Whereas , sections 511 to 514, inclusive, of the act of Congress entitled "AN ACT Making appropriations for the Legislative Branch of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1933, and for other purposes," approved June 30, 1932, provides: "Sec. 511. The President is authorized, by Executive order, to transfer the duties, powers, and functions of the Radio Division of the Department of Commerce to the Federal Radio Commission, and upon the issuance of such order— (a) the Radio Division shall be abolished; (b) all records and property, including office furniture and equipment, of the division, shall be transferred to the Federal Radio Commission; and (c) such of the officers and employees of the division, as, in the judgment of the President, are indispensable to the efficient operation of the Federal Radio Commission, shall be transferred to such commission and all officers and employees of the division and commission not indispensable to the service shall be dismissed. "Sec. 512. Any transfer of officers or employees under Section 511 shall be without changes in classification or compensation, but the President is authorized to make such changes in the titles, designations, and duties of such officers and employees as he may deem necessary to carry out the provisions of sections 511 to 514, inclusive, of this title. "Sec. 513. (a) All orders, determinations, rules, or regulations made or issued by the Department of Commerce in respect of the Radio Division, or by the Radio Division, and in effect at the time of such transfer, shall continue in effect to the same extent as if such transfer had not been made, until modified, superseded, or repealed by the Federal Radio Commission. (b) All provisions of law relating to the Radio Division shall continue in force with respect to the Federal Radio Commission, in so far as such provisions of law are not inconsistent with the provisions of section 511 or 512. "Sec. 514. Such parts of appropriations and unexpended balances of appropriations available for expenditure by the Radio Division as the President deems necessary shall be available for expenditure by the Federal Radio Commission in the same manner as if such commission had been named in the laws providing for such appropriations, and the remainder of such appropriations and such unexpended balances shall not be expended but shall be impounded and returned to the Treasury" Now, Therefore , by virtue of the authority vested in me by said law, the Radio Division of the Department of Commerce is hereby abolished and the duties, powers, and functions of or in respect of said division, together with all officers and employees thereof, all records, papers, and public property of or pertaining thereto, are hereby transferred to the Federal Radio Commission, and all parts of appropriations and unexpended balances of appropriations available for expenditure by the Department of Commerce for or on behalf of the Radio Division of the Department of Commerce are hereby transferred to the Federal Radio Commission. The Federal Radio Commission is hereby authorized and directed to dismiss officers and employees not indispensable to the service, to make such changes in the titles, designations, and duties of said officers and employees as it may deem necessary, and to return to the Treasury all appropriations or unexpended balances thereof not necessary to the maintenance of said commission. HERBERT HOOVER The White House, July 20, 1932.
Executive Order 5892—Transfer of Radio Division of the Department of Commerce to the Federal Radio Commission
Executive Brief • At a Glance
The Radio Division of the Department of Commerce is hereby abolished and the duties, powers, and functions of or in respect of said division, together with all officers and employees thereof, all records, papers, and public property of or pertaining thereto, are hereby transferred to the Federal Radio Commission, and all parts of appropriations and unexpended balances of appropriations available for expenditure by the Department of Commerce for or on behalf of the Radio Division of the Department of Commerce are hereby transferred to the Federal Radio Commission.
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 20, 1932, this order concerns Transfer of Radio Division of the Department of Commerce to the Federal Radio Commission. The Radio Division of the Department of Commerce is hereby abolished and the duties, powers, and functions of or in respect of said division, together with all officers and employees thereof, all records, papers, and public property of or pertaining thereto, are hereby transferred to the Federal Radio Commission, and all parts of appropriations and unexpended balances of appropriations available for expenditure by…
Key Directives & Operative Actions
The Radio Division of the Department of Commerce is hereby abolished and the duties, powers, and functions of or in respect of said division, together with all officers and employees thereof, all records, papers, and public property of or pertaining thereto, are hereby transferred to the Federal Radio Commission, and all parts of appropriations and unexpended balances of appropriations available for expenditure by the Department of Commerce for or on behalf of the Radio Division of the Department of Commerce are hereby transferred to the Federal Radio Commission.
The Federal Radio Commission is hereby authorized and directed to dismiss officers and employees not indispensable to the service, to make such changes in the titles, designations, and duties of said officers and employees as it may deem necessary, and to return to the Treasury all appropriations or unexpended balances thereof not necessary to the maintenance of said commission.
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
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.
"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."
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.
Alexander Hamilton
The Energetic Executive & Unified Command
"The direction of war implies the direction of the common strength; and the power of directing and employing the common strength must be under the direction of the single hand of the Executive." — Federalist No. 74 (1788)
Hamilton would forcefully champion executive discretion here. For foreign entanglements, commerce defense, and national security, deliberative assemblies are too slow and faction-ridden. A unified, energetic Executive exercising swift command is precisely what the Philadelphia Convention intended for national preservation.
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.
Five Measurable "Constitutional Friction" Dimensions
An objective audit measuring potential separation-of-powers tension against the United States Constitution and established Supreme Court doctrine.
Legislative Encroachment & Purse
Touches upon core congressional prerogatives: raises appropriations reallocation, tariff imposition, or statutory preemption questions.
Executive Scope & Faithfulness
Exercises standard supervisory executive authority to faithfully execute existing statutes.
Federalism & State Sovereignty
Confined strictly to internal federal jurisdiction, federal property, or direct military command.
Due Process & Individual Rights
Focuses on internal governmental operations with no direct impairment of private rights or property.
Youngstown Jacksonian Tier
The President operates strictly as the constitutional Chief Executive, carrying out policy established by Congress with strong statutory backing.
This order operates within Justice Jackson’s Zone of Twilight, resting upon concurrent presidential authority or congressional silence.
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 5892 (July 20, 1932), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-5892-transfer-radio-division-the-department-commerce-the-federal-radio.