at the pleasure of (someone)

phrase

—used to say that something is done or can be done because someone wants it to be done

I serve at the pleasure of the president, and I will continue to serve as long as the president wants me to.

Examples of at the pleasure of (someone) in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This is why the first version of the Banking Act of 1935, which originally had the leader of the Fed serving at the pleasure of the President and had the Secretary of the Treasury chairing the Fed Board, was changed. — Raghuram Rajan, Time, 23 Jan. 2026

In Sonnenfeld’s telling, the president’s recent moves substitute executive discretion for market outcomes, leaving managers and shareholders operating not within a free market, but at the pleasure of the White House. — Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 8 Jan. 2026

The Supreme Court agreed and ruled against the Roosevelt administration, ruling Humphrey was improperly fired and was not serving at the pleasure of the president. — Alison Durkee, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2025

Overall, these institutions emerged at the pleasure of a growing leisure class. — Maria Papadouris, JSTOR Daily, 21 Aug. 2025