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Executive Order 13811 Superseded 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Neutral (+0.02) 📜 10th Amend: Intergovernmental Federalism Cooperation

Executive Order 13811—Continuance of Certain Federal Advisory Committees

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Friday, September 29, 2017
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4 min read (744 words)
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82 Fed. Reg. 46363

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 4 min read (744 words) • ● Superseded
🎯 Primary Mandate

Committee for the Preservation of the White House; Executive Order 11145, as amended (Department of the Interior).

⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 10th Amend: Intergovernmental Federalism Cooperation
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Armed Forces & Military Establishments Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises Sovereign State Governments & Localities Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants

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 September 29, 2017, this order concerns Continuance of Certain Federal Advisory Committees. Each advisory committee listed below is continued until September 30, 2019. (a) Committee for the Preservation of the White House; Executive Order 11145, as amended (Department of the Interior). (b) President's Commission on White House Fellowships; Executive Order 11183, as amended (Office of Personnel Management).

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

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Committee for the Preservation of the White House; Executive Order 11145, as amended (Department of the Interior).

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President's Commission on White House Fellowships; Executive Order 11183, as amended (Office of Personnel Management).

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President's Committee on the National Medal of Science; Executive Order 11287, as amended (National Science Foundation).

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President's Export Council; Executive Order 12131, as amended (Department of Commerce).

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises 🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Financial Institutions & Monetary Authorities
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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 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
32 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8

Legislative Encroachment & Purse

Low Friction

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

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
744
5,491 characters
Estimated Read Time
4 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
17.4
Post-Graduate Legal
Language Tone Score
+0.02
Constitutional Neutral
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document
📑Sections Outline (4 sections)

By the authority vested in me as President, by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and consistent with the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended (5 U.S.C. App.), it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1 . #sec-1

Each advisory committee listed below is continued until September 30, 2019. (a) Committee for the Preservation of the White House; Executive Order 11145, as amended (Department of the Interior). (b) President's Commission on White House Fellowships; Executive Order 11183, as amended (Office of Personnel Management). (c) President's Committee on the National Medal of Science; Executive Order 11287, as amended (National Science Foundation). (d) President's Export Council; Executive Order 12131, as amended (Department of Commerce). (e) President's Committee on the International Labor Organization; Executive Order 12216, as amended (Department of Labor). (f) President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee; Executive Order 12382, as amended (Department of Homeland Security). (g) National Industrial Security Program Policy Advisory Committee; Executive Order 12829, as amended (National Archives and Records Administration). (h) Trade and Environment Policy Advisory Committee; Executive Order 12905 (Office of the United States Trade Representative). (i) Governmental Advisory Committee to the United States Representative to the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation; Executive Order 12915 (Environmental Protection Agency). (j) National Advisory Committee to the United States Representative to the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation; Executive Order 12915 (Environmental Protection Agency). (k) Good Neighbor Environmental Board; Executive Order 12916, as amended (Environmental Protection Agency). (l) Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS; Executive Order 12963, as amended (Department of Health and Human Services). (m) President's Committee for People with Intellectual Disabilities; Executive Order 12994, as amended (Department of Health and Human Services). (n) Invasive Species Advisory Committee; Executive Order 13112, as amended (Department of the Interior). (o) Marine Protected Areas Federal Advisory Committee; Executive Order 13158 (Department of Commerce). (p) Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health; Executive Order 13179 (Department of Health and Human Services). (q) National Infrastructure Advisory Council; Executive Order 13231, as amended (Department of Homeland Security). (r) President's Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition; Executive Order 13265, as amended (Department of Health and Human Services). (s) President's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders; Executive Order 13515, as amended (Department of Education). (t) President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology; Executive Order 13539, as amended (Department of Energy). (u) Interagency Task Force on Veterans Small Business Development; Executive Order 13540 (Small Business Administration). (v) State, Local, Tribal, and Private Sector (SLTPS) Policy Advisory Committee; Executive Order 13549 (National Archives and Records Administration). (w) President's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics; Executive Order 13555 (Department of Education). (x) President's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for African Americans; Executive Order 13621 (Department of Education). (y) President's Advisory Council on Doing Business in Africa; Executive Order 13675, as amended (Department of Commerce). (z) Presidential Advisory Council on Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria; Executive Order 13676 (Department of Health and Human Services). (aa) Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee; initially established pursuant to Presidential Memorandum on Improving Spectrum Management for the 21st Century (November 30, 2004) (Department of Commerce). (bb) National Space-Based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Advisory Board; National Security Presidential Directive-39, "U.S. National Space-Based Position, Navigation, and Timing Policy" (December 8, 2004) (National Aeronautics and Space Administration). (cc) San Juan Islands National Monument Advisory Committee; Proclamation 8947 of March 25, 2013 (Department of the Interior). (dd) Bears Ears National Monument Advisory Committee; Proclamation 9558 of December 28, 2016 (Department of the Interior). (ee) Gold Butte National Monument Advisory Committee; Proclamation 9559 of December 28, 2016 (Department of the Interior). (ff) President's Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities; Executive Order 13779 (Department of Education).

Sec. 2 . #sec-2

Notwithstanding the provisions of any other Executive Order, the functions of the President under the Federal Advisory Committee Act that are applicable to the committees listed in section 1 of this order shall be performed by the head of the department or agency designated after each committee, in accordance with the regulations, guidelines, and procedures established by the Administrator of General Services.

Sec. 3 . #sec-3

Sections 1 and 2 of Executive Order 13708 of September 30, 2015, are hereby superseded by sections 1 and 2 of this order. Executive Order 13805 of July 19, 2017 (Establishing a Presidential Advisory Council on Infrastructure) is hereby revoked.

Sec. 4 . #sec-4

This order shall be effective September 30, 2017. DONALD J. TRUMP The White House, September 29, 2017.

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Referenced By Later Executive Orders (2)

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

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 13,811, 82 Fed. Reg. 46,363 (Sept. 29, 2017).