Blogfather and Law Professor Glenn Reynolds tackles the question in a new law review article.
From the abstract:
During a recent policy kerfuffle, Vice President Dick Cheney’s office briefly argued that the Vice President is really a legislative official, and hence not subject to some obligations of the Executive branch. Though Cheney’s office quickly shifted its argument to less controversial statutory grounds, it turns out that the Vice Presidency’s legislative character is, in fact, quite significant. To the extent that the Vice President is a legislative official, however, it is likely that extensive delegation of Presidential authority to the Vice President, of the sort that Vice President Cheney has enjoyed, is probably unconstitutional and certainly unwise. This Essay argues for congressional action to limit the Vice President’s role in Executive business.
It’s an interesting argument, especially considering the fact that the Vice-Presidency has become a far more important office than it was prior to the late 20th Century thanks largely to the fact that Vice-President’s have been been granted, or assumed, powers that the Constitution clearly says belong only to the President.
Update: Also available in HTML format here.
