Despite criticizing Barack Obama for signing too many executive orders, wrote Bloomberg’s Toluse Olorunnipa, Trump has gone on to issue more than his predecessor did during his first year—fifty-seven to Obama’s forty, according to a study cited in the article.
This is surprising, said Rudalevige: “Trump does have a Republican majority and in theory he could work with them toward his agenda,” he said. “But to the extent that he’s made, individually, a serious policy difference, it has been through these administrative actions.”
The article goes on to point out how “the highlights of Trump’s second year in office are shaping up to be executive actions—tariffs; renegotiated trade deals; a potential landmark meeting with North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un; perhaps the unwinding of the Iran nuclear deal. None of that will require Congressional approval.”
