Source: Washington Monthly
by Jack Rakove
“Among the many theories of constitutional interpretation that swirl through American politics, the Unitary Executive Theory (UET) is the most important one circulating today. … To be taken seriously—in an era when the original meaning of the Constitution is the ostensible lodestar of interpretation—a theory of executive power this robust should be strongly grounded in historical sources. In fact, the advocates of the UET presume what they need to prove: that the adopters of the Constitution held a coherent and consensual view of presidential power that could be stretched so far. The more closely one surveys this historical foundation, the more tenuous the theory becomes.” (09/24/26)
https://washingtonmonthly.com/2026/09/24/unitary-executive-theory-history/