Richard Nixon and the Modern Presidency

Panelists talked about the Nixon administration’s reorganization of the Executive Office, and argued that those actions laid the foundation for the modern presidency.

The President’s Advisory Council on Executive Organization was named by President Nixon during his first term to review and recommend how to restructure the Executive Office of the President to improve the effectiveness of decision-making and implementation of presidential initiatives. Known as the Ash Council after Chair Roy Ash, the council’s recommendations led to the creation of five new agencies: the Office of Telecommunications Policy, the Office of Management and Budget, the Domestic Council, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as well as proposals to consolidate the twelve Cabinet Departments into eight. close