What are executive orders in the US and how much power do they have?
US President Donald Trump has returned to the White House ready to reshuffle the government immediately, using the fastest tool at his disposal: an executive order.
On his first day, he looked at increasing domestic energy production and ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs across the federal government, among other measures.
It is standard practice for an incoming president to sign a series of executive orders. They allow the president to exercise power without taking action from Congress, but there are limits to what executive orders can achieve.
Here are some key facts about how presidential power works and its often-transient impact:
What are executive orders?
Basically, they are signed statements by the president about how he wants the federal government to be run. These may be instructions or reporting requirements to federal agencies.
Many orders cannot be challenged, such as giving federal workers the day off after Christmas. They can also set basic policies. For example, former President Joe Biden signed an executive order creating a framework for artificial intelligence regulation.
The newly inaugurated US President Donald Trump signed a number of orders on his first day in office. CBC’s Washington correspondent Alex Panetta has the information you need to know.
But executive orders — and their sausage-making siblings, the proclamation and policy memorandum — are also used by presidents 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 On his first day, Trump rescinded 78 executive orders and actions signed by Biden. Among Trump’s rescissions is Biden’s order, which overturns some executive orders signed by Trump during his first term.
As the American Bar Association points out, executive orders do not require congressional approval and cannot be directly overridden by lawmakers. Still, Congress can prevent the order from being carried out by eliminating funding or creating other obstacles.
How common are executive orders?
According to data collected by the American Presidency Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara, there have been several thousand executive orders throughout U.S. history. George Washington signed eight executive orders, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed 3,721 executive orders.
During his first presidency, Republican Trump signed 220 signatures.
Democrat Biden had signed 160 by December 20.
Executive orders are often tied to political messages
Trump has signed numerous executive orders related to his campaign promises.
These include a temporary hiring freeze for federal agencies, a mandate that federal workers return to their offices for work, and a review of federal investigations that Trump has suggested targeted supporters. He also promised an executive order to give TikTok more time to sell.
Trump asked Rep. Jeff Van Drew, Republican of New Jersey, to write an executive order to stop the development of offshore wind turbines to generate electricity. But it’s entirely possible that Trump could also implement many of the planned executive orders over time.
Many of Trump’s measures will attract Democratic opposition.
And in a few key cases, the orders will be statements of intent based largely on Trump’s campaign promises.
There are limits to the power of executive orders
Both Congress and the courts can potentially block executive orders.
For example, in 1992, Congress repealed then-President George HW Bush’s executive order establishing a human fetal tissue bank for scientific research, declaring it “shall have no legal effect.” Congress can also deny funding to agencies and block enforcement of the executive order.
There are also legal challenges based on the argument that the president has exceeded his legal authority.
When President Harry Truman tried to seize steel mills during the Korean War, the U.S. Supreme Court said he had no authority to seize private property without Congressional approval.
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