What Are Executive Orders?

There are individuals expressing outrage and frustration over the President’s use of Executive Orders. But a simple review of history might bring clarity.

Executive Orders are used by the chief executive of the United States to quickly and clearly communicate to agency heads and other leaders within the executive branch certain policy positions. They are also issued to give direction as to how a law will be enforced.

While these are common tools used by Presidents to give direction to employees in the executive branch, these directives are even more necessary when congress has failed to confirm Cabinet Members who oversee the various agencies of the executive branch (not to mention the rest of the over 4000 presidentially appointed positions in these agencies).

But has the current president over exercised these Executive Orders?

As of February 3, 2017, the Trump administration has issued eight (8) Executive Orders and twelve (12) Presidential Memoranda.

President Obama issued two-hundred and seventy-six (276) Executive Orders and six-hundred and forty-four (644) Presidential Memoranda during his eight years in office. By February 6, 2009, President Obama had issued fourteen (14) Executive Orders.

Most other President’s have used Executive Orders. Here are a few from the list:
George W. Bush (R) – 291 – 8 years in office
Bill Clinton (D) – 308 – 8 years in office
John F. Kennedy (D) – 214 – 2 years, 10 months in office
Dwight D. Eisenhower (R) – 484 – 8 years in office

Franklin D. Roosevelt (D) (12 years, 1 month in office) and Woodrow Wilson (R) (8 years in office), the two U.S. Presidents that are revered most by Progressives (the people who happen to be screaming the loudest now), account for 5325 Executive Orders – more than one third of all the Executive Orders ever issued by U.S. Presidents.

This information is easily found and should have been used by news organizations to frame the current controversy. Instead it has been ignored and news organizations have chosen to fan the flames of ignorance.

Do your own research. Stop trusting news agencies who repeatedly give you false information.