The current President has chosen to use a policy of issuing many executive orders (161) during his first few months rather than proposing legislation. He recently changed that with a proposed “Great Big Budget Bill” that passed the House and is now under consideration in the Senate.

Most Presidents use Executive Orders to get quicker action than they can via legislation. The limits on that strategy are these orders can be challenged in court. Many of this President’s orders have resulted in lawsuits from a variety of sources. In some cases, the courts have intervened on their own. It remains to be seen how effective this policy may be considering that many of his major programs have been thwarted or delayed.

Donald Trump's Job Approval Rating: Newsweek

The first three months of the second term of our 47th President has been unprecedented in every respect: More Executive Orders than FDR, more people let go than Clinton, and severe strains on legal and Constitution bounds.

According to ABC News, 220 lawsuits have been filed against the current administration since January. According to the New York Times, 58,486 people have been fired, 76,000 took buyouts, and 148,320 laid-off or are planned to be cut. The top four agencies with cuts are AID 93%, VOA 85%, America Corps 93%, and CFDB 85%. Although no official figures have been released, the goal appears to be 12%, or 2.4 million from all departments. There have been issues about funding or defunding agencies set in law by the Congress.

Perhaps the most newsworthy has been the number of tariffs introduced, reduced, or withdrawn. The DJIA experienced a monthly return of -4.33% in March and -3.95% in April, according to StatMuse.

Politics today can be summarized in one word: Trump. His executive orders, and the backlash to them, dominate the news cycle. Congressmen and Senators are getting an earful at their Town Hall meetings back home, but that hasn’t given any backbone to them to stand up to Trump. Our Senator Tom Tillis played it safe by having the meeting at the Carolina Country Club, where only the elite are admitted. The North Carolina General Assembly is just beginning its long debate on the upcoming 2-year budget.

Senator Bernie Sanders and Congresswoman Maria-Cortez have drawn crowds on their national tour, but Trump doesn’t listen to protesters. He deports them. The numerous lawsuits have ended up in court and are on appeal, which means that nothing has been done to contain him. The court cases will be dragged out just like the criminal cases were prior to his second term. His other primary action has been to take personal revenge against those whom he sees as his enemies. This makes Nixon’s list look petty.