No sooner did President Donald Trump resume his occupancy of the White House than he signed more than 200 executive orders in rapid succession. These directives radically shifted federal policies on issues ranging from immigration enforcement to energy production. While their full impact remains to be seen, many of these will face inevitable legal challenges, leading to prolonged court battles that will likely shape their outcomes and determine their long-term viability.
Executive orders instruct federal agencies on how to act or refrain from acting in specific ways. They do not grant new powers to the president—only Congress can do that—but instead rely on authority already granted by the Constitution or Congress. Importantly, these orders apply only to federal agencies and employees, meaning they do not directly govern private citizens or state governments.
During President Trump’s first term, his Muslim travel ban became a key example of the challenges executive orders can face. The policy underwent extensive legal scrutiny, triggering multiple court battles and requiring revisions before a significantly weakened version was upheld by the Supreme Court. Similarly, many of Trump’s current orders are likely to follow a comparable trajectory, encountering legal disputes that will likely delay or significantly alter their implementation.
President Trump’s executive order blitz is both a show of strength and a recognition of a significant weakness: the difficulty of passing legislation with slim GOP majorities in Congress. These actions serve largely as symbolic victories, signaling to his base that he is addressing their priorities decisively. With legislative gridlock persisting, executive orders allow him to create the appearance of advancing his agenda without requiring congressional approval.
One of the most controversial orders aims to ban birthright citizenship for children born in the U.S. to undocumented immigrants. This directive challenges the Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment, instructing federal agencies to deny citizenship documents to such children. No sooner was the ink dry on the order than it faced an immediate challenge in court by the ACLU. It will likely require a Supreme Court ruling, and while it may be fast-tracked, its full impact could take years to materialize, if at all.
Beyond executive orders, President Trump’s flurry of actions includes policy memorandums, national security directives, and proclamations. For instance, he has declared a national emergency to secure additional funding for southern border security—a strategy he used in his first term to redirect funds for building a border wall. However, justifying the emergency declaration may prove difficult, as illegal crossings have dropped significantly in recent months.
President Trump has also revived Schedule F in an effort to strip senior civil servants of job protections and allow their replacement with political appointees. Supporters argue this ensures loyalty to presidential priorities, but critics warn it could politicize the federal workforce and revive the corruption of patronage. Legal challenges to test its compliance with employment laws are inevitable.
Another policy targeted by President Trump focuses on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs in federally funded institutions. By tying federal funding to the elimination of these programs, Trump aims to dismantle what he views as ideological control of big institutions. However, this heavy-handed approach risks undermining meaningful progress in promoting diversity and addressing systemic inequities in both corporations and universities.
The fate of executive orders ultimately depends on the shifting winds of politics and the electoral cycle. During his first term, Trump issued 220 executive orders, many of which were overturned by President Biden. Similarly, Biden’s 162 orders, such as rejoining the Paris Climate Accord, have been targeted for reversal during Trump’s second term. This pattern underscores the temporary nature of executive actions and highlights the need for congressional action to achieve enduring policy change.
The Supreme Court will play a key role in determining the legality of Trump’s actions, but their broader political implications are equally significant. While these orders may energize his base, they risk alienating moderates and deepening partisan divisions. Prolonged legal battles will likely dominate headlines, further shaping public perceptions of his administration’s effectiveness and its approach to governance. Despite the Court’s conservative majority, there is no guarantee it will uphold all of these orders, as justices may still scrutinize their legal and constitutional foundations. Some of Trump’s expansion of presidential powers may even be too extreme for conservative justices to support.
Trump’s reliance on executive orders highlights the tension between bold actions and the checks and balances central to the American political system. While he didn’t create the precedent for using executive orders heavily, he took it to new extremes, encouraging future presidents to rely even more on bypassing Congress. These orders can bring quick changes, but their long-term success depends on surviving legal challenges, political opposition, and resistance within the federal bureaucracy.
Robert Cropf is a Professor of Political Science at Saint Louis University.
An Independent Voter's Perspective on Current Political Divides
In the column, "Is Donald Trump Right?", Fulcrum Executive Editor, Hugo Balta, wrote:
For millions of Americans, President Trump’s second term isn’t a threat to democracy—it’s the fulfillment of a promise they believe was long overdue.
Is Donald Trump right?
Should the presidency serve as a force for disruption or a safeguard of preservation?
Balta invited readers to share their thoughts at newsroom@fulcrum.us.
David Levine from Portland, Oregon, shared these thoughts...
I am an independent voter who voted for Kamala Harris in the last election.
I pay very close attention to the events going on, and I try and avoid taking other people's opinions as fact, so the following writing should be looked at with that in mind:
Is Trump right? On some things, absolutely.
As to DEI, there is a strong feeling that you cannot fight racism with more racism or sexism with more sexism. Standards have to be the same across the board, and the idea that only white people can be racist is one that I think a lot of us find delusional on its face. The question is not whether we want equality in the workplace, but whether these systems are the mechanism to achieve it, despite their claims to virtue, and many of us feel they are not.
I think if the Democrats want to take back immigration as an issue then every single illegal alien no matter how they are discovered needs to be processed and sanctuary cities need to end, every single illegal alien needs to be found at that point Democrats could argue for an amnesty for those who have shown they have been Good actors for a period of time but the dynamic of simply ignoring those who break the law by coming here illegally is I think a losing issue for the Democrats, they need to bend the knee and make a deal.
I think you have to quit calling the man Hitler or a fascist because an actual fascist would simply shoot the protesters, the journalists, and anyone else who challenges him. And while he definitely has authoritarian tendencies, the Democrats are overplaying their hand using those words, and it makes them look foolish.
Most of us understand that the tariffs are a game of economic chicken, and whether it is successful or not depends on who blinks before the midterms. Still, the Democrats' continuous attacks on the man make them look disloyal to the country, not to Trump.
Referring to any group of people as marginalized is to many of us the same as referring to them as lesser, and it seems racist and insulting.
We invite you to read the opinions of other Fulrum Readers:
Trump's Policies: A Threat to Farmers and American Values
The Trump Era: A Bitter Pill for American Renewal
Federal Hill's Warning: A Baltimorean's Reflection on Leadership
Also, check out "Is Donald Trump Right?" and consider accepting Hugo's invitation to share your thoughts at newsroom@fulcrum.us.
The Fulcrum will select a range of submissions to share with readers as part of our ongoing civic dialogue.
We offer this platform for discussion and debate.