But an analysis of Trump’s executive actions as he nears the 100th day of his presidency on Saturday – which thus far includes 25 executive orders, 24 memorandums and 20 proclamations – show that Trump’s actions are more cosmetic than they are substantive.
Many of the actions establish big goals, but few provide legislative prescriptions. They order agency reviews and studies, ask for recommendations or tinker at the margins of existing law.
“A lot of it is for show,” said Cristina Rodríguez, a law professor at Yale University who covers constitutional and administrative law.
“Those orders don’t mean anything right now, necessarily, but it really depends in many cases on what the agencies come back with and whether the administration goes forward with and actually implements the recommendations,” she added. “Often the reviews result in a lot of paperwork.”
In many ways, Rodríguez said, Trump’s use of executive authority to break ground on his platform is hardly unusual. But the pomp and pageantry is uniquely “Trumpian”.
