Trump’s Governing Just Like Obama With Congress Gridlocked
- President has signed more executive orders than predecessor
- He’s griped to confidants about congressional inaction
Trump's 'Pen-and-Phone' Presidency Begins
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President Donald Trump has entered what his predecessor called the “pen-and-phone” phase of his presidency, little more than a year into his first term.
Frustrated by a Congress that’s failed to act on his major campaign promises despite being controlled by his party, the president is leaning on his own executive authority to get things done. It’s a practice for which he and other Republicans criticized former President Barack Obama, who confronted the same problem after the GOP took over the House two years into his first term.