In a Thursday piece from Politico , law professor Ronald Krotoszynski suggested that President-elect Joe Biden could use the unitary executive theory — which Raw Story called the head of state’s “favorite legal theory” — to erase Donald Trump’s legacy in the government.
As the report noted, Trump’s administration will maintain power within various administrative agencies even after Biden is inaugurated in January. According to Politico , Biden could remove Trump’s remaining government legacy using the theory, which is notably supported by the president and Attorney General William Barr.
“Under this theory, President Biden would be constitutionally empowered to remove executive-branch personnel who are opposed to his administration’s policies and programs whether or not they hold a fixed term of office or enjoy statutory good-cause protection against removal.”
As noted by Krotoszynski, the Federalist Society has long supported the theory, as have Trump-appointed federal judges like Neomi Rao and Brett Kavanaugh. According to the postulation, the head of state can exercise broad control over the executive branch, which includes officers that hold policymaking posts.
Outgoing Michigan Rep. Justin Amash previously took aim at Trump and Barr’s support of the theory, which he suggested acted as support for their purported authoritarian tendencies. Nevertheless, Krotoszynski argued that the supposition could be effectively used to dismantle Trump’s legacy.
“Given these clear judicial smoke signals, both on and off the bench, the Biden administration would be on solid legal and constitutional ground if it sought to remove the most troubling Trump midnight appointees within the executive branch.”
According to the columnist, the theory might be Biden’s “only practical option” to counter some of Trump’s last-minute appointments that stand in opposition to the politics of his forthcoming White House team. Although he acknowledged the possible damage it could do by expanding unilateral presidential authority, he suggested it might be the lesser of two evils compared to the possibility of “unaccountable government power in the hands of a rogue agency.”
Trump has refused to concede to Biden and has been accused of attempting to hinder the Democrat’s transition. As The Inquisitr reported, the president has allegedly been sending officials to monitor Biden’s transition meetings. Although such presence is not unheard of, some experts allegedly believe that Trump’s team is attempting to slow the transition.
According to CNN , Trump is attempting to “sabotage” Biden’s presidency and could harm America’s economy and foreign policy in the process. The publication pointed to his firing of officials who oppose his election fraud narrative, his alleged attempt to set foreign policy “fires” that the Democrat can’t put out, and his purported opposition to the negotiation of a new coronavirus stimulus.
