“The buck stops here” is a phrase popularized by U.S. President Harry S. Truman, who kept a sign with that phrase on his desk in the Oval Office. The phrase refers to the notion that the President must make the decisions and accept the ultimate responsibility for those decisions. The expression is used today but certainly not in the current Whitehouse. Truman knew where the buck stops, Nixon learned where it stopped while Trump uses a corporate style to cast blame.
Congress needs to reclaim its authority to build an administrative state that reflects its policy goals, rather than an instrument for each president claiming a mandate. Equally essential are clearer laws requiring that the executive branch abide by Congress’s outlays, while constraining the president’s ability to fire personnel and restructure government.
The Supreme Court has contributed to empowering the president and hobbling Congress. Our legislators need to resist these efforts. Confrontation with the court has happened before in our history, most recently in the New Deal, to make reforms stick.
The Nixon Presidency, in the view of Herbert G. Klein, failed because he allowed himself to become a captive of men whose political creed was compounded by deceit, secrecy and cynics
The unitary executive theory is the belief that the President of the United States has sole authority over the executive branch. My understanding is that this is meant to diminish control by the Legislative Branch, the Congress, while the executive branch continues to expand authority over various government functions and agencies. Our President, regardless of political leanings, stands isolated at the top of the pyramid. The final decision is his/hers and thus we know where to fix the blame, the place where the buck stops. Harry Truman understood and accepted it. Richard Nixon learned the hard way how isolated the office of President can be. In the end the Watergate scandal was his albatross resulting in his resignation. He could not pass the buck by firing or disciplining those around him. He stood at the peak of the pyramid and falling was his alone. The Watergate scandal did result in 69 individuals being charged and 48 being found guilty of improper activity through the judicial process. These people were close to Nixon and his administration. After resigning President Ford pardoned Nixon so he suffered no judicial consequences but endured the embarrassment of being the only US President forced to resign.
Although various Presidents since Nixon have expanded the authority of the executive branch the isolation of the office has had a limiting effect. The courts have issued rulings that allow the executive branch to gain power while the legislature has simply acquiesced and allowed various power grabs. The “isolation of the presidency” is not so clear today.
President Trump came from the business world into the public sector. The organization around the President is more of a contemporary business model. This model has also evolved into a structure less like a pyramid and more in line with a large corporate structure. He sits at the head of the table, surrounded by his associates and mutual decisions are made. The pyramid shape is transformed into a “T.” Unfortunately, under this structure as in corporate America, the executive often gets to skate. He passes it off as a communal decision. If something is wrong, he will pick or choose a person in his inner circle to discipline or fire. He does not acknowledge responsibility for the action of his administration. There is no solitary place for President Trump. He hires, fires, and passes the blame. The Buck stops where he chooses to place it. Unfortunately, too many Americans except that process today.
The solitude of any office should create a person who thinks through the issues and considers the opinions of all before reaching a decision. The decision should not result from a chaotic situation. That is a process where decisions are less solitary and more communal. If we have a president whose office is not solitary then the blame is placed everywhere, rather than where it belongs. Unlike a pyramid the top does not always tumble whereas the “T” can fall over and collapse. The President, the executive, as the person in charge disperses the blame among his underlings not at the place where the Buck should stop. This is not what our constitution prescribes nor what we as a nation need.
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