The Cato Institute stands for the foundational American values of individual liberty, limited government, free markets, and peace. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution established American independence and our form of government to guard those values by restricting government power primarily to the protection of individual rights. For almost 50 years, Cato scholars have not shied away from criticizing policies that strike against our values and the Constitution, nor do we hold back praise when we see those values upheld. In that spirit, we introduce the Cato Handbook on Executive Orders and Presidential Directives to guide the next administration.1 Article I of the Constitution vests Congress with the power to legislate within the confines of its enumerated powers.2 Article II vests the president with "executive power," which encompasses the duty to "take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed" and the president's status as the commander in chief of the armed forces, which are much more general powers than those granted to Congress.3 However, successive Congresses have gradually delegated much of their power to the president or stood idly by as presidents have usurped more power that is legislative in nature and effect. National crises, such as the Civil War, the Spanish-American War, the Great Depression, the World Wars, and the Global War on Terrorism, were the impetuses for many of the surges in presidential power, but the power never reverted to its former limits at the conclusion of those emergencies.4 Such legislative or quasi-legislative action by the president usurps Congress's legislative power. The president's power is now so gargantuan that it alone is sufficient reason to focus on the president's means of exercising power.5 Nowhere is this increase in executive power more apparent than in the proliferation of executive orders (EOs) and other executive proclamations, memoranda, directives, executive agreements, and edicts with the force of law.
Authors
- Pages
- 70
- Published in
- United States of America
Table of Contents
- _Hlk166211072 11
- Introduction 6
- Administrative State 16
- Reinstate and Amend “Democratic Accountability in Agency Rulemaking” Executive Order 17
- Revoke “Protecting the Federal Workforce” Executive Order 18
- Amend “Equal Opportunity Employment” and “Equal Employment Opportunity in the Federal Government” to Ban Federal Affirmative Action Executive Orders 19
- Revoke Culture War Executive Orders 20
- Education and Family 21
- Revoke White House Initiatives on “Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics” and “Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Black Americans” Executive Orders 22
- Revoke “Quality Care and Supporting Caregivers” Executive Order 23
- Energy and Environment 24
- Revoke “Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis” Executive Order 25
- Revoke “Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad” Executive Order 26
- Revoke “Modernizing Regulatory Review” Executive Order and Reinstate “Regulatory Planning and Review” Executive Order 27
- Revoke Federal Procurement Mandates for “Climate-Related Financial Risk” and “Clean Energy Industries and Jobs through Federal Sustainability” Executive Orders 29
- Foreign Policy, National Defense, and Intelligence 31
- Revoke “Authority to Order the Ready Reserve of the Armed Forces to Active Duty to Address International Drug Trafficking” Executive Order 32
- Revoke “Reimposing Certain Sanctions with Respect to Iran” Executive Order 33
- Close the Guantanamo Bay Detention Facilities 34
- End the Iraq Stabilization National Emergency 36
- Restore Reporting of US Military Strikes in Areas outside Active Hostilities 38
- Revoke “Classified National Security Information” Executive Order and Make the Classification and Declassification System Mandatory 39
- Amend “United States Intelligence Activities” Executive Order 40
- Health Care 42
- Amend “Protecting and Improving Medicare for Our Nation’s Seniors” Executive Order 43
- Expand “Lowering Drug Prices by Putting America First” Executive Order 44
- Expand “Increasing Drug Importation to Lower Prices for American Patients” Executive Order 45
- Revoke “Improving Rural Health and Telehealth Access” Executive Order 46
- Revoke “Protecting the Federal Workforce and Requiring Mask-Wearing” Executive Order 47
- Revoke “Strengthening Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act” Executive Order and Reinstate “Minimizing the Economic Burden of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Pending Repeal” and “Promoting Healthcare Choice and Competition across the United 48
- Revoke “Continuing to Strengthen Americans’ Access to Affordable, Quality Health Coverage” Executive Order 50
- Taxation 51
- Revoke “Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs Review of Treasury Regulations” Memorandum of Agreement 52
- Technology 53
- Amend the “Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence” Executive Order 54
- Trade and Immigration 56
- Revoke “Findings of the Investigation into China’s Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property, and Innovation under Section 301” Presidential Memoranda 57
- Revoke “Adjusting Imports of Aluminum into the United States” and “Adjusting Imports of Steel into the United States” Proclamations 59
- Revoke “To Facilitate Positive Adjustment to Competition from Imports of Certain Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells” Proclamations 60
- Revoke “Strengthening Buy and Hire American Requirements” Executive Orders 61
- Revoke “Investing in America and Investing in American Workers” Executive Order 62
- Revoke Executive Order That Increases Visa Wait Times 63
- Revoke “Securing the Border” Proclamation 64
- Revoke “Mandated Use of E-Verify” and “Heightened Workplace Immigration Enforcement in Federal Contracting” Executive Orders 65
- Conclusion 66
