ABSTRACT
Although there were numerous presidential actions during the nation’s first two centuries that involved what would later be called the unitary executive, it was not until the 1980s that the unitary executive theory really rose to prominence. This is because it was during Ronald Reagan’s presidency that the term unitary executive was first explicitly employed and the theory was first promoted. Earlier presidents might have sometimes acted as proto-unitarians, but Reagan was the first to consciously use and advocate the doctrine, in part to help overturn political commitments that had dominated American politics since the days of the New Deal. Reagan used the theory to bolster arguments for the president’s removal power, role in regulatory review, and use of signing statements, among other things. This chapter also considers how the theory informed reports by Edwin Meese on presidential power and by Republican members of Congress on the Iran-Contra scandal, as well as the Supreme Court’s decision in Morrison v. Olson, which some critics claim effectively rejected the unitary executive theory. Despite the Court’s decision in Morrison, the unitary executive theory was also a factor for George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, whose actions continued to promote certain unitary themes.
