Reading Room Document

The President's Power to Remove Members of the Federal Council on the Aging

The text and legislative history of the statute creating the Federal Council on the Aging indicate that Congress did not intend to restrict the President's power to remove his appointees to the Council. Neither the Council's "independence" in terms of its membership and staff, nor its function of providing advice to Congress necessarily suggest that Congress intended to restrict the President's power of free removal which is ordinarily incident to his power of appointment. Because the structure and functions of the Federal Council on the Aging establish that it is a purely executive body, Congress could not constitutionally limit the President's power to remove its members. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at www.justice.gov/file/22801/download.

November 13, 1981