Utah Sen. Mike Lee‘s Reorganizing Government Act, co-authored by Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., passed through the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Wednesday.
If passed, the bill would reauthorize presidential reorganization authority through 2026, aiming to allow the elimination of unnecessary operations and reduce the number of federal employees.
It also seeks to deregulate and eliminate government operations that do not serve the public interest.
In an X post, Lee announced the bill’s progress, writing, “Americans elected @realDonaldTrump to reform our government and drain the swamp. Our bill gives him even more tools to do so.”
This type of presidential reorganization has been employed 16 different times between 1932 and 1981 and has been granted to nine presidents, including John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon.
Reagan was the last president granted the Congress-approved reorganization authority, and he used it to dismantle the Community Services Administration and change the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights to act as an advisory body instead of an independent agency.
What does reorganization authority give presidents the power to do, and how does it work?
Reorganization authority creates a streamlined process for executive branch structural changes, governed by Title 5, Chapter 9 of U.S. Code. This section provides the framework the president must follow when proposing and implementing agency restructuring, if granted by Congress.
If a president is granted reorganization authority, he must prepare a plan that includes specific proposed changes, arrangements for people, property and funds affected by the reorganization and a justification for how the changes would improve government efficiency.
Once the president’s plan is submitted, Congress is given 60 days to review it and either pass a joint resolution to disapprove of the plan or allow the plan to go into effect.
What restrictions does the president have when granted reorganization authority?
U.S. Code outlines seven limitations on reorganization authority.
- Creating, renaming, abolishing or transferring executive departments or independent regulatory agencies, or consolidating two or more of them.
- Extending an agency’s existence beyond its legally authorized period.
- Continuing a function beyond its legally authorized timeframe.
- Giving an agency a function not expressly authorized by law at the time the plan is transmitted to Congress.
- Creating a new agency that isn’t already a component or part of an existing executive department or independent agency.
- Extending an office’s term beyond what the law states.
- Including more than one logically consistent subject matter in a reorganization plan.
How could reorganization authority help Trump push through DOGE setbacks?
DOGE is an advisory body which operates outside of traditional executive structures, and was established by a Jan. 20 executive order. It aims to slash federal spending, reduce the federal workforce and eliminate agencies deemed unnecessary or burdensome.
Granting Trump reorganization authority could help streamline DOGE’s efforts by moving forward with agency elimination without needing standalone legislation.
For example, in order to eliminate the Department of Education without reorganization authority, Congress would need to repeal the Department of Education Organization Act of 1979.
But with reorganization power, the president could propose a plan to eliminate the department, Congress could approve it and the department’s elimination could happen in one step.