Executive Order 13915 Constitutional Fidelity (+0.23)

Executive Order 13915—Providing an Order of Succession Within the Department of the Interior

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Tuesday, April 14, 2020

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2 min read (302 words)

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

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

This executive order, signed by President Donald J. Trump (1st Term) on 2020-04-14, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Providing an Order of Succession Within the Department of the Interior." It outlines operative directives for executive department officers, delegating enforcement responsibilities and establishing official governance guidelines.

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

▪ Executive Order 13244 of December 18, 2001 (Providing an Order of Succession Within the Department of the Interior), is hereby revoked.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants

Total Words

302

1,803 characters

Estimated Read Time

2 min

@ 200 words / min

Flesch-Kincaid

16.1

Post-Grad reading level

Constitutional Polarity

+0.23

Framers' Alignment index

📜

Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 13915, Donald J. Trump (1st Term) (Apr 14, 2020). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-13915-providing-order-succession-within-the-department-the-interior.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)

Original Source →

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998, 5 U.S.C. 3345 et seq ., it is hereby ordered that: Section 1. Subject to the provisions of section 3 of this 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 the Interior (Secretary) during any period when both the Secretary and the Deputy Secretary of the Interior have died, resigned, or are otherwise unable to perform the functions and duties of the office of Secretary. Sec. 2. Order of Succession. (a) Solicitor of the Department of the Interior; (b) Assistant Secretary of the Interior in charge of Policy, Management, and Budget; (c) Assistant Secretary of the Interior in charge of Land and Minerals Management; (d) Assistant Secretary of the Interior in charge of Water and Science; (e) Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Fish and Wildlife; (f) Assistant Secretary of the Interior in charge of Indian Affairs; and (g) Assistant Secretary of the Interior in charge of Insular and International Affairs. Sec. 3. Exceptions. (a) No individual who is serving in an office listed in section 2 of this order in an acting capacity shall, by virtue of so serving, act as Secretary pursuant to this order. (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of this order, the President retains discretion, to the extent permitted by the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998, to depart from this order in designating an acting Secretary. Sec. 4. Revocation of Executive Order. Executive Order 13244 of December 18, 2001 (Providing an Order of Succession Within the Department of the Interior), is hereby revoked. DONALD J. TRUMP The White House, April 14, 2020.