Donald Trump doesn’t want to waste any time. Immediately after his swearing-in as American president, he wants to impose his policy by signing over 200 executive orders.
But what exactly are they?
“Executive orders” are (in principle) signed statements of how the president wants the federal government to be run. They can be instructions to certain federal agencies or requests for reports.
Trump said he plans to sign more than 200 executive orders on his first day as the 47th president of the United States. They would cover deportations, the U.S.-Mexico border, domestic energy, gender-related school policies, and vaccine mandates. He also promised an executive order to give more time to selling TikTok.
Undo predecessor’s policy
Executive orders do not require Congressional approval and cannot be revoked immediately by legislatures—two reasons why new presidents often use them to undo the policies of their predecessor(s).
Executive orders can also establish important policies. For example, President Joe Biden signed an order to create a structure for regulating artificial intelligence. Some orders are also unassailable, such as giving federal employees the day after Christmas off.
Although they do not require congressional approval, Congress can still prevent an order from being carried out by cutting off specific funding or creating other obstacles.
Finally, there are legal limitations. When President Harry Truman sought to seize steel mills by executive order during the Korean War, the U.S. Supreme Court said he had no authority to seize private property without Congressional approval.
The option has been used thousands of times in American history, although one president has used it more than the other. For example, George Washington is said to have signed 8 executive orders, while Franklin Delano Roosevelt did so 3,721 times. During his first term, Trump signed 220, Joe Biden limited it to 160 in four years.
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