Civitas Institute | WSJ: The Legal Theory Behind Trump’s Plan to Consolidate Power

Civitas Outlook

Topic

Constitutionalism

Published on

March 11, 2025

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John Yoo

WSJ: The Legal Theory Behind Trump’s Plan to Consolidate Power

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President Trump is using the popular conservative ideology known as the “unitary executive theory” to give more power to the executive branch. He is using the legal theory to help justify firing thousands of federal workers, dismantling entire agencies like USAID and overseeing what were created as independent regulatory agencies like the FTC and SEC.

WSJ explains the legal theory and why the Supreme Court may allow the expansion of executive power.

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