After returning to the White House, Donald Trump on January 20 began his first day by signing a flurry of executive orders in what is a standard practice. Executive orders allow a President to wield power without action from Congress. However, there are also limits to what the orders can achieve.
The 78-year-old leader rescinded 78 orders and actions signed by Joe Biden. From passing an order mandating the return to work in-person for federal employees to withdrawal from Paris climate treaty as well as WHO, Trump signed some of the key orders with a flourish in front of a cheering crowd.
During his first term, the Republican President had signed 220 executive orders with 33 of them being in the first 100 days. While Barack Obama (2009-2017) signed 277 executive orders, slightly more than Trump during his first term, Joe Biden signed just 160 of them between 2021 and 2025. George W Bush, who served two consecutive terms, issued 291 executive orders.
What are executive orders?
Executive orders are signed statements about how the president wants the federal government to be managed. They can be instructions to federal agencies or requests for reports. New presidents can - and in fact, often do - issue orders to cancel the orders of their predecessors.
According to the American Bar Association notes, the orders do not require congressional approval and can't be directly overturned by lawmakers. Congress can, however, block an order from being fulfilled by removing funding or creating other hurdles.
US Presidents & the love for executive orders
Throughout the history of the United States, there have been several thousand executive orders, according to data collected by the American Presidency Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Not all executive powers are of equal importance - while some may effect a dramatic shift in policy, others may cover routine matters.
At 3,721, the most numbers of executive orders in the US till date were signed by Franklin Delano Roosevelt between 1933 to 1945. In February 1942, he signed an executive order that led to the creation of detention centres for about 120,000 Japanese Americans.
These are some of the reasons why US Presidents love executive orders:
1. No specific mention anywhere ...
US Presidents primarily use executive orders and directives in order to implement actions and shape policies. However, no provision in the United States constitution or any law specifically lays down these powers.
The authority to issue such orders is accepted as an inherent aspect of presidential power.
2. Based on President's position, role
The legality of presidential orders has to be drawn from a valid source of presidential authority, which may include:
- Powers granted directly to the President under the Constitution &
- Delegated authority provided by Congress
It is totally up to the President to issue an executive order in case the Congress passes a law mandating him/her to act on a particular matter. The President enjoys certain constitutional powers and can issue executive orders in exercise of those.
3. Enjoy the force of law
The executive orders which stand legally valid have the force and effect of law. However, they can be revoked or voided by congressional or judicial action.
In addition, the authority of an executive order may be limited by powers granted to the Congress under the constitution. As an example, the appropriations power of the Congress means an executive order cannot draw funds from the US Treasury in excess of enacted appropriations. Executive powers based on the US constitution are subject to alteration or revokation via the legislative process.
4. Are easily reversed
The US President is generally free to make amendments, repeal or replace any executive order including those made by the previous presidents. Hence, policies that have neen enacted by executive order may have a shorter lifespan than polices and laws enacted through other means.
During his presidential term between 1989-1993, 41st US President George HW Bush issued executive order 12800 requiring federal contractors to notify their employees that they were not legally required to join unions. In 1993, his successor Bill Clinton issued executive order 12836 to reverse Bush's executive order. When George W Bush took oath as the 43rd President, he revoked Clinton's order with executive order 13201 in February 2001. The same was later reversed again by then President Barack Obama using executive order 13496 in January 2009.
If a policy is established by executive order then, in many cases, it can be reversed in the same way. In 2021 on the inauguration day, Joe Biden took a series of actions, including executive orders, major Trump 1.0 policies.
Why are executive orders controversial?
Executive orders are politically sensitive because they bypass approval from Congress, allowing the President to act on his own.
Republicans sued Obama over part of his 2010 healthcare changes, arguing that he had exceeded his constitutional authority when he unilaterally delayed an insurance coverage deadline. Even Trump's travel ban on some majority-Muslim countries was highly controversial, which Biden ended upon entering the White House.
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