With the nomination of Brent Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, we may well see the new Justice join up with Justices Gorsuch and Thomas in attempting to reign in "the administrative state" (often called the fourth branch) composed of various government agencies, some independent and others within executive departments.This is where the regulatory muscle is exercised, and thereby it has become a target of the Trump administration as well. So now seems like a good time to learn about the AS so one can follow the debates and court decisions, and perhaps even participate. This solid volume is the best way I know to get educated about these issues. In 322 pages of text, and 50 pages of notes, this author covers almost every conceivable issue relating to the AS, including its history and deficiencies as he sees them. While not light bedtime reading, the book really lays out the issues in a quite effective way.
The book is generally structured in a chronological design. So the author covers administration in the colonial era, under the Articles of Confederation, as designed in the Constitution, touched upon in the ratification debates and The Federalist Papers. The author then moves into the Early Republic period, and especially the vital contributions of Hamilton and the judiciary in shaping the bureaucracy, as well as presidential control and the removal power. Next the book discusses administration during the Jackson period, including the growth of judicial deference under CJ Taney. Rounding out the 19th century is a chapter on administrative power after the Civil War prior to 1900, including the development of the Civil Service. The author disputes that the creation of the Interstate Commerce Commission under Thomas Cooley marked the debut of the modern administrative agency.
It is with Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt that the Progressive foundations for the modern bureaucratic agency are laid. This is not a happy development for the author, who throughout the book argues that the AS contradicts cherished American values such as republican government, separation of powers, and the rule of law. Things of course grow even darker with FDR and the New Deal, under which a vast expansion of the AS occurs and sets the pattern for today. The courts are only sometime able to cut back administrative power. Eventually, in 1946, Congress attempts to address the situation in the Administrative Procedure Act. Up to this point, the author follows the same historical framework as Leonard White's 1950's multiple volume monumental history of public administration--still well worth reading.
For today, the authors final chapters lay out the problems that many conservative see in connection with the AS: the capture theory; the influence of interest groups; the Chevron doctrine; the courts' changing views of standing,;judicial debates over whether courts should add to the APA's controls or whether they should largely keep hands off the agencies. The author also expands on some conservative opinions as to what should be done--though more on this would have been helpful. All and all, these final chapters are excellent preparation for understanding the ongoing debate which will only intensify. Simply one of the best ways to get up to speed on these important issues.
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