Executive Authority: Presidential Power From America’s Founding to Today

We the People

National Constitution Center

History, News Commentary, News

4.6 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 12 June 2025

⏱️ 58 minutes

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Summary

Gillian Metzger of Columbia Law School and Saikrishna Prakash of the University of Virginia School of Law join Jeffrey Rosen to examine the founders’ vision for the presidency, review how presidential power has changed over time, and debate the constitutional questions—including the unitary executive theory—that have shaped the modern presidency. Resources Federalist No. 70, New York Packet (March 18, 1788) Myers v. United States (1926) Trump v. United States (2024) Saikrishna Prakash, The Living Presidency: An Originalist Argument Against Its Ever-Expanding Powers, (2020) Saikrishna Prakash, Imperial from the Beginning: The Constitution of the Original Executive, (2015) Gillian Metzger, “Disqualification, Immunity, and the Presidency,” Harvard Law Review, Vol. 138 (April 1, 2025) Stay Connected and Learn More Questions or comments about the show? Email us at ⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠ Continue the conversation by following us on social media @ConstitutionCtr. ⁠⁠Sign up⁠⁠ to receive Constitution Weekly, our email roundup of constitutional news and debate. Follow, rate, and review wherever you listen. Join us for an upcoming ⁠⁠live program⁠⁠ or watch recordings on ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠. Support our important work. ⁠⁠Donate

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello, friends. I'm Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center,
0:07.8	and welcome to We the People, a weekly show of constitutional debate.
0:11.7	The National Constitution Center is a nonpartisan nonprofit, chartered by Congress,
0:16.3	to increase awareness and understanding of the Constitution among the American people.
0:25.6	In this episode, I'm joined by two of America's most thoughtful scholars on the question of presidential power, Jillian Metzger of Columbia Law School, and Tsai Krishna Prakash of the University of Virginia School of Law.
0:31.6	They explore the founder's vision for the presidency and the history of the unitary executive theory, which is at the center
0:38.9	of our current constitutional debates. This conversation was originally aired on the NCC's America's
0:44.4	Town Hall series on June 3, 2025. Enjoy the show. Thank you so much for joining Gillian and
0:52.8	Si, if I may.
0:55.2	Sy, let's start with you.
0:58.7	You've written these two great books on the history of the presidency.
1:06.4	And I'd like you to introduce our audience and all of us to the unitary executive theory.
1:07.6	What is it?
1:13.4	What is its history and how does it evolve? I'll just start us off with Hamilton,
1:20.0	who wrote in his Pacificus essays, the general doctrine then of our constitution is that the executive power of the nation is vested in the president, subject only to the exceptions
1:24.6	and qualifications, which are expressed in that instrument.
1:32.2	With these exceptions, the executive power of the union is completely lodged in the president.
1:36.1	Hamilton's essay has been invoked by proponents of the unitary executive theory.
1:38.1	What is it and where did it come from?
1:42.1	Well, it's great to be here with you, Jeff, and you're a wonderful audience and, of course,
1:43.2	with Gillian as well. The Unitary Executive
1:44.4	Theory has many incarnations, but basically it involves a claim that the president is able to
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