Lyndon Johnson actually said...
The Secretary of State is hereby designated and empowered to exercise, without the approval, ratification, or other action of the President, the authority conferred upon the President by the first section of the Act of July 3, 1926 (22 U.S.C. 211a), to designate and prescribe for and on behalf of the United States rules governing the granting, issuing, and verifying of passports.
08/04/1966