Despite the numbers that the republicans have in the house, the new president, Donald Trump, had issued many executive orders in his short time in office. It seems like everyday CNN and FOX are reporting on new orders albeit from two different perspectives.
Both parties have opinions on the amount and content of Trump’s orders. Even those who are trying to keep an open mind about the new president have some opinion on how his first few weeks in office have been. Cabinet picks and Russia scandals aside, the executive orders have been a huge factor in Trump’s administration.
These orders have not been small ones either. The Dakota Access Pipeline was ordered to be built even though protests against it have been taking place for about a year. According to Politico.com, Trump has also issued a gag order on the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Agriculture that says they are not allowed to share any of their findings with the press or the American public via social media. This administration is allowed to believe whatever they would like about climate change and the state of the environment but to censor an entire agency is a step too far.
Outrage was sparked most over Trump’s order to restrict immigration into the country and enforce more ‘extreme vetting’. According to whitehouse.gov, the order’s official creed is protecting the nation from foreign terrorist entry into the United States. There are many subcategories within this bill, but the main idea is to keep out refugees from seven specific countries in the Middle East and strengthen the general borders around the country. After a great deal of protesting, debate and a few resignations of high level officials, a federal judge halted the ban. It was deemed unconstitutional and tabled, at least for now.
“It is one thing to revise immigration background checks, but restricting immigrants and even citizens from entering the U.S. from certain countries is too much,” senior Ben Wyss said.
These orders are extreme and make good headlines, but his supporters appreciate him actually getting things done. All of his campaign promises are becoming administration realities. Trump has issued almost 30 memorandums, proclamations and executive orders. Most of them have to do with preventing violence in the justice sector and protecting the country with stricter immigration laws. These have been hot button issues the past few years.
“Although I may disagree with President Trump’s stances, I appreciate that he is working to fulfill his campaign promises,” Wyss said.
The amount of executive orders placed by presidents has actually been on the decline. The division and ego that wrecks Congress can make it difficult to push legislation through, but there are still thousands of bills read and debated every year. Executive orders can be pushed with just the stroke of a pen and yet they are not utilized as often as they could be. Maybe because they also face more intense media scrutiny.
The media is a huge part of the executive order dilemma. In the early 1900s, presidents were signing one almost everyday, but it was not covered as much. Now that there are news stations devoted to 24 hour news coverage, anything they can get their hands on, they will report. The left and right media have analyzed each and every order. Trump is fulfilling his campaign promises but there are a limited number of people that actually took those promises seriously.
These orders affect everyone in the United States and even those who are trying to enter. It affects those who are pro Trump and those who ‘do not have a president’.