Democracy’s Chief Executive: Interpreting the Constitution and Defining the Future of the PresidencyLegal scholar Peter M. Shane confronts U.S. presidential entitlement and offers a more reasonable way of conceptualizing our constitutional presidency in the twenty-first century. In the eyes of modern-day presidentialists, the United States Constitution’s vesting of “executive power” means today what it meant in 1787. For them, what it meant in 1787 was the creation of a largely unilateral presidency, and in their view, a unilateral presidency still best serves our national interest. Democracy’s Chief Executive challenges each of these premises, while showing how their influence on constitutional interpretation for more than forty years has set the stage for a presidency ripe for authoritarianism. Democracy’s Chief Executive explains how dogmatic ideas about expansive executive authority can create within the government a psychology of presidential entitlement that threatens American democracy and the rule of law. Tracing today’s aggressive presidentialism to a steady consolidation of White House power aided primarily by right-wing lawyers and judges since 1981, Peter M. Shane argues that this is a dangerously authoritarian form of constitutional interpretation that is not even well supported by an originalist perspective. Offering instead a fresh approach to balancing presidential powers, Shane develops an interpretative model of adaptive constitutionalism, rooted in the values of deliberative democracy. Democracy’s Chief Executive demonstrates that justifying outcomes explicitly based on core democratic values is more, not less, constraining for judicial decision making—and presents a model that Americans across the political spectrum should embrace. |
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agency Amendment American appointment argued argument Article authority Bob Bauer Bush chapter Chief claims Clinton Congress congressional constitutional interpretation contemporary criminal prosecution decision delegated deliberation deliberative democracy democratic democratic constitutionalism discretion elected electoral enacted example Exec executive branch Executive Order executive power executive privilege exercise federal foreign Framers George H. W. Bush HARV impeachment institutional issues judges judicial Justice Department LAWFARE lawyers limit majority ment military force norms Obama officers OIRA opinion original public meaning originalist oversight pardon political Prakash president presidential power presidentialist prosecutors protect Reagan regard regulation regulatory review removal power Republican role rule of law rulemaking Saikrishna Scalia Senate separation of powers Shane significant specific statute statutory supra note Supreme Court tion tive Trump administration U.S. CONST unilateral unitary executive theory United Vesting Clause vote voters War Powers Resolution White House