Prev Next

How Executive Orders Work

By: Dave Roos  | 

Author's Note: How Executive Order Work

Before researching this article, I might have supported the political worldview that presidents don't really matter. There are so many players in the global political landscape — Tea Party activists, Middle East dictators, European socialists — that how much difference could one man (or woman) make? A lot, it turns out. Not only is the U.S. president a highly visible representative of American interests abroad, but he leads the political conversation at home. Executive orders, while not mentioned in the Constitution, have become an effective means of direct executive influence. Of course we love executive orders when our candidate is sitting in the Oval Office and we hate them when it's the other guy. So ask me again in four more years.

Related Articles
Sources
  • The American Presidency Project. University of California Santa Barbara. "Executive Orders: Washington – Obama" (May 23, 2012.) http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/data/orders.php
  • Bennett, James. True to Form, Clinton Shifts Energies Back To U.S. Focus." New York Times, July 5, 1998 (July 19, 2019) https://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/05/us/true-to-form-clinton-shifts-energies-back-to-us-focus.html
  • Bierman, Noah. "What's behind all of those executive orders Trump loves to sign?" Los Angeles Times. March 27, 2019 (July 19, 2019) https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-trump-executive-orders-ineffective-20190327-story.html
  • Cellizza, Chris and Petulla, Sam. "Trump is on pace to sign more executive orders than any president in the last 50 years." CNN. Oct. 13, 2017 (July 19, 2019) https://www.cnn.com/2017/10/13/politics/donald-trump-executive-orders/index.html
  • CNN. "Obama signs order to close Guantanamo Bay facility." January 22, 2009 (May 23, 2012.) http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/22/guantanamo.order/ Contrubis, John. Congressional Research Service. "Executive Orders and Proclamations." March 9, 1999 (May 29, 2012.) https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/95-772.pdf
  • Eilpernin, Juliet and Cameron, Darla. "How Trump is rolling back Obama's legacy." The Washington Post. Jan. 20, 2018 (July 19, 2019) https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/trump-rolling-back-obama-rules/?utm_term=.dd2ad78fc387
  • Farley, Robert. Politifact.com "Obama announces changes to Guantanamo detention facility." March 9, 2011 (May 23, 2012.) http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/obameter/promise/177/close-the-guantanamo-bay-detention-center/
  • The Heritage Foundation. "Heritage Explains: Executive Orders" (July 19, 2019) https://www.heritage.org/political-process/heritage-explains/executive-orders
  • Madhani, Aamer, "Executive orders: What to know as President Biden pushes his own priorities," The Associated Press, Jan. 28, 2021 (Jan. 29, 2021) https://abc11.com/executive-orders-president-joe-biden-donald-trump-order/10092504/
  • Ourdocuments.gov. "Executive Order 9066: Resulting in the Relocation of Japanese (1942)" (May 23, 2012.) http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=74
  • Patterson, Thomas E. We the People. "The Presidency: Leading a Nation." McGraw-Hill Higher Education 2004 (May 23, 2012.) http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/007281733x/student_view0/chapter12/chapter_outline.html
  • Paulsen, Michael Stokes. The Weekly Standard. "No Rule by Decree." April 30, 2012 (May 23, 2012.) https://www.weeklystandard.com/michael-stokes-paulsen/no-rule-by-decree Risen, James; and Lichtblau, Eric. The New York Times. "Bush Lets U.S. Spy on Callers Without Courts." December 16, 2005 (May 23, 2012.) http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/16/politics/16program.html?pagewanted=all
  • Rosenthal, Andrew. The New York Times. "Government by Executive Order." April 23, 2012 (May 23, 2012.) http://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/23/executive-overreach/
  • Savage, Charlie. The New York Times. "Shift on Executive Power Lets Obama Bypass Rivals." April 22, 2012 (May 23, 2012.) http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/23/us/politics/shift-on-executive-powers-let-obama-bypass-congress.html?_r=1&hp
  • Thrower, Sharece. "What is an executive order, and why don't presidents use them all the time?" The Conversation. (Jan. 29, 2021) https://theconversation.com/what-is-an-executive-order-and-why-dont-presidents-use-them-all-the-time-150896
  • Vermeule, Adrian. The New Republic. "Lawfare from the Bench." September 5, 2011 (May 23, 2012.) http://www.tnr.com/book/review/lawfare-the-bench
  • Wolf, Richard. USA Today. "Obama uses executive powers to get past Congress." October 27, 2011 (May 23, 2012.) http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/story/2011-10-26/obama-executive-orders/50942170/1

Advertisement