Question

Presidents have used executive orders to jump start the nation's response to societal challenges. In 3-5 sentences, explain the advantages and disadvantages of employing executive orders. Use specific examples in your response.

Answer 1

Executive orders let a president act quickly and direct the federal bureaucracy without waiting for Congress, which is useful in emergencies or to implement policy rapidly (for example FDR issued many orders to mobilize the economy and military in WWII). They can also achieve important social change when legislation stalls, as Truman’s Executive Order 9981 desegregating the armed forces showed. However, orders can bypass the normal legislative debate and checks-and-balances, risking overreach and weaker democratic accountability; they are also vulnerable to judicial review or reversal by subsequent presidents (seen in legal battles over the travel ban and the shifting status of DACA). Finally, hasty or expansive orders can cause serious harms — for example FDR’s Executive Order 9066, which authorized Japanese American internment, illustrates the danger of executive overreach.