The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg Gettin’ Wonky on the Unitary Executive | Interview: Charlie Cooke
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May 4, 2026 
Charlie Cooke, senior editor at National Review and podcaster, talks law, conservatism, and public policy. He sparrs over the unitary executive theory and removal power. They tackle Florida vaccine policy, gerrymandering, Clarence Thomas’ University of Texas speech, progressivism versus classical liberalism, and the risks of illiberal currents and court packing.
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Unitary Executive Restores Presidential Control
- The unitary executive asserts the president controls all executive branch actors and they must be removable by the president.
- Charlie Cooke argues this restores constitutional allocation of power and limits Congress's lawmaking delegation that created modern agencies.
Administrative Delegation Conflicts With Article One
- Cooke says many modern delegations to administrative agencies are unconstitutional because Article I vests lawmaking in Congress alone.
- He accepts pragmatic exceptions (e.g., Federal Reserve) but thinks proper fix is constitutional amendment or congressional retrenchment.
Line Drawing Makes Unitary Theory Tricky
- Jonah Goldberg acknowledges the broad appeal of unitary executive logic but worries about edge cases and line-drawing.
- He highlights Congress writing detailed enforcement roles (e.g., FBI) blurs legislative and executive functions.