Donald Trump's Executive Orders: A Comparison to Another US President, Plus Possible Grounds for Impeachment
ByUS President Donald Trump has signed so many executive orders in his first four weeks or presidency trying to fulfill the promises he made during the election campaign. He signed 12 executive orders so far, which is supposed to be impressive. But really, he's not the most productive president as compared to the other president who has signed 14 executive orders on his first month.
Ranking Trump and his Executive Orders
While Donald Trump would like to keep the promises he made and make the world believe he's the most productive president in US history as his advisers intended, he is still two executive orders short for his first month in office, Huffington Post reported. The most executive orders issued by a US president in the first month of office were 14. That honor belongs to former US president Barack Obama.
One of the senior White House policy advisers, Stephen Miller, made an audacious claim that President Donald Trump is a president who has done more in three weeks than most US presidents have done in their entire administration. Although this is one of those that can be considered a "boilerplate" to describe the efficiency of the new administration in its early stage, most of Trump's critics, including those who have supported him before, believe that this is a blatant lie and it's one of those clumsy makings of his administration.
PresidentTrump is a man who believes that PR is power. Now that he's president, he makes use of PR more than ever before. A good way to exercise PR and power at the same time is through the executive orders he issues, Philly reported.
Ten days after he took office, it's become familiar to Americans Donald Trump's TV image of signing documents at the Oval Office' Resolute Desk. According to a law professor at Georgetown University who is also a former FTC official, this image is a way to persuade the people that Donald Trump is accomplishing a lot by being strong and decisive.
Although it's too early to tell, Donald Trump actually accomplished little compared to his predecessor Barack Obama. He signed significant EOs including Mexico City Rule, the temporary ban on seven Muslim nations, and reducing the burden of Obamacare to name a few, his orders remain to be ambiguous; its impact still unknown.
As opposed to Donald Trump, Barack Obama signed significant pieces of law in his first weeks. These include "The Lily Ledbetter Act," which is against gender discrimination; "The Children's Health Insurance Program", which provided coverage to millions of low-income household kids; and "The Recovery And Reinvestment Act", which has the main purpose of turning the US economy around.
Can Donald Trump Be Impeached?
There were only three presidents in the US history who were either impeached or resigned from the office. These were Andrew Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Bill Clinton, Quartz reported. But Ladbrokes and Paddy Power, online betting sites, already bet on the fourth one, with 48 percent betting against Donald Trump.
Article II, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution, states that "The President, Vice-President, and all civil Officers of the United States shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and conviction of, Treason, Bribery, and other High Crimes and Misdemeanors."
President Donald Trump can be impeached in several ways. These ways include his appointees, such as General James Mattis and General John Kelly, who if pushed past their limits over Trump's controversial travel ban could begin the end of his administration; if the executive branch thinks that he is unfit for office on the grounds of mental health; his resistance to conducting investigation over Russia's involvement in the US election; and if he continues to wage war against Americas third biggest trade partner, Mexico.
He can also be impeached on the following grounds: his violation of Emoluments Clause; the sexual assault allegations against him; his refusal to release or reveal his tax returns; if the Democrats take over in the House of Congress in 2018. In the wise words of President Gerald Ford, whatever the majority of the House of Representatives decides is what defines an impeachable offense.