Understanding Executive Orders in the Trump Era
Around January 23, 2025, amid the whirlwind of executive orders coming from President Trump’s desk, a friend casually asked me: “What exactly is an executive order?” My instinctive (and very lawyerly) response was simply, “duh.” In retrospect, that wasn’t helpful—nor entirely accurate. I had always understood executive orders through a kind of Nixonian lens, fully embraced by Trump: if the President says it, then it must be legal. But that assumption—especially under the Trump administration—is dangerously flawed.
With executive orders now the centerpiece of Trump’s governing strategy, more people are asking a key question: What exactly is an executive order, and what legal authority does it carry?
What Are Executive Orders—and How Do Presidents Use Them?
As of this writing, in just 88 days back in office, President Trump has issued nearly 132 executive orders. These span immigration, public education, the sanctioning of law firms, and even punitive measures against institutions like Harvard. Many have triggered immediate legal challenges and public outcry. Regardless of their legality, their real-world consequences have been profound.
This discussion is about valid, enforceable executive orders—not unconstitutional overreaches, like attempting to end birthright citizenship via executive fiat rather than constitutional amendment.
In a functioning democracy where laws and norms matter, how much power does a president really wield through executive orders? Let’s break it down.
The Constitutional Framework
The authority for executive orders rests in the Constitution’s separation of powers:
Article I gives Congress the power to make laws.
Article II tasks the President with enforcing those laws.
Article III empowers the judiciary to interpret and review both laws and executive actions.
Ideally, each branch stays in its lane. But in practice, the lines often blur—especially with executive orders.
So, What Is an Executive Order?
An executive order is a written directive issued by the president to federal agencies, grounded in Article II’s mandate to “take care that the laws be faithfully executed.” These orders instruct federal officials on how to interpret and enforce existing laws, allocate resources, or prioritize policy goals.
But crucially: Executive orders are not laws. They cannot override existing statutes, create new laws, or grant the president powers reserved for Congress, such as taxing, declaring war, or criminalizing conduct.
In essence, the president can direct how federal agencies implement laws—but cannot make law.
What Presidents Can—and Can’t—Do with Executive Orders
Permissible Uses:
Direct agencies to act within existing legal authority
Set enforcement priorities
Launch reviews or investigations
Propose regulatory actions
Prohibited Actions:
Create new legal obligations or penalties
Contravene existing laws or the Constitution
Usurp powers reserved for Congress or the judiciary
The system of checks and balances exists precisely to prevent such overreach.
Where Executive Orders Get Their Authority
Most executive orders are rooted in either:
Statutory authority—carrying out a law passed by Congress
Constitutional authority—powers inherent to the presidency, such as military command, pardons, or foreign affairs
Historically, executive orders have played major roles in U.S. policy: the Emancipation Proclamation, desegregating the military, Japanese internment, and Nixon’s pardon all stemmed from such directives.
Legal Weight of Executive Orders
An executive order only holds legal weight if it draws from valid authority. If it creates new rights, obligations, or penalties beyond what's authorized by law or the Constitution, it crosses into legislative territory and is likely unconstitutional.
Even valid orders can be struck down if they violate constitutional protections—such as free speech, equal protection, due process, or Sixth Amendment guarantees (particularly under Sections 1, 3, and 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment).
Challenging and Overturning Executive Orders
Once issued, executive orders are presumed valid and are implemented through policy guidance, regulatory changes, and administrative enforcement.
They can be challenged or reversed in several ways:
Congress can pass laws overriding the order (if it has authority over the issue)
Courts can invalidate orders that violate constitutional or statutory limits
Future Presidents can revoke or amend past orders
Litigation usually begins when someone directly harmed by the order sues in federal court. Challenges can arise:
Immediately after issuance
During the implementation phase
At the point of enforcement
Sometimes a court ruling only blocks one agency’s actions, meaning broader enforcement can continue until other lawsuits resolve.
The Future of Trump’s Executive Orders
Trump’s return to power has brought a flood of executive orders, including attempts to:
End birthright citizenship
Freeze foreign aid without congressional input
Remove transgender identities from federal records
Restrict gender-affirming care for minors
Ban DEI programs
Target law firms and attorneys representing his political opponents
Target universities such as Columbia and Harvard
As documented by Lawfare, at least 126 lawsuits have been filed against these and other orders. Many are expected to reach the Supreme Court, where they could redefine the limits of executive power and reshape American governance for years to come.
Executive Order Format and Structure
Modern executive orders typically follow a consistent structure:
Heading – Number, date, and “Executive Order” label
Title – Short description of the order
Introduction – Legal basis, often beginning with “By the authority vested in me as President…”
Body – Organized into sections detailing directives, policies, and agency instructions
Signature – President’s name, date, and White House designation; when published in the Federal Register, includes billing codes and timestamps
Executive Order Numbering and Archives
Executive orders have been formally numbered since 1907, with retroactive assignments dating back to 1862. If older orders are discovered today, they may be assigned an existing number with a letter suffix (e.g., 7709-A).
You can find and search executive orders at:
White House: whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions
National Archives: archives.gov/federal-register/executive-orders
American Presidency Project: presidency.ucsb.edu
Akin Gump EO Tracker: akingump.com
Today’s Headlines
What Trump & Vance Fear Most: The Birth of New Thinking
On April 15, 2025, Representative Ro Khanna (CA-17), delivered a speech at Yale Law School, “In Defense of the Courts and the University,” slamming JD Vance for calling on President Trump to defy the Supreme Court, and casting universities like Yale, Vance's alma mater and Rep. Khanna’s, as the enemy. In the speech, Rep. Khanna calls out Vance for defending the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia and the administration’s deportations without due process.
Read the full text of the speech below:
In Defense of the Courts and the University
Yale Law School | 4.15.25
American Conversations: Senator Angus King (I-ME), on Paul Revere's Ride
Heather Cox Richardson and Senator Angus King (I-ME) had planned to discuss Paul Revere’s Ride and the upcoming 250th anniversary. However, Senator King “dumped the whole script and UNLOADED on President Trump and his Republican colleagues.” What intrigued me was to hear Senator King discuss how Congress is making itself irrelevant.
Heather Cox Richardson is an American historian who works as a professor of history at Boston College, where she teaches courses on the American Civil War, the Reconstruction Era, the American West, and the Plains Indians. She previously taught history at MIT and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Wikipedia .
American Conversations: Senator Angus King (I-ME), on Paul Revere's Ride
The Democracy Movement
The Contrarian covers the Democracy Movement
Click the Link, Contrarian-Democracy Movement, to see Photos of Americans Making Noise around the Country for Democracy.
Suggestions for Making Noise
Call your senators and representatives. The Capitol switchboard operator is at (202) 224-3121. An operator will connect you directly with the House and Senate offices you request.
Write your congressman! Write the Senators, both Republican and Democrat! Write them all regularly and often. Remind member of Congress that they will soon be irrelevant if they ignore Trump and Musk seizing the power of the purse and smacking down acts of Congress like those acts have no meaning and never had any meaning.
Try talking to your friends and family to educated them that Trump/Musk are destroying our country and every great thing that it has stood for in the last 80 years, such as NATO, the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Health.
Join a local pro-democracy group organizing to fight authoritarianism. If there aren’t any in your community, build one! Autocracy flourishes when people feel isolated and powerless. So we have to build power—and that begins at the local level: in libraries, churches, offices, and cafes.
Find local pro-democracy activists, and join them. The Grassroots Directory is a great resource for finding organizations in your area, and RepresentUS has a great page to help you get started.
Register! Then know who is running and who is on your ballot, at every level, and vote. Many election ballots include multiple races, from the president to your school board. Authoritarians and election deniers take power at local levels—so it’s important to stay vigilant and engaged there.
Hit them where it hurts—their wallets: The way to undermine corporate capitulation to authoritarians is to make them lose money. These brands are associated with the worst actors. Organize and participate in mass boycotts. Explore ways you can exercise other rights in the market: Tesla has already lost more than 43% of its value since Musk joined the administration; due to public backlash.
Hold your lawmakers accountable: Engaging with legislators and officials is crucial in defending civil rights. Here’s a resource for emailing or calling your members of Congress in your district. Get them on the record. Show up to city council meetings, testify at legislative hearings and town halls. Join mass call-in or lobby days in support of bills like the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (and oppose dangerous legislation like the SAVE Act (which weaponizes fear to restrict civil liberties.) Stay loud, vigilant, and relentless.
Educate yourself: understand the ways authoritarians try to take power and make policy that affects your community. Defending democracy and fighting tyranny starts with knowledge. Authoritarians thrive in low-information environments. They rely on people not knowing enough to recognize what they’re doing. Learn about your government and rights, whether in the workplace, during protests, or when interacting with law enforcement. Stay informed about how to register, key deadlines, vote-by-mail procedures, early voting options, ID requirements, and election security measures, using resources like nass.org/can-I-vote, and EAC.gov.
Take action with Hands Off or 50501 : Find an event and participate : Hands Off and 50501
Make Noise!
Kristin M.
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