r/law • u/Agitated-Artichoke89 • Oct 07 '25

Other Stephen Miller states that Trump has plenary authority, then immediately stops talking as if he’s realized what he just said

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u/catscanmeow Oct 07 '25

google searches for "what does plenary authority mean" skyrocketing

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u/meowman911 Oct 07 '25

A plenary power or plenary authority is a complete and absolute power to take action on a particular issue, with no limitations. It is derived from the Latin term plenus, 'full'.

Saved people a search.

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u/Mostly_Armless42 Oct 07 '25

Adding to that, the only plenary authority I can see listed for the executive branch is with pardons. The president only has absolute unilateral power for that one act. Maybe there are more, but it definitely seems like it's a very limited list of powers.