Reorganizing the Administrative State: Executive Ambition and Legislative Constraint

Authors

• Jordan Graber, Fordham University School of Law

Keywords

Reorganization Act; reorganization; administrative state; federal agencies; separation of powers; Executive Order 14;210; U.S. Constitution; statutory authority; congressional power; executive power

Abstract

Beginning in the 1930s, Congress enacted a series of statutes granting presidents the authority to initiate reorganizations of the administrative state. Under these reorganization statutes, the president determined any necessary changes in agency organization and submitted a reorganization proposal to Congress, which could approve or reject the plan. Over the next fifty years, the president and Congress worked cooperatively to promote the effective and efficient functioning of the administrative state.

Despite the successful reorganization initiatives undertaken pursuant to these statutes, Congress has not conferred reorganization authority on any president in the last four decades. As a result, the organization of the administrative state has largely stagnated. Ultimately, in his second term, President Donald J. Trump attempted to reorganize the administrative state unilaterally, leading to significant separation-of-powers violations and harm in various sectors.

This issue prompts consideration of the salience of interbranch reorganization procedures in American government and society. This Note proposes a permanent reorganization statute that incorporates both the executive and legislative branches in reorganization procedures. The advocated approach seeks to expand congressional authority and provide meaningful guidance for judicial review, thereby ensuring greater participation and oversight by each branch in the operation of the administrative state and empowering the government to more effectively serve its people.

Recommended Citation

Jordan Graber, Reorganizing the Administrative State: Executive Ambition and Legislative Constraint, 94 Fordham L. Rev. 2225 (2026).
Available at: https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/flr/vol94/iss6/4