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A quick explainer on executive orders, since they always come up and especially early in an administration. 1/
An executive order is, very simply, a directive to a subordinate in the executive branch to do something. While not explicitly stated as a presidential power in Art. 2, they have been used since the Washington Administration. 2/
And they are certainly constitutional because of the vestment clause, which vests in the president “the executive Power,” which must logically include the power to have subordinates carry out your lawful orders. 3/
Most orders are routine. Presidents use them to create advisory commissions, to adjust rates of pay for federal employees, to close federal offices, and the like. 4/
EOs cannot directly govern your private behavior as a private citizen because you are not the president’s subordinate. Now, they can LEAD to regulations that might govern this behavior, but that goes through the standard regulatory process. 5/
The president, of course, doesn’t physically write the orders himself. They’re drawn up frequently by legal counsel and vetted by the DOJ ahead of time for legality. This is governed by a process set out by Pres. Kennedy. 6/
They aren’t always “presidential” in any meaningful sense. Often the orders are written in the various agencies of the executive branch and sent to the WH to be signed. Agencies, in essence, asking for authority to do that which they already want to do. 7/
And their applicability to independent agencies is questionable. Presidents frequently do not have the legal authority to direct independent agencies to do anything. But I can talk more about independent agencies another time if people give a rip. 8/8
