Nixon's Super-Secretaries

Nixon's Super-Secretaries PDF Author: Mordecai Lee
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
ISBN: 1603447385
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 296

Get Book

Book Description
The Watergate scandal of 1973 claimed many casualties, political and otherwise. Along with many personal reputations and careers, President Richard Nixon’s bold attempt to achieve a sweeping reorganization of the domestic portion of the executive branch was also pulled into the vortex. Now, Mordecai Lee examines Nixon’s reorganization, finding it notable for two reasons. First, it was sweeping in intent and scope, representing a complete overhaul in the way the president would oversee and implement his domestic agenda. Second, the president instituted the reorganization administratively—by appointment of three “super-secretaries”—without congressional approval. The latter aspect generated ire among some members of Congress, notably Sam Ervin, a previously little-known senator from North Carolina who chaired the Government Operations Committee and, soon after, the Senate’s Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities—known to the public as “the Watergate Committee.” Asserting that Nixon’s reorganization effort represents a significant event in the evolution of the managerial presidency and public administration, Nixon’s Super-Secretaries presents the most comprehensive historical narrative to date concerning this reorganization attempt. The author has utilized previously untapped original and primary sources to provide unprecedented detail on the inner workings, intentions, and ultimate demise of Nixon’s ambitious plan to reorganize the sprawling federal bureaucracy.

Nixon's Super-Secretaries

Nixon's Super-Secretaries PDF Author: Mordecai Lee
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
ISBN: 1603447385
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 296

Get Book

Book Description
The Watergate scandal of 1973 claimed many casualties, political and otherwise. Along with many personal reputations and careers, President Richard Nixon’s bold attempt to achieve a sweeping reorganization of the domestic portion of the executive branch was also pulled into the vortex. Now, Mordecai Lee examines Nixon’s reorganization, finding it notable for two reasons. First, it was sweeping in intent and scope, representing a complete overhaul in the way the president would oversee and implement his domestic agenda. Second, the president instituted the reorganization administratively—by appointment of three “super-secretaries”—without congressional approval. The latter aspect generated ire among some members of Congress, notably Sam Ervin, a previously little-known senator from North Carolina who chaired the Government Operations Committee and, soon after, the Senate’s Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities—known to the public as “the Watergate Committee.” Asserting that Nixon’s reorganization effort represents a significant event in the evolution of the managerial presidency and public administration, Nixon’s Super-Secretaries presents the most comprehensive historical narrative to date concerning this reorganization attempt. The author has utilized previously untapped original and primary sources to provide unprecedented detail on the inner workings, intentions, and ultimate demise of Nixon’s ambitious plan to reorganize the sprawling federal bureaucracy.

The President's Czars

The President's Czars PDF Author: Mitchel A. Sollenberger
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
ISBN: 0700618368
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 312

Get Book

Book Description
Faced with crises that would challenge any president, Barack Obama authorized "pay czar" Kenneth Feinberg to oversee the $20 billion fund for victims of the BP oil spill and to establish—and enforce—executive pay guidelines for companies that received $700 billion in federal bailout money. Feinberg's office comes with vastly expansive policy powers along with seemingly deep pockets; yet his position does not formally fit anywhere within our government's constitutional framework. The very word "czar" seems inappropriate in a constitutional republic, but it has come to describe any executive branch official who has significant authority over a policy area, works independently of agency or Department heads, and is not confirmed by the Senate-or subject to congressional oversight. Mitchel Sollenberger and Mark Rozell provide the first comprehensive overview of presidential czars, tracing the history of the position from its origins through its initial expansion under FDR and its dramatic growth during the presidencies of George W. Bush and Barack Obama. The President's Czars shows how, under pressure to act on the policy front, modern presidents have increasingly turned to these appointed officials, even though by doing so they violate the Appointments Clause and can also run into conflict with the nondelegation doctrine and the principle that a president cannot unilaterally establish offices without legislative support. Further, Sollenberger and Rozell contend that czars not only are ill-conceived but also disrupt a governing system based on democratic accountability. A sobering overview solidly grounded in public law analysis, this study serves as a counter-argument to those who would embrace an excessively powerful presidency, one with relatively limited constraints. Among other things, it proposes the restoration of accountability—starting with significant changes to Title 3 of the U.S. Code, which authorizes the president to appoint White House employees "without regard to any other provision of law." Ultimately, the authors argue that czars have generally not done a good job of making the executive branch bureaucracy more effective and efficient. Whatever utility presidents may see in appointing czars, Sollenberger and Rozell make a strong case that the overall damage to our constitutional system is great-and that this runaway practice has to stop.

Czars in the White House

Czars in the White House PDF Author: Justin S Vaughn
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
ISBN: 0472121111
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 264

Get Book

Book Description
When Barack Obama entered the White House, he followed a long-standing precedent for the development and implementation of major policies by appointing administrators—so-called policy czars—charged with directing the response to the nation’s most pressing crises. Demonstrating that the creation of policy czars is a strategy for combating partisan polarization and navigating the federal government’s complexity, Vaughn and Villalobos offer a sober, empirical analysis of what precisely constitutes a czar and what role they have played in the modern presidency.

Isolation and Engagement

Isolation and Engagement PDF Author: William Waltman Newmann
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
ISBN: 0472220284
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 489

Get Book

Book Description
Presidents and their advisors consistently seek to improve the management of their foreign policy decision processes. This book analyzes the successes and failures of administrations from Kennedy to Nixon as they sought to strike a balance between the personal style of the president and the need for a strong interagency structure that could systematically evaluate policy options. The narrative focuses on US decision making on China and Taiwan during the crucial era when the United States was considering moving from a policy of isolating China to a policy of engagement, culminating in Nixon’s historic 1972 trip to China. William Waltman Newmann has created an evolution-balance model, tested with case studies focusing on China policy by Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford, showing how the relationships between a president and his advisors change based on the weaknesses or pathologies of the president’s management style. The author’s research is based on declassified archival material from the Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford presidential libraries.

The Upcoming Insignificance of the American Presidency

The Upcoming Insignificance of the American Presidency PDF Author: Wilbur C. Rich
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1003817734
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 209

Get Book

Book Description
This new text analyzes the development of the presidency as the dominant political institution in the United States and raises questions about its future relevance. In this history of the U.S. executive branch from the framing of the Constitution to the Biden administration, author Wilbur C. Rich illuminates the transformation of the presidential role by a variety of extra-constitutional, non-legal forces, technology, and social changes.The book highlights how some presidents nevertheless have managed to maintain relevancy and dominance by adapting to these changes or by introducing changes of their own. For undergraduate students and researchers of presidential history and American political development, this expansive historical overview of the executive branch in America makes a strong case that the significance of the American presidency has declined dramatically—and perhaps irrevocably—in the modern presidency.

Nixon's Economy

Nixon's Economy PDF Author: Allen J. Matusow
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780700608881
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 340

Get Book

Book Description
Historian Allen J. Matusow now presents the first comprehensive history of Nixon's political economy. He depicts a president who disliked the subject but was forced to pay attention or lose his dream of effecting a historic realignment of the political parties in America. The study derives its authority from extensive archival research in Nixon's presidential papers, including notes by Haldeman and Ehrlichman of crucial conversations in the Oval Office. Matusow shows the poverty of contemporary economic theory, Nixon's willingness to sacrifice the world economy for his domestic political purposes, and his desperate attempts to find something, anything, that might work. Lurching from one set of policies to another, Matusow argues, Nixon achieved only illusory successes that ultimately brought on a decade of economic disaster.

The Presidency of Richard Nixon

The Presidency of Richard Nixon PDF Author: Melvin Small
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 432

Get Book

Book Description
A lively anecdotal account features every facet of Nixon's controversial administration, just in time for the 25th anniversary of his history-making resignation from the presidency. 23 photos.

Journal of History

Journal of History PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 1058

Get Book

Book Description


The Plot that Failed

The Plot that Failed PDF Author: Richard P. Nathan
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 216

Get Book

Book Description


The Watergate Girl

The Watergate Girl PDF Author: Jill Wine-Banks
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company
ISBN: 1250244315
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 162

Get Book

Book Description
Obstruction of justice, the specter of impeachment, sexism at work, shocking revelations: Jill Wine-Banks takes us inside her trial by fire as a Watergate prosecutor. It was a time, much like today, when Americans feared for the future of their democracy, and women stood up for equal treatment. At the crossroads of the Watergate scandal and the women’s movement was a young lawyer named Jill Wine Volner (as she was then known), barely thirty years old and the only woman on the team that prosecuted the highest-ranking White House officials. Called “the mini-skirted lawyer” by the press, she fought to receive the respect accorded her male counterparts—and prevailed. In The Watergate Girl, Jill Wine-Banks opens a window on this troubled time in American history. It is impossible to read about the crimes of Richard Nixon and the people around him without drawing parallels to today’s headlines. The book is also the story of a young woman who sought to make her professional mark while trapped in a failing marriage, buffeted by sexist preconceptions, and harboring secrets of her own. Her house was burgled, her phones were tapped, and even her office garbage was rifled through. At once a cautionary tale and an inspiration for those who believe in the power of justice and the rule of law, The Watergate Girl is a revelation about our country, our politics, and who we are as a society.