, Columnist
Obama’s Use of Executive Power Outdid Trump’s
Both presidents overstepped their bounds. But only one did it competently.
Guess which one was sloppy?
Photographer: Jack Gruber-Pool/Getty Images
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President Barack Obama’s creative use of executive power set a precedent that President Donald Trump is now exploiting. But what kind of precedent will Trump’s actions set? The good news for those of us who think that both presidents overstepped their bounds is that Trump’s executive actions might not be deft enough to have a lasting effect.
Obama issued quasi-amnesties for large groups of illegal immigrants after repeatedly saying that he had no constitutional power to do it. Congress had failed to act in the way he wanted, he explained, so he had to do it himself.