The Administrative Presidency: Presidential Directives and Executive Policymaking

The use of directives is as a valuable tool of the administrative presidency. Less is known however about their use within the United States political system of separate and shared powers where presidents do not act alone. Their directives may be in lieu of legislation or a request to Congress for support while the Supreme Court, through their decisions may help or hinder executive action. Meanwhile, within their own separate institution, presidents must rely on the federal bureaucracy to carry out their orders. This book explores the use of directives to shape race policy within this framework. Principally, this book systematically examines the use of race-related presidential directives – executive orders, memoranda, and proclamations – from Presidents Nixon to Biden and finds that presidents of both parties share more similarities than differences. The expansive time frame of this book provides an opportunity to consider the origins of presidential policy on race to the Supreme Court’s decision to end affirmative action in higher education which signaled the need for a significant shift in race policy moving forward.