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Executive Order 13245 Amended 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Fidelity (+0.23) 📜 Art. II §3: Faithful Execution of Statutory Law

Executive Order 13245—Providing an Order of Succession Within the Department of Labor

George W. Bush George W. Bush
•
Tuesday, December 18, 2001
•
2 min read (354 words)
•
66 Fed. Reg. 66268

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 2 min read (354 words) • ● Amended
🎯 Primary Mandate

No individual who is serving in an office listed in section 2(a)–(l) in an acting capacity shall act as Secretary pursuant to this Executive Order.

View all 3 directives ↓
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 Art. II §3: Faithful Execution of Statutory Law
Framers' constitutional debate ↓
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Armed Forces & Military Establishments Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants Private Citizens & Property Owners
Inspect unabridged text ↓

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

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

Signed by President George W. Bush on December 18, 2001, this order concerns Providing an Order of Succession Within the Department of Labor. Section 1. Subject to the provisions of section 3 of this Executive Order, the officers named in section 2, in the order listed, shall act as and perform the functions and duties of the office of Secretary of Labor (Secretary) during any period when both the Secretary and the Deputy Secretary of Labor (Deputy Secretary) have died, resigned, or are otherwise unable to perform the functions and duties of the office…

Constitutional Assessment: An early statesman would view this measure favorably under Article II, Section 3 (the Take Care Clause). The President operates strictly within the ambit of executing established laws and supervising departmental subordinates, respecting the supremacy of the legislative branch without fabricating novel statutory obligations.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

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Exceptions

No individual who is serving in an office listed in section 2(a)–(l) in an acting capacity shall act as Secretary pursuant to this Executive Order.

▪

Subject to the provisions of section 3 of this Executive Order, the officers named in section 2, in the order listed, shall act as and perform the functions and duties of the office of Secretary of Labor (Secretary) during any period when both the Secretary and the Deputy Secretary of Labor (Deputy Secretary) have died, resigned, or are otherwise unable to perform the functions and duties of the office of Secretary.

▪

Executive Order 10513 of January 19, 1954, is hereby revoked.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners 🏛️ Public Health & Medical Institutions

Policy Areas & Topics

🏷️ Labor & Employment
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The Framers' Constitutional Council

1787 Prism

Evaluating this order against the constitutional debates of 1787 and the limits of Article II executive power.

🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority)
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"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 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
40 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8

Legislative Encroachment & Purse

Moderate Friction

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

Executive Scope & Faithfulness

Moderate Friction

Directs internal executive branch machinery, agency workflows, and federal personnel.

Benchmark: Faithfully execute laws enacted by Congress vs. unilateral decree.
Dimension 3 • 10th Amendment

Federalism & State Sovereignty

Moderate Friction

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

Due Process & Individual Rights

Moderate Friction

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

Youngstown Jacksonian Tier

Low Friction

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%).
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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
354
2,193 characters
Estimated Read Time
2 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
19.7
Post-Graduate Legal
Language Tone Score
+0.23
Constitutional Fidelity
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document
📑Sections Outline (4 sections)
Sec. 1Sec. 2: Order of SuccessionSec. 3: ExceptionsSec. 4

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including Subchapter III of Chapter 33 of title 5 of the United States Code, it is hereby ordered that:

Section 1. #sec-1

Subject to the provisions of section 3 of this Executive Order, the officers named in section 2, in the order listed, shall act as and perform the functions and duties of the office of Secretary of Labor (Secretary) during any period when both the Secretary and the Deputy Secretary of Labor (Deputy Secretary) have died, resigned, or are otherwise unable to perform the functions and duties of the office of Secretary.

Sec. 2. #sec-2

Order of Succession. (a) Solicitor of Labor; (b) Assistant Secretary of Labor in charge of Administration and Management; (c) Assistant Secretary of Labor in charge of Policy; (d) Assistant Secretary of Labor in charge of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs; (e) Assistant Secretary of Labor in charge of the Employment and Training Administration; (f) Assistant Secretary of Labor in charge of the Employment Standards Administration; (g) Assistant Secretary of Labor in charge of the Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration; (h) Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health; (i) Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health; (j) Assistant Secretary of Labor in charge of the Office of Public Affairs; (k) Assistant Secretary of Labor for Veterans' Employment and Training; and (l) Assistant Secretary of Labor in charge of the Office of Disability Employment Policy.

Sec. 3. #sec-3

Exceptions. (a) No individual who is serving in an office listed in section 2(a)–(l) in an acting capacity shall act as Secretary pursuant to this Executive Order. (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of this Executive Order, the President retains discretion, to the extent permitted by Subchapter III of Chapter 33 of title 5 of the United States Code, to depart from this Executive Order in designating an acting Secretary.

Sec. 4. #sec-4

Executive Order 10513 of January 19, 1954, is hereby revoked. GEORGE W. BUSH The White House, December 18, 2001. [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 8:45 a.m., December 20, 2001]

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Referenced By Later Executive Orders (2)

Subsequent presidents who cited, amended, continued, or revoked this directive in later orders.

References Executive Order 13755—Providing an Order of Succession Within the Department of Labor
Barack Obama • 2016-12-23
References Executive Order 13261—Providing An Order of Succession in the Environmental Protection Agency and Amending Certain Orders on Succession
George W. Bush • 2002-03-19
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Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 13,245, 66 Fed. Reg. 66,268 (Dec. 18, 2001).