★
Executive Orders Historical Archive
Cite
Executive Order 13805 Revoked 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Fidelity (+0.66) 📜 5th Amend: Regulatory Execution with Due Process

Executive Order 13805—Establishing a Presidential Advisory Council on Infrastructure

•
Wednesday, July 19, 2017
•
4 min read (769 words)
•
82 Fed. Reg. 34383

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 4 min read (769 words) • ● Revoked
🎯 Primary Mandate

There is established in the Department of Commerce the Presidential Advisory Council on Infrastructure (Council).

⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 5th Amend: Regulatory Execution with Due Process
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants Private Citizens & Property Owners Foreign Nations & International Entities

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

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

Signed by President Donald J. Trump (1st Term) on July 19, 2017, this order concerns Establishing a Presidential Advisory Council on Infrastructure. It shall be the policy of the executive branch to advance infrastructure projects that create high-quality jobs for American workers, enhance productivity, improve quality of life, protect the environment, and strengthen economic growth. Sec. 2 . Establishment of Council . There is established in the Department of Commerce the Presidential Advisory Council on Infrastructure (Council). Sec. 3 . Membership of Council .

Constitutional Assessment: Evaluated against the Fifth Amendment, this action touches upon property or economic rights. An early statesman would insist upon strict adherence to due process of law and the constitutional guarantee that private holdings shall not be encumbered or taken for public purposes without just compensation and lawful process.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

▪
Establishment of Council

There is established in the Department of Commerce the Presidential Advisory Council on Infrastructure (Council).

▪
Membership of Council

The Council shall be composed of not more than 15 members.

▪
Mission of Council

The Council shall study the scope and effectiveness of, and make findings and recommendations to the President regarding, Federal Government funding, support, and delivery of infrastructure projects in several sectors, including surface transportation, aviation, ports and waterways, water resources, renewable energy generation, electricity transmission, broadband, pipelines, and other such sectors as determined by the Council.

▪
Administration of Council

The Department of Commerce shall provide the Council with such administrative support, including staff, facilities, equipment, and other support services, as may be necessary to carry out its mission.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners 🏛️ Foreign Nations & International Entities
🏛️

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)
§

"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 purse and the sword ought never to be in the same hands... nor the liberties of the citizen placed at the pleasure of a single magistrate." — Virginia Ratifying Convention (1788)

George Mason and the Anti-Federalists would sound a fierce warning. They feared that Article II would inevitably evolve into an elective monarchy. When an executive order impacts private rights, property, or civil liberties without individualized judicial process, Mason would see their darkest predictions verified.

Anti-Federalist Stance: High Bill of Rights Scrutiny
📐

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
48 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8

Legislative Encroachment & Purse

High Friction

Touches upon core congressional prerogatives: raises appropriations reallocation, tariff imposition, or statutory preemption questions.

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%).
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
769
5,065 characters
Estimated Read Time
4 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
16.5
Post-Graduate Legal
Language Tone Score
+0.66
Constitutional Fidelity
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1 . #sec-1

Policy . It shall be the policy of the executive branch to advance infrastructure projects that create high-quality jobs for American workers, enhance productivity, improve quality of life, protect the environment, and strengthen economic growth.

Sec. 2 . #sec-2

Establishment of Council . There is established in the Department of Commerce the Presidential Advisory Council on Infrastructure (Council).

Sec. 3 . #sec-3

Membership of Council . (a) The Council shall be composed of not more than 15 members. The members shall be appointed by the President and drawn from the public with relevant experience or subject-matter expertise to represent the interests of the following infrastructure sectors: (i) real estate; (ii) finance; (iii) construction; (iv) communications and technology; (v) transportation and logistics; (vi) labor; (vii) environmental policy; (viii) regional and local economic development; and (ix) other sectors determined by the President to be of value to the Council. (b) The President shall designate two Co-Chairs of the Council from among the Council's members. The Co-Chairs may designate one or more Vice Chairs from among the Council's members.

Sec. 4 . #sec-4

Mission of Council . The Council shall study the scope and effectiveness of, and make findings and recommendations to the President regarding, Federal Government funding, support, and delivery of infrastructure projects in several sectors, including surface transportation, aviation, ports and waterways, water resources, renewable energy generation, electricity transmission, broadband, pipelines, and other such sectors as determined by the Council. In pursuing its mission, the Council shall make findings and recommendations concerning the following: (a) prioritizing the Nation's infrastructure needs; (b) accelerating pre-construction approval processes; (c) developing funding and financing options capable of generating new infrastructure investment over the next 10 years; (d) identifying methods to increase public-private partnerships for infrastructure projects, including appropriate statutory or regulatory changes; (e) identifying best practices in and opportunities to improve procurement methods, grant procedures, and infrastructure delivery systems; and (f) promoting advanced manufacturing and infrastructure-related technological innovation.

Sec. 5 . #sec-5

Administration of Council . (a) The Department of Commerce shall provide the Council with such administrative support, including staff, facilities, equipment, and other support services, as may be necessary to carry out its mission. (b) The Secretary of Commerce shall, within 60 days of the date of this order, submit questions to the Council for consideration in its work and report. (c) Members of the Council shall serve without any additional compensation for their work on the Council. Members of the Council appointed from among private citizens of the United States, while engaged in the work of the Council, may be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, to the extent permitted by law for persons serving intermittently in Government service (5 U.S.C. 5701-5707), consistent with the availability of appropriations. (d) Insofar as the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. App.) (Act), may apply to the Council, any functions of the President under that Act, except for those in section 6 and section 14 of that Act, shall be performed by the Secretary of Commerce, in accordance with the guidelines that have been issued by the Administrator of General Services.

Sec. 6 . #sec-6

Report of Council . The Council shall submit to the President a report containing its findings and recommendations.

Sec. 7 . #sec-7

Termination of Council . The Council shall terminate on December 31, 2018, unless extended by the President before that date, or within 60 days after submitting its report pursuant to section 6 of this order, whichever occurs first.

Sec. 8 . #sec-8

General Provisions . (a) The heads of executive departments and agencies shall cooperate with and provide information to the Council as may be necessary to carry out the mission of the Council, consistent with applicable law. (b) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect: (i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or (ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals. (c) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations. (d) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person. DONALD J. TRUMP The White House, July 19, 2017.

🔗

Referenced By Later Executive Orders (1)

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

Donald J. Trump (1st Term) • 2017-09-29
📜

Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 13,805, 82 Fed. Reg. 34,383 (July 19, 2017).