John Rohr, the Administrative State, and the Study of Administrative Constitutionalism

John Rohr’s work made the Constitution central to American administration. He created a normative conception of administrative constitutionalism, and through textual interpretation he argued the framers’ ideas of administration are consistent with modern administration. I interrogate Rohr’s interpretations to argue that he overstated the compatibility of the framers’ vision and modern administration. Thus, I argue, to support Rohr’s normative program we must turn away from Rohr’s static Constitution and, instead, engage theories of constitutional change.