Executive Order 8458 Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)

Executive Order 8458—Directing the Civil Service Commission To Establish a Replacement List of Non-Civil Service Employees for Use for Temporary Appointments to National Defense Positions

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Thursday, June 27, 1940

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1 min read (225 words)

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.

This executive order, signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on 1940-06-27, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Directing the Civil Service Commission To Establish a Replacement List of Non-Civil Service Employees for Use for Temporary Appointments to National Defense Positions." It is a direct, concise executive instruction delivering focused administrative or military commands to department leadership.

Constitutional Assessment: Scrutinized through Article II, Section 2, this action exercises the President's constitutional role as Commander in Chief. Early Framers recognized broad executive discretion in commanding military forces during conflict, provided it remains bounded by congressional declarations and respects civilian domestic courts.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

▪ The Commission shall determine what positions are national-defense positions, and shall prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to effectuate the provisions of this order.

▪ Such regulations shall, among other things, (a) prescribe the conditions of entry on such list, including the passing of noncompetitive tests of fitness and character investigations, (b) formulate the plan by which certifications from such list are to be made, and (c) provide opportunity for the use of such list in their discretion by agencies having national-defense positions.

▪ Persons appointed from such list shall not acquire a competitive civil-service status by virtue of such appointment.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants

Total Words

225

1,446 characters

Estimated Read Time

1 min

@ 200 words / min

Flesch-Kincaid

14.6

Post-Grad reading level

Constitutional Polarity

+0.02

Framers' Alignment index

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 8458, Franklin D. Roosevelt (Jun 27, 1940). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-8458-directing-the-civil-service-commission-establish-replacement-list-non.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)

Original Source →

By virtue of the authority vested in me by section 1753 of the Revised Statutes (U.S.C., title 5, sec. 631), by the Civil Service Act (22 Stat. 403), and as President of the United States, it is hereby ordered as follows: 1. The Civil Service Commission shall establish a replacement list of employees who do not possess a competitive civil-service status, who have been involuntarily separated from the Federal service, with good records, after January 1, 1940, and who have had at least six months of Government service immediately prior to separation; such list to be used for temporary appointments to national-defense positions for terms not extending beyond the duration of the national-defense program. 2. The Commission shall determine what positions are national-defense positions, and shall prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to effectuate the provisions of this order. Such regulations shall, among other things, (a) prescribe the conditions of entry on such list, including the passing of noncompetitive tests of fitness and character investigations, (b) formulate the plan by which certifications from such list are to be made, and (c) provide opportunity for the use of such list in their discretion by agencies having national-defense positions. 3. Persons appointed from such list shall not acquire a competitive civil-service status by virtue of such appointment. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT The White House, June 27, 1940.