Bloomberg Surveillance · Monday, June 29, 2026
Legal experts discussed the 'unitary executive theory,' which posits that the president should have ultimate control over the executive branch. Critics argue this theory, developed in the 1970s, is a recent invention that could allow presidents to obstruct justice.
“This is all part of the theory called the unitary executive theory, I don't know if you've heard about it, but it's like that this people who believe that the power of the executive branch should be in the president.”
“The unitary executive theory is something that was invented quite recently, really in the nineteen seventies. If you'd taken it to one of the founders, they would have just been baffled.”
“But so you have to balance that on the one hand versus this theory called the unitary executive theory, that the president should be able to hire and fire anyone he wants and the executive brands, and that he oversees the entire executive brands.”