Trump has ordered his staff to come up with an executive order on the Payroll Tax Cut, Eviction Protections, Unemployment Extensions, and Student Loan Repayment Options.
Trump tweeted:
Upon departing the Oval Office for Ohio, I’ve notified my staff to continue working on an Executive Order with respect to Payroll Tax Cut, Eviction Protections, Unemployment Extensions, and Student Loan Repayment Options.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 6, 2020
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The problem is that Trump doesn’t have the authority to do most of the things on his list by executive order. The only thing that Trump might be able to address is student loan repayment options. Trump can’t unilaterally extend unemployment or freeze evictions with an executive order.
Executive orders aren’t laws. They don’t apply to anything outside of the Executive Branch. If it involves appropriates funds or anything beyond policy implementation, Trump does not have the power to do it.
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows gave the false impression that Trump has more power than he does during a Wednesday interview. Trump can’t order that payroll taxes be cut, just as he can’t order that expanded unemployment be extended.
Any executive orders in these areas would be illegal and unenforceable.
Trump is humiliating himself and putting his powerlessness on full display by claiming to do things that he can not.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
