Donald Trump has vowed to erase much of Barack Obama’s legacy by either revoking President Obama’s executive orders or by dismantling his policies by issuing his own executive orders.
An executive order is a rule that is issued by a president which has the force of law but it can be easily revoked by another president because it does not have to go before congress.
But as easy as an executive order is to instate, it can also easily be revoked by another president.
In order to dismantle the president’s policies, Trump could either revoke Obama’s orders or issue some of his own to override the rules.
Some of Obama’s policies that could be on the chopping block include those on:
- Climate change
- Trade
- Health care
- Immigration
- National security
Trump could start instating his own executive orders as soon as on his first day in office.
FACTS ON PRESIDENTIAL EXECUTIVE ORDERS
If Donald Trump follows through on his promise, this would not be the first time a president has revoked another president’s orders.
In 2009, President Obama revoked George Bush’s order to allowed the CIA to use waterboarding as an interrogation tactic.
When creating an order on national security in 1994, Bill Clinton revoked several past orders on the issue.
President Obama has issued more than 250 executive orders during his time in office.
The president who issued the most orders was Franklin D. Roosevelt.
He issued more than 3,700 orders during his 12 years in office, which spanned from the Great Depression to the Second World War.
William Henry Harrison issued no executive orders, but he was only in office for about a month before dying.
In total, more than 15,000 executive orders have been issued in U.S. history.
The most famous executive order issued was by president Abraham Lincoln called the Emancipation Proclamation.
