The final sentence of the last paragraph of section 21 of the Consular Regulations as established by Executive Order No. 5642 of June 8, 1931, is hereby canceled. The following section is hereby established in Article I of the Consular Regulations, 1896: 29. Responsibility for office during absence of principal officer. During the absence of the principal officer, the ranking consular officer, or a consular officer specifically designated by the Secretary of State, shall assume full charge of the office under his bond. Determination of ranking officer. The ranking consular officer shall be determined by consular grade in the following order of precedence: Consuls general, consuls, vice consuls of career, vice consuls not of career. In case there are at the post two or more officers of the same grade, the senior officer shall be determined by rank in the classified Foreign Service; and in the case of officers of the same grade who hold commissions in the same class of Foreign Service officers, the one whose consular commission assigning him to the post bears the earliest date shall take precedence. Seniority between vice consuls of career at the same post shall be determined in the manner indicated in the preceding paragraph except that the salary grades established for Foreign Service officers unclassified shall be considered as separate classes in determining the order of rank of such officers. Seniority between vice consuls not of career shall be governed by the dates of consular commissions to the post. (See also sec. 442.) Section 442 of the Consular Regulations, 1896, is amended to read as follows: 442. Rank by seniority in the same grade. Consular officers of the United States are entitled to enjoy the rank and precedence above stated. This precedence shall be determined, among officers of the same grade, in accordance with the provisions of section 29 of these regulations. For their relative rank among their colleagues representing other countries at the same place, see section 76. HERBERT HOOVER The White House, July 1, 1931.
Executive Order 5661 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)
📜 10th Amend: Intergovernmental Federalism Cooperation
Executive Order 5661—Amendments to the Consular Regulations
Executive Brief • At a Glance
⏱️ 2 min read (335 words) •
● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate
The final sentence of the last paragraph of section 21 of the Consular Regulations as established by Executive Order No. 5642 of June 8, 1931, is hereby canceled.
⚖️ 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 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 Herbert Hoover on July 1, 1931, this order concerns Amendments to the Consular Regulations. The final sentence of the last paragraph of section 21 of the Consular Regulations as established by Executive Order No. 5642 of June 8, 1931, is hereby canceled. The following section is hereby established in Article I of the Consular Regulations, 1896: 29. Responsibility for office during absence of principal officer.
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
▪
The final sentence of the last paragraph of section 21 of the Consular Regulations as established by Executive Order No. 5642 of June 8, 1931, is hereby canceled.
▪
The following section is hereby established in Article I of the Consular Regulations, 1896: 29.
▪
During the absence of the principal officer, the ranking consular officer, or a consular officer specifically designated by the Secretary of State, shall assume full charge of the office under his bond.
▪
The ranking consular officer shall be determined by consular grade in the following order of precedence: Consuls general, consuls, vice consuls of career, vice consuls not of career.
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities
🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
🏛️ Foreign Nations & International Entities
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.
🛡️ High Constitutional Concordance
23 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8
Low Friction
Legislative Encroachment & Purse
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
Low Friction
Executive Scope & Faithfulness
Exercises standard supervisory executive authority to faithfully execute existing statutes.
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 in close harmony with statutory authority and standard Article II supervisory execution.
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
335
2,069 characters
Estimated Read Time
2 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
12.1
High School
Text size:
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Referenced By Later Executive Orders (1)
Subsequent presidents who cited, amended, continued, or revoked this directive in later orders.
Franklin D. Roosevelt • 1939-07-17
Related Executive Orders
1 order cited directly in this text, plus related actions from this administration.
EO 5642 Jun 8, 1931
🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority) Fidelity (+0.90)
Executive Order 5642—Administration of the Foreign Service
📜 Art. I §8: Delegated Tariff & Commerce Execution
The regulations established in this Executive order shall be effective and binding not only as Consular Regulations, but they shall be equally effective and binding for the following purposes: (1) These rules and regulations shall constitute the regulations of the Department of…
Herbert Hoover Post-Graduate Legal • 62m
EO 5663 Jul 1, 1931
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 5663—Designating Horace Paul Bestor as Farm Loan Commissioner
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
Under the provisions of section 3 of the Federal Farm Loan Act, approved July 17, 1916 (39 Stat. 360), Horace Paul Bestor, who has been duly appointed a member of the Federal Farm Loan Board, is hereby designated Farm Loan Commissioner of said board until otherwise directed.
Herbert Hoover High School • 1m
EO 5662 Jul 1, 1931
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 5662—Exception from Examination of Cooperative Employees Enforcing the Plant Quarantine Act, Department of Agriculture
📜 Art. II §1: Executive Discretion & Internal Operations
Schedule A of positions excepted from examination under the civil-service rules is hereby amended, in Subdivision IX, Department of Agriculture, by the addition to the first paragraph of a new clause (i), to read as follows: (i) Inspectors, scouts, trap tenders, truck drivers…
Herbert Hoover Post-Graduate Legal • 1m
EO 5665 Jul 2, 1931
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 5665—Authorizing the Appointment of A. D. Forsythe
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
Mr. A. D. Forsythe may be appointed to an existing vacancy in the Bureau of Construction and Repair, Navy Department, in the Subprofessional Service, grade 4, at $1,620 per annum, without regard to the Civil Service Act or rules.
Herbert Hoover High School • 1m
EO 5664 Jul 2, 1931
⚖️✨ Zone 2 (Zone of Twilight) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 5664—Withdrawal of Public Lands for Use as Naval Ammunition Depot, Nevada
📜 Art. II §2: Commander-in-Chief Supervisory Authority
The following described lands in the State of Nevada be, and they are hereby, withdrawn from settlement, location, sale, entry, and all forms of appropriation and held for the exclusive use and benefit of the United States Navy Department for development of and use as an…
Herbert Hoover College Level • 1m
EO 5666 Jul 3, 1931
🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority) Constitutional Neutral
Executive Order 5666—Permitting Persons Holding Certain Positions to Receive Appointments Under the Department of Commerce
📜 10th Amend: Intergovernmental Federalism Cooperation
Executive Order No. 9 of January 17, 1873, prohibiting the holding of Federal and State offices at the same time, is hereby amended so as to permit persons holding State, Territorial, or municipal positions to receive, unless prohibited by law, appointments under the Department…
Herbert Hoover Post-Graduate Legal • 1m
📜
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 5661 (July 1, 1931), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-5661-amendments-the-consular-regulations.
