President Donald Trump signed an executive order Tuesday giving himself more power over federal agencies that Congress set up to function without the president’s direct oversight – the latest move in Trump’s effort to consolidate power.
Agencies that range from overseeing major financial infrastructure, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, to critical national programs, such as the Social Security Administration, will now be required to submit their performances and proposals to the White House to ensure they align with Trump’s agenda.
Congress established these agencies to fall under the executive branch but operate on a day-to-day basis independent from the president’s oversight. Instead, the president may appoint individuals to oversee the agencies for a fixed term.
The order also gives the director of the Office of Management and Budget, Russell Vought, the authority to “adjust” congressional-appropriated funding based on whether the independent agency’s priorities align with Trump’s.
It’s likely the executive order will face legal challenges as it is based on a fringe theory that requires adoptees to believe Congress does not have the sole power to fund the government – despite what the Constitution says.
It is just the latest move in Trump’s attempts to alter the fundamental structure of the federal government and remake it in his vision.
The executive order also appears to provide legal support to Trump who is facing a lawsuit from the former head of the National Labor Relations Board and the former head of the Office of Special Counsel who he fired without reason.
Presidents do not typically have the authority to remove independent agency heads at will – this core function is what makes independent federal agencies, independent.
In furtherance of declaring his power over independent federal agencies, Trump stated in the executive order that only he and the attorney general may dictate what the law means for federal employees.
“No employee of the executive branch acting in their official capacity may advance an interpretation of the law as the position of the United States that contravenes the President or the Attorney General’s opinion on a matter of law, including but not limited to the issuance of regulations, guidance, and positions advanced in litigation, unless authorized to do so by the President or in writing by the Attorney General,” Trump wrote.
The order, named “Ensuring Accountability for All Agencies”, is one of the most deliberate initiatives outlined in Project 2025 that Trump has enacted since taking office.
Vought, an architect of Project 2025, had advocated for policies that consolidate executive branch powers solely under the president rather than throughout the federal bureaucracy. He has also advocated for expanding the role of OMB director to assist the president in doing so.
