that, for the most part, public administration stands apart from constitutional theory Historically, along with its luminaries and myriad reformers, the field of public administration as a whole has largely inter preted the U S Constitution's separation of powers in ways that expand presidential authority over federal agencies and restrict Congress's constitutional role in regulating and overseeing the executive branch "Executive-centered," or "executivist" perspectives, as Pfiffner calls them, have been justified in the name of demociacy, efficiency, national security, and account ability However, Pfiffner cogently argues that good intentions are irrelevant In the U S constitutional context, the separation of powers is fundamental to liberty and the rule of law When a president asserts extraordinarily broad constitutional powers, as did President George W Bush, both are at risk