
19.1
Post-Graduate Legal
Text size:
Related Executive Orders
1 order cited directly in this text, plus related actions from this administration.
EO 12300 Superseded Mar 23, 1981
🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 12300—Exceptions From the Competitive Service
📜 10th Amend: Intergovernmental Federalism Cooperation
Section 6.8 of Civil Service Rule VI (5 CFR 6.8) is amended by adding thereto the following new subsection: "(c) Within the Department of Agriculture, positions in the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service the incumbents of which serve as State Executive Directors…
Ronald Reagan Post-Graduate Legal • 1m
EO 12941 Revoked Dec 1, 1994
🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority) Fidelity (+0.23)
Executive Order 12941—Seismic Safety of Existing Federally Owned or Leased Buildings
📜 5th Amend: Regulatory Execution with Due Process
The Standards of Seismic Safety for Existing Federally Owned or Leased Buildings (Standards), developed, issued, and maintained by the Interagency Committee on Seismic Safety in Construction (ICSSC), are hereby adopted as the minimum level acceptable for use by Federal…
William J. Clinton Post-Graduate Legal • 2m
EO 12939 Amended Nov 22, 1994
🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority) Fidelity (+0.23)
Executive Order 12939—Expedited Naturalization of Aliens and Noncitizen Nationals Who Served in an Active-Duty Status During the Persian Gulf Conflict
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
For the purpose of determining qualification for the exception from the usual requirements for naturalization, the period of Persian Gulf Conflict military operations in which the Armed Forces of the United States were engaged in armed conflict with a hostile force commenced on…
William J. Clinton Post-Graduate Legal • 1m
EO 12942 Dec 12, 1994
🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority) Fidelity (+0.23)
Executive Order 12942—Addition to Level V of the Executive Schedule—Commissioner, Administration for Native Americans
📜 Art. II §3: Faithful Execution of Statutory Law
–102 of Executive Order No. 12154, as amended, is further amended by adding the following new subsection to section 1–102: "(f) Commissioner, Administration for Native Americans". William
William J. Clinton High School • 1m
EO 12938 Amended Nov 14, 1994
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 12938—Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
It is the policy of the United States to lead and seek multilaterally coordinated efforts with other countries to control the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the means of delivering such weapons.
William J. Clinton Post-Graduate Legal • 9m
EO 12943 Dec 13, 1994
🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority) Fidelity (+0.23)
Executive Order 12943—Further Amendment to Executive Order No. 11755
📜 Art. II §3: Faithful Execution of Statutory Law
Executive Order No. 11755, as amended, is further amended as follows: (a) by deleting the phrase "section 4082 of title 18 of the United States Code, the Attorney General" in the second paragraph of the preamble and inserting in lieu thereof the following phrase: "sections 3621…
William J. Clinton Post-Graduate Legal • 1m
📜
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 12,940, 59 Fed. Reg. 61,519 (Nov. 28, 1994).
