I hereby authorize and designate the Solicitor of the Department of the Interior or of an Assistant Secretary of the Interior in the event of the death, resignation, absence, or sickness of the Under Secretary or of an Assistant Secretary of the Interior, respectively.
Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.
Signed by President Harry S Truman on October 26, 1946, this order concerns Designating the Solicitor of the Department of the Interior to Act as Under Secretary of Assistant Secretary of the Interior. I hereby authorize and designate the Solicitor of the Department of the Interior or of an Assistant Secretary of the Interior in the event of the death, resignation, absence, or sickness of the Under Secretary or of an Assistant Secretary of the Interior, respectively.
I hereby authorize and designate the Solicitor of the Department of the Interior or of an Assistant Secretary of the Interior in the event of the death, resignation, absence, or sickness of the Under Secretary or of an Assistant Secretary of the Interior, respectively.
Evaluating this order against the constitutional debates of 1787 and the limits of Article II executive power.
"When the President acts in absence of either a congressional grant or denial of authority, he can only rely upon his own independent powers, but there is a zone of twilight in which he and Congress may have concurrent authority."
Separation of Powers & Legislative Primacy
"Power is of an encroaching nature, and it ought to be effectually restrained from passing the limits assigned to it." — Federalist No. 48 (1788)
Madison would view this order with watchful scrutiny. Operating in the 'Zone of Twilight' where Congress is silent, each such directive establishes an administrative precedent that steadily expands the executive perimeter at the expense of legislative primacy.
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.
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.
An objective audit measuring potential separation-of-powers tension against the United States Constitution and established Supreme Court doctrine.
Operates within delegated statutory execution without modifying legislative appropriations or taxing powers.
Exercises standard supervisory executive authority to faithfully execute existing statutes.
Confined strictly to internal federal jurisdiction, federal property, or direct military command.
Focuses on internal governmental operations with no direct impairment of private rights or property.
The order relies on inherent Article II executive discretion, civil service management, or foreign diplomacy where Congress has neither expressly approved nor prohibited action.
This order operates within Justice Jackson’s Zone of Twilight, resting upon concurrent presidential authority or congressional silence.
By virtue of the authority vested in me by section 179 of the Revised Statutes (5 U. S. C. 6), and in the interest of the internal management of the Government, I hereby authorize and designate the Solicitor of the Department of the Interior or of an Assistant Secretary of the Interior in the event of the death, resignation, absence, or sickness of the Under Secretary or of an Assistant Secretary of the Interior, respectively. HARRY S. TRUMAN
October 26, 1946
Other executive actions signed by Harry S Truman around this period.
The following-described land at Mala Landing, Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, be, and it is hereby, restored to the jurisdiction of the Territory of Hawaii: Beginning at the Southeast corner of this piece, on the North side of 50 foot road Reserve, the coordinates of said point of…
Harry S Truman I hereby create a board of three members, to be appointed by me, to investigate the said disputes. Each of the carriers involved shall be given independent consideration in such investigation, and the said labor organizations shall be permitted to function as a unit in…
Harry S Truman Executive Order No. 9492 of October 24, 1944, as amended by Executive Order No. 9629 of September 24, 1945, and by Executive Order No. 9714 of April 20, 1946, prescribing regulations governing non-military and non-naval transportation on Army and Navy air transports, be, and it…
Harry S Truman The Executive Order No. 9761, dated July 23, 1946, is hereby amended by changing the period at the end of the first paragraph to a colon and adding to the paragraph a second proviso reading as follows: "Provided further, That any such flags, standards, or colors taken by the…
Harry S Truman The Director of War Mobilization and Reconversion shall: (a) Review the current and proposed scientific research and development activities conducted or financed by all departments and independent establishments of the Government to ascertain (1) the fields of such research and…
Harry S Truman I hereby create a board of three members, to be appointed by me, to investigate said dispute. No member of the said board shall be pecuniarily or otherwise interested in any organization of railway employees or any carrier.
Harry S Truman Exec. Order No. 9794 (Oct. 26, 1946), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-9794-designating-the-solicitor-the-department-the-interior-act-under.
