The so-called “Presentment Clause” of Article I, Section 7 says
that before a bill passed by both houses of Congress can become
law, it must be “presented to the President of the United
States.” The President can then either sign the bill or veto it.
But does the President have to personally sign the bill with his
own very hands, or can he direct a subordinate to put the
President’s signature on the bill with an autopen? What should
happen, for example, if the President needs to sign a bill into
law immediately but he’s in, like, New Zealand, maybe, or the
Aleutian Islands? Well, the Office of Legal Counsel issued an
opinion in 2005 that confirms the President’s authority to
direct a subordinate to put the President’s signature on an
enrolled bill through autopen. Here’s the paragraph summarizing
the opinion’s reasoning: Our analysis proceeds as follows: In
Part I, we examine the legal understanding of the word “sign” at
the time the Constitution was drafted and ratified and during
the early years of the Repu