US President Donald Trump is back in the White House ready to immediately overhaul the government using the fastest tool at his disposal: an executive order.
On Day One, he sought to increase domestic energy production and halt diversity, equity and inclusion programs within the federal government, among other actions.
A new president signing a bunch of executive orders is standard practice. They allow the president to have power without congressional action, but there are also limits to what the executive orders can accomplish.
A tutorial on how presidential power works and its often fleeting influence:
What are executive orders?
Basically, these are signed statements about how the president wants the federal government to be run. These may be instructions to federal agencies or requests for reports.
Many orders can be without objection, such as giving federal employees the day off after Christmas. They can also set major policies. For example, former President Joe Biden signed an executive order creating a structure to establish artificial intelligence regulations.
Recently inaugurated US President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders on his first day in office. CBC News Washington correspondent Alex Panetta explains what you need to know.
But presidents also use executive orders — and their related sausage-making policies, proclamations and policy memoranda — to push agendas they can’t get through Congress.
New presidents can – and often do – issue orders to reverse the orders of their predecessors. On the first day, Trump rescinded 78 orders and actions signed by Biden. Among Trump’s rescissions was an executive order by Biden that reversed some orders Trump had signed during his first term.
As the American Bar Association notes, the orders do not require congressional approval and cannot be overturned directly by lawmakers. However, Congress could prevent the order from being carried out by removing funding or creating other obstacles.
How common are executive orders?
Throughout U.S. history, there have been several thousand executive orders, according to data compiled by the American Presidency Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara. George Washington signed eight executive orders, while Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed 3,721.
During his first term, Trump, a Republican, signed 220.
Biden, a Democrat, had signed 160 by December 20.
Executive orders often refer to political messages
Trump has signed numerous executive orders related to his campaign promises.
These include a temporary hiring freeze at federal agencies, a mandate that federal employees return to their offices and a review of federal investigations that Trump has suggested were aimed at his supporters. He also promised an executive order to give more time to sell TikTok.
Trump has asked Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey to write an order stopping the development of offshore wind turbines to generate electricity. But it’s entirely possible that Trump could also issue many of the planned executive orders over time.
Many of Trump’s measures are likely to draw opposition from Democrats.
And in a few big cases, the orders will mostly be statements of intent based on campaign promises made by Trump.
There are limits to the powers of executive orders
Both Congress and the courts can potentially block executive orders.
For example, in 1992, Congress revoked an executive order by then-President George HW Bush that would have established a human fetal tissue bank for scientific research by declaring that the order “shall have no legal effect.” Congress can also deny funding to agencies and prevent enforcement of orders.
There are also legal challenges based on the argument that the president overstepped his legal authority.
When President Harry Truman tried to seize steel mills during the Korean War, the US Supreme Court said it had no authority to seize private property without congressional approval.
