Early in his administration, President William Clinton signed an executive order which committed the U.S. taxpayers to a multi-billion dollar bailout of the Mexican peso. The order was not the result of legislative deliberation, but of unilateral executive policymaking undertaken in almost direct defiance of the legislative branch. The modern presidency has seen an evolution in the conception of executive power that moves far beyond that originally understood in the framing of the Constitution. This research explores aspects of the development of the modern presidency in the United States within an American political theory framework. I contend that the modern presidency poses a challenge to constitutionalism, separation of powers, and democratic norms. In examining the institutionalization of the White House staff, the rise of the governing strategy of "going public," and the use of executive orders, I find that the executive has moved from one who would merely execute the laws as established by the legislative branch to one who possesses an inclination and capacity to dominate the political model.
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