On inauguration day, President Donald Trump signed more than 20 executive orders, addressing policy categories such as energy, immigration, and the economy, but what are executive orders, how do they work, and how do they influence legislation?
According to the United States Department of Justice website, “Executive orders are a constitutionally-mandated power of the executive branch used to manage the operations of the federal government” (bja.ojp.gov).
As for the mechanics of executive orders, the American Bar Association established that, “Executive orders and proclamations have the force of law, much like regulations issued by federal agencies, so they are codified under Title 3 of the Code of Federal Regulations, which is the formal collection of all of the rules and regulations issued by the executive branch and other federal agencies” (americanbar.org).
Also according to the American Bar Association, “Executive orders are not legislation; they require no approval from Congress, and Congress cannot simply overturn them. Congress may pass legislation that might make it difficult, or even impossible, to carry out the order, such as removing funding. Only a sitting U.S. president may overturn an existing executive order by issuing another executive order to that effect” (americanbar.org).
“Just because a president issues an executive order, does not mean that it is going to happen. As we’ve seen from President Trump and many, many previous presidents as well, presidents can write up executive orders, and then people challenge them, and the way that they get challenged is that they have to go to court,” said AP Government and Economics Teacher Michele Fournier.
Fournier clarified the limits to executive power through the use of these orders. She said, “Sometimes courts will say, ‘what the president is doing is constitutional and is allowed to continue’ and other times they will say ‘it is not constitutional and can’t continue.’”
“One of the easiest examples for people to remember is when Trump first came into office back in 2016. He issued a ban on people entering the country from majority Muslim countries. He issued the executive order, and then almost immediately it was overturned by the courts, and they said that he could not do that. So just because a president says he’s doing something through executive order it doesn’t necessarily mean it is going to go through, although many do,” said Fournier.
Fournier also pointed out the unique nature of executive orders when it comes to getting things done: “Not only is [the legislative process] usually slow and deliberate, it starts with something that Congress wants, because Congress is the closest representative to the people. Congress should be writing laws to reflect what it is that they ran on and what they believe the people need, and when the president oversteps that process, it can get things done quickly, but it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s what the public wants.”
She also outlined the advantages of this process: “One of the advantages [of using executive orders] is efficiency; you can get things done quickly through the process. Although, when you come across executive orders that you are not in favor of, you kind of want things to slow down and say ‘wait a minute, why doesn’t Congress get a say in this? What about the people? What about what they want?’ I don’t think his entire administration will be done through executive order, only because you have to remember that he now has control of both the House and the Senate, which are under the control of the republican party, so it’s going to be easier for him to get laws passed that he wants passed.”
Fournier offered a glimpse into the future of Trump’s presidency, and how his methods of creating policy will change over time: “Generally, people should know that in the midterm elections, which for President Trump would be coming up in 2026, generally presidents lose seats in Congress, so come 2026, democrats may gain some seats back in the House and the Senate, and he won’t be as successful in passing laws, which may be why he is going through this blitz of things that he is doing now, because he doesn’t know what’s going to happen in 2026,” said Fournier.