WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is expected to issue rulings in June 2026 on cases concerning presidential authority over the executive branch relative to Congress and the courts. These cases address whether President Trump has the authority to remove the chair of the Federal Reserve and commissioners of the Federal Trade Commission, and an executive order by Trump that alters the definition of birthright citizenship.

The unitary executive theory states that the Constitution grants the president complete authority over the executive branch. This includes the unilateral removal of officials and the direction of domestic and foreign policy. The Supreme Court ruled against Trump's tariff policy in February.

Richard Nixon refused to spend an estimated $18 billion in funds appropriated by Congress during the early 1970s. During this period, he also authorized secret bombings of Cambodia. The Nixon administration also invoked executive privilege during Watergate to shield executive branch officials from congressional and judicial scrutiny, claims that the Supreme Court later rejected.

In response to these actions, federal lawmakers passed legislation in the 1970s that limited the president's ability to impound appropriated funds and enter military conflicts without congressional approval. Additionally, federal laws strengthening executive branch transparency and oversight passed in the late 1970s. Ronald Reagan assumed the presidency in 1981, and he referenced the unitary executive theory in six official statements. His successor, President George H.W. Bush, referenced the theory in 41 official statements.

"A lot of what Trump has done has been done before, but the magnitude is different, and it presages a new normal for presidencies going forward," said Saikrishna Prakash, University of Virginia School of Law professor. "The direction has been there for 20 or 30 years, with modern presidents showing no hesitation to act unilaterally to implement their agenda in a host of ways that would have been unfathomable 100 or 200 years ago," Prakash said. "We're definitely in a phase where the unitary executive is the dominant theory," said John Yoo, University of California, Berkeley School of Law professor. "It's a natural response to the concern that the administrative state has become too independent and too powerful and governs too much of American life," Yoo said.