February 26, 2025 • 23 mins
What if presidential executive actions held more power than you ever imagined? On this episode, we embark on a journey through the intricacies of executive orders, memorandum, and proclamations, revealing their historic roots and contemporary significance. From George Washington's strategic moves to Biden's controversial Student loan forgiveness policy, we spotlight the most notable executive actions that have shaped U.S. governance.
We scrutinize the balance between swift presidential action and the preservation of democratic checks and balances. We'll navigate the debate on whether executive orders concentrate too much power or function as necessary tools in a bureaucratic landscape. Exploring landmark orders like the Emancipation Proclamation, we ponder their lasting impact on civil rights and societal progress. Whether it's the surprising creation of new holidays or the enduring traditions, our conversation promises to leave you with a richer understanding of these powerful presidential tools.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Victor (00:00):
Caesar, how depressed am I going to be after this
episode.
Rob (00:04):
I grabbed a tissue and my crying blanket.
I am ready?
Victor (00:07):
Are you ready?
Take the hope out.
Cesar (00:08):
of me today, but you're going to learn.
You're going to learn today.
All right, here we go, here wego, here we go.
What if I told you, with justone signature, the course of
history could be changed?
Victor (00:21):
I'd believe you.
It's called the Magna Cartabitch could be changed, I
believe you.
Cesar (00:28):
It's called the Magna Carta bitch Wow History.
Every president, from GeorgeWashington to Donald Trump, has
used executive actions toenforce policies, respond to
crises and push their agendasforward.
But what exactly are executiveactions?
Are they necessary tools forleadership or do they give the
president too much power?
I'm not dumb, but what arepresidential executive actions?
Welcome to the I'm not dumb,but podcast, where we won't
(00:50):
claim to have the answers tolife's deepest questions.
Victor (00:52):
But we'll give you an exciting journey into the realms
of knowledge you never knew youneeded.
Cesar (00:56):
Might be mainstream, but not common knowledge.
From artificial intelligence toconspiracy theories, no topic
is too taboo for us to explore.
Let's get curious together.
I'm your host, cesar, joinedalways by Chris, yup, rob, you
and Victor.
Victor (01:14):
How y'all doing.
Cesar (01:15):
What is up, fellas, what is up?
Let's make some executivedecisions.
Victor (01:20):
Yeah, and I'm not talking about Steven Seagal
movies.
Never saw that one.
You never saw ExecutiveDecision.
No, he died in like fiveminutes into the movie.
Rob (01:30):
But he held the plane together.
He held two planes together heheld two planes together With
both his hands so that the guyscould make it through.
So John Leguizamo can live.
You know what he put that inthere.
John Leguizamo can live.
You know what he put that inthere?
Chris (01:46):
John Leguizamo said that he wanted to die like that, Like
he was, like I'm going to holdthese planes together.
Rob (01:50):
It's an excellent film.
You got to watch it.
That's terrible, but you stillgot to watch it.
I hope there's a good movie onthis flight.
Cesar (01:55):
So congratulations to us.
We became the president of theUnited States Together, no.
Rob (02:01):
I think only like one of us could be president, because
only like one of us was, like,born in America.
Yeah, well, that's true.
Cesar (02:07):
I could be vice president .
Rob (02:08):
I mean yeah.
Victor (02:11):
And you could be like a manager at a Starbucks too.
Manager, assistant manager.
Cesar (02:16):
So one of the most powerful positions in the world?
Well, second only to a bouncerat a club that you're really
trying trying to get into.
The presidents always have bigplans, ideas and, let's be real
big obstacles, like that peskything called the congress,
slowing them down.
But presidency comes equippedwith a hundred thousand miles
(02:37):
powertrain warranty and thepower of the executive actions.
What are executive actions?
You might be asking why I'mhere.
Well no, you're here forsomething else, I'm just you're
kind of strolling into a collegecourse You're like am I in the
right one?
Victor (02:50):
I'm like surveying.
Cesar (02:52):
Is this math?
Chris (02:54):
No, I remember that class .
It was just between recess andlunch.
Cesar (03:00):
But they tell the federal government what to do.
Do, but not all executiveactions are the same.
So there's three differenttypes.
We got the executive orders.
Those are the big ones, thoseare the power moves, those are
the ones we know most about, andthese things are legally
binding orders that directfederal agencies how to enforce
laws or policies.
Think of these as like companywide emails that everyone has to
(03:24):
follow.
So then we got the presidentialmemoranda, and these are kind
of like executive orders butthey carry less weight.
So think of it like, as yourcompany says, we should probably
be focusing on this.
They don't release it to thepublic, but it's kind of like a
directive that internally weshould follow.
And then, lastly, we gotproclamations, and and some of
them are purely ceremonial, likethe Thanksgiving proclamations,
(03:46):
like the one we do every yearGive thanks to God for football
and food and some of the oneshave legal consequences.
And you guys must remember thisone Lincoln's Emancipation
Proclamation.
Victor (03:59):
Can you say that again, but actually say it?
Lincoln's Emancipation.
Cesar (04:03):
I can't even say itcipation, I can't even say it
now.
I can't even say it nowemancipation proclamation, I
can't even say it, I don't think.
Emancipation proclamation, oh,there you go, there you go.
The difference betweenexecutive actions and laws.
(04:24):
Congress has the authority topass laws through their lengthy
legislative process, whileexecutive actions take effect
immediately.
Rob (04:34):
So then, why don't we just make laws?
Why don't we just do executiveorders?
They sound like a lot moreefficient.
Victor (04:39):
Wouldn't that make the president the role of a king at
that point Powerful?
Chris (04:43):
right, yeah.
Cesar (04:44):
Because, although executive orders are powerful,
they do come with theirlimitations.
Rob (04:50):
Okay, so there is some sort of checks and balance.
Cesar (04:53):
Those pesky checks and balances that presidents have to
follow.
Victor (04:56):
yes, Okay, not many people know this, but executive
orders are like Chick-fil-A theydon't work on Sundays, is that?
Rob (05:02):
true, that's not Okay, that are like.
Victor (05:03):
Chick-fil-A.
They don't work on Sundays, isthat true, that's not, I don't
know.
Cesar (05:05):
No.
Victor (05:07):
That is not legal advice for anyone breaking the law.
Cesar (05:11):
He saw three episodes of Suits.
I would follow his advice whenI studied for the bar.
But no, there are somelimitations.
They can't make new laws.
They can't explicitly defyCongress, they can't violate the
constitution.
Congress can overturn executiveorders.
They can be blocked by thecourts and they can actually be
(05:32):
undone by the next president.
Rob (05:33):
So then, what is the difference between creating an
executive order and creating alaw, because it seems like both
can be repealed.
Victor (05:39):
No laws are way harder to repeal, okay, and laws are
way harder to create and have itbecause it's all three branches
that need to be involved.
Chris (05:50):
I'm just a bill.
Yes, I'm only a bill.
Cesar (05:53):
So Congress is the annoying roommate you can't
evict, and they can pass laws tooverride any executive order.
But let's be real, they got toget a two-thirds majority.
And getting two-thirds of themajority is kind of like herding
cats.
Especially the way things are,the courts kind of act like
referees.
Judges can block executiveorders if they've deemed that
(06:15):
these executive orders haveviolated the Constitution or any
existing law.
Oh really, yeah, so ultimatelythe federal courts and the
Supreme Court have the final say.
Rob (06:24):
So how many judges do you need?
Can one judge just block anexecutive order and it's done?
Or is that also like a majoritything?
Victor (06:32):
It's not done, but I think one judge can block it.
Cesar (06:36):
Yeah, you can actually rewrite it after it's been
blocked, and then it goes toanother court and then it could
be agreed upon.
You remember a couple of yearsago, Trump's first term what was
it first?
As a Muslim ban.
Victor (06:49):
Yes, the Muslim ban yeah .
Cesar (06:51):
So initially it was blocked.
I forgot why exactly.
I think it was because it wastargeting certain groups.
It was rewritten and then theSupreme Court actually upheld it
.
Rob (07:04):
So we're still blocking Muslims.
Cesar (07:06):
Canada.
Rob (07:07):
The worst.
They'll be the 51st state.
Victor (07:09):
Yeah, welcome brothers to the North.
Dunkin' Donuts is gone.
Eh, it's all Tim Hortons.
Now what's that all about?
Cesar (07:19):
They speak French there too.
God, that place is a mess.
So yeah, some of therestrictions.
Some of the judge can block it,and they block it based on if
it violates the constitution orif it deems that the president
has exceeded his power, which iswhat happened to the um biden's
uh, student loan forgiveness ah, yeah, that was an executive
(07:42):
order that was an executiveorder, wow what was the
reasoning for blockage?
Because he it exceeded his uhpresidential authority.
Victor (07:50):
It's kind of nebulous what the the fuck is that Word
of the day calendar?
What?
Rob (07:54):
does that mean?
That's like an unnebulous word?
Victor (07:56):
Are we in space?
I can't say emancipationproclamation, but I can say
nebulous yeah but, can you tellme what it means, because I
don't fucking know.
Cesar (08:05):
It just means like it has no.
Rob (08:07):
It's like a nebula.
Cesar (08:14):
Yeah, it has no sort of definition sun defined.
Victor (08:16):
A nebula doesn't have a definition.
Cesar (08:17):
Yeah, nebulous pretty sure that's a sat word.
Victor (08:17):
I didn't do well on.
Rob (08:18):
The sat is the definition that you're likely to hear and
use the most is the version thatmeans vague, indistinct,
confused or lacking form.
There you go nice.
Cesar (08:28):
um, I don't remember biden having a vaccine mandate,
do you?
You guys remember that For thecountry?
He tried to mandate largecompanies to have their
employees mandated for aCOVID-19 vaccine and then that
was stricken down by a judge.
And the next president couldcome in and literally reverse
(08:48):
all executive orders, which iswhat tends to happen, I think.
When Biden came into officeoffice, I think he reversed the
whole bunch that trump did yes,that I remember trump just
started.
Chris (08:58):
He reversed the whole bunch that's par for the course,
it seems.
Where does it start?
How does it originate?
Like whose idea?
Is it like a group of peoplethat he works with that like
let's talk about this and let'sbring this to the executive
order, or is it like a chris?
It starts with a fortune cookie, they open it up and it goes.
Victor (09:15):
Your path will be lit up today and they go.
You know what?
Cesar (09:19):
yes, an executive order around this.
Lucky numbers are 27 and 13also snapple facts my only
education is snapple caps it'sjust a party line.
The whole thing about executiveorders or executive actions is
that this is the president's wayof swaying his power and
avoiding having to do it withCongress.
(09:40):
Trump, I think he signed, Idon't know, like 40, whatever it
is, 50 the first day 50 thefirst week.
Victor (09:47):
whatever it is More than that.
Cesar (09:49):
Yeah, they're pretty much just being written by his party
and then he's just going thereand signing them when I was
reading about them.
Rob (09:56):
They're like they'll get them from like think tanks who
create policy and then they justtry to come up with like a
playbook on like, hey, this iswhat we need to do to get in to
kind of support our agenda.
I think right now Trump has theAgenda 47 is what he's working
off of and a lot of theexecutive orders actions are
(10:19):
coming off of that.
So he comes in he says this ispart of my agenda 47.
And then he just starts.
But you know what I like aboutit, he's got great handwriting,
like every time he writes it andhow he shows it.
Victor (10:30):
His signature.
Rob (10:31):
Yeah.
Victor (10:32):
His signature looks ridiculous.
Rob (10:33):
It looks amazing.
It looks like a stamp thank youvery much.
Cesar (10:36):
That's really nice, thank you yeah, it looks kind of like
a little like how does he do?
Victor (10:41):
that uh practice, I guess.
Trump signed 26 executiveorders on his first day guy's
getting to work 36 his firstweek, and then he hit 18 holes
his first weekend.
Chris (10:56):
And this is a big deal.
Cesar (10:57):
I'm curious to know how many of those were reversals of
Biden's.
Rob (11:02):
Oh yeah.
Cesar (11:03):
Because when Biden was in office, they were like whoa,
you did so many, and he's like Idid many.
But most of them were justreversals of what Trump did.
So don't be fooled by the media, come on.
So I got a question for youguys which president do you guys
think signed the most number ofexecutive orders?
I will give you four optionsI'm gonna guess biden you sure
(11:27):
don't want, you don't okay giveme four.
Give me four, I need four allright, so harry s truman f.
So Harry S Truman FDR, reaganor Obama.
Rob (11:36):
I was going to say Reagan.
I was going to say, reagan,I'll go with Obama, then you
guys were all wrong.
Cesar (11:41):
It was actually FDR.
Fdr signed 3,721 executiveorders and he did that with
polio yeah.
Chris (11:51):
Wow.
Cesar (11:52):
In his terms, the most.
He also did like what?
Four terms?
Yeah, he did.
So that's great.
Victor (11:57):
Oh, so that's cheating.
Cesar (11:58):
He got extra, he averaged like 300 a year, when normally,
like everyone else, averageslike 200 or something like that.
Victor (12:04):
That's cheating.
Cesar (12:05):
Obama only signed 276.
Chris (12:08):
Obama.
Cesar (12:09):
Truman signed 907.
Rob (12:11):
Andagan signed 1803 well, more to read about reagan.
I kind of liked him let's goback.
Victor (12:19):
He kind of fucked a lot of things up for the country for
celebrities after him.
Cesar (12:25):
Can't trust a celebrity until arnold came.
You are mine.
Now you belong to me.
Fun fact, you guys.
Fun fact next time you're at abar for trivia night.
William Henry Harrison, ourninth president, was the only
president who did not issue anexecutive action.
Do you guys want to guess whyhe died?
Victor (12:44):
He couldn't write, he forgot he had the power.
He died quickly into his term.
Cesar (12:49):
Victor Crump.
He died 32 days into his term.
Victor (12:54):
Got pneumonia he got pneumonia.
I think I'm new here Look atall the books he reads.
Rob (13:00):
Look at all these books behind me.
Victor (13:02):
You think they're just for show.
Cesar (13:03):
Why do those books don't move?
Are you in the Tesseract?
Chris (13:09):
Are you?
Cesar (13:09):
in deception.
Don't leave Murph, Don't leave.
Chris (13:14):
What's it?
Victor (13:14):
called Interstellar Interstellar.
Yeah, jesus Christ, I'm nottaking you to trivia night.
Cesar (13:20):
Pneumonia and died, unfortunately Damn yeah, the
first and only president whodied within his terms.
So that's trivia.
So where does the executiveactions get their power?
Well, from the US Constitution,of course.
But the US Constitutionactually doesn't explicitly
mention the executive orders.
Instead, it just the Articles 2, grants the president executive
(13:44):
power and the duty to ensurethat all laws are faithfully
executed.
What does that mean?
Nobody knows, but it gets thepresident going.
Rob (13:52):
I don't even know what that means.
This broad language allows thepresident going.
Cesar (13:54):
I don't even know what that means.
This broad language allows apresident to interpret this in
many ways so it's not explicitlywritten anywhere, it's just an
article too yeah, it's in theconstitution, but not in
executive orders themselves.
Victor (14:06):
It's not explicitly written who was the first to
come up with executive orders?
Cesar (14:11):
boy, george washington.
He was the first one who did itso he was just like like yo.
Victor (14:14):
There's some leeway in this.
I'm going to make an executiveorder.
Rob (14:18):
What did?
Victor (14:18):
he do with his executive order.
Cesar (14:19):
The first one.
According to his letters, hewrote letters to all the
executive department heads andasked them to fill them in on
what exactly were they in chargeof.
Victor (14:31):
Wait a minute.
His first executive order washey, can you tell me what your
job is here?
Cesar (14:36):
Yes In layman's terms.
Victor (14:39):
That couldn't just be done in a meeting or something
you can have like a staffmeeting?
Cesar (14:43):
Like let's go around the table.
He's like yo, what are you guysdoing for the country?
What is your role andresponsibilities for the nation?
Victor (14:51):
Oh, I see that's a power move.
He copies for the nation.
Oh, I see that's a power move.
He was like tell me what yourjob is here and I'll tell you if
you're still hired.
Cesar (14:58):
What do you do here To fix the copy machine?
I just fixed it, so I did yourjob, so you can go.
I think he had loosely eight ofthem.
Is any of them still standing?
Victor (15:10):
It was probably just things to get the nation going.
He was a man of few words.
George Washington Things to getthe nation going.
He was a man of few words.
Chris (15:14):
George Washington.
Everyone knows this famously.
So that order stands stilluntil someone reverses it right?
Is that how it usually works?
Cesar (15:22):
Yes.
Chris (15:30):
Did you find anything about?
Victor (15:30):
like if there's any executive order that's like the
famous one or anything that'severybody knows.
He said the EmancipationProclamation.
Cesar (15:33):
Proclamation is one of the.
Yeah is one of them.
Victor (15:35):
How much more famous do you think?
Cesar (15:37):
Yeah, there's that one, chris.
There's also the FDR'sexecutive order, the one about
the Japanese internment camps.
That was an executive order.
And actually President Trumancreated an executive order where
he desegregated the US military, setting up the stage for the
civil rights movement.
Victor (15:55):
Ooh, I got one for you.
This is a proclamation fromGeorge Washington.
Let's go Now, therefore.
This is my George Washingtonvoice.
Now, therefore, I do recommendand assign Thursday, the 26th
day of November next, to bedevoted by the peoples of these
states to the service of thatgreat and glorious being who is
(16:19):
the beneficent author of all thegood that was done, that is or
that will be.
This goes on, but basicallyit's Thanksgiving.
Oh shit the day of nationalThanksgiving, damn.
So he created Thanksgiving, hebirthed Thanksgiving.
Yeah, you know what he didn'tdo, though he didn't pardon any
(16:40):
fucking turkeys.
I'll tell you that Because heknew better.
He fucking knew better.
Chris (16:48):
What about?
Was there any infamousexecutive order?
That was the president proposed, but he got shut down.
I don't know if you rememberObama's.
Cesar (16:55):
DACA Obama.
Like any infamous executiveorder, that was the president
proposed, but he got shut down.
I don't know if you rememberObama's DACA.
Victor (16:59):
Obama, the Dreamers.
Cesar (17:01):
Yeah, he basically shielded young immigrants,
undocumented immigrants, fromdeportation.
Victor (17:07):
Deferred action for childhood arrivals.
There you go.
It's a policy that allowscertain individuals who meet
program requirements to requesta grant of deferred action.
Individuals who are grantedDACA are able to renew their
grant and eligible for workauthorization.
Cesar (17:23):
So you were under 18 and you were undocumented.
Under this program you wereable to still go to school, I
think, and potentially work.
Victor (17:31):
Yeah, going back to the Thanksgiving one, he issued this
Thanksgiving proclamation inOctober.
Rob (17:37):
So motherfuckers, by the time they learned about this.
They're like oh shit, I got toprep.
Victor (17:41):
I got to find a turkey.
I got to make mashed potatoes.
I got to make a pie.
I got to invite people over.
This was last minute, thinkingthis was reckless behavior.
Rob (17:51):
Yeah.
Victor (18:01):
A lot of these letters it says primarily delivered by
horseback riders or post riders.
Biden made a proclamation ofright brother's day.
Did you guys know about this?
When's that?
December 17th is rightbrother's day.
We celebrate that.
No one has given me any type ofwarning about this.
Cesar (18:12):
And Corn Pop was a bad dude.
Are executive orders overused?
And this is where the debatekind of heats up.
You know a lot of people arguethat executive actions are
necessary, especially whenCongress is gridlocked, and then
others start saying thatthey're overused and kind of
undermine democracy.
A lot of these executiveactions could concentrate way
(18:33):
too much power for the president.
Victor (18:36):
That would be the issue, I think, with the courts right,
let's say, a majority of theappointees to the Supreme Court,
done by Trump or whoever, andthen he issues executive actions
, they get stopped and then theyget overruled and they get
enforced by the Supreme Court.
Now you're creating an issuewhere you're just you're handing
the president the keys to thekingdom because you're getting
(18:59):
rid of that check and balance,because now you're saying, oh
well, no, we are agreeing thatthis is part of your power, and
then you're just giving thatbranch more and more power.
Cesar (19:08):
That's my thought on it.
Everything is based on thewhole constitution, right?
So there is no sort of okay.
This is the defined set ofthings that you can't cross.
With every administration, withevery executive action, the
power gets concentrated and getsmore and more towards the
president.
If Congress says, okay, it'sfine with it, or if the Supreme
(19:30):
Court says it's fine with it, orany court says it's fine with
it, then the president is goingto continue to push that.
But who cares about peskychecks and balances?
Victor (19:37):
I don't, you don't care about checks and balances.
Cesar (19:39):
I want to be president one day.
I don't.
Victor (19:41):
They're never going to put a Dominican in office.
Rob (19:43):
That's why I need no checks and balances, not yet.
Victor (19:47):
Yeah, when, when, Rob.
Anytime soon it's coming baby.
Chris (19:58):
Chris it does sound like the president has too much power
, but at the same time it's likedefinitely something that's
necessary for the country, thatrequires, you know, like you
said, sort of a power to setrules and whatnot.
But at the same time I'm gladthere's some check and balances,
that the Constitution that youknow, the government that can
(20:19):
set so that you know thepresident doesn't go crazy power
trip.
But no, bro, I think it's agood thing, I think it's
something that we utilize andthat should hopefully help with
our country and hopefully thatwill make us better.
I guess, what about you, rob?
Rob (20:37):
It just seems like the executive actions, it seems like
they're an interpretation ofpower, so I think it's just
created for presidents or anyonecoming in, use these executive
actions to set the tone of theirpresidency.
Any small stuff that can berepealed, major items that they
want to get through, they getthrough.
(20:58):
But it seems like more and moreit's a shotgun blast of laws
that they'll throw in theirpresidency and see what sticks.
They just leave it up toCongress or anyone else to kind
of knock it down Whatever hitshits, and it's a fast way to
(21:18):
circumvent bureaucracy, it seems.
Circumvent bureaucracy, itseems, you know, definitely
needed, because if not, a lot ofstuff would probably get, you
know, be too slow to get done.
But I think I just would want toknow where they draw the line
in the sand.
I don't think it's there.
You know what I mean.
(21:38):
Like it's very clear.
But yeah, I mean, I didn't knowthat it's.
It's not really a thing.
I don't really think it's justan interpretation.
But yeah, I mean, I didn't knowthat it's not really a thing,
not really a thing, it's just aninterpretation.
Victor (21:45):
Victor, what about you?
Obviously, executive ordershave their use.
It always concerns me whenthey're overused and I think
when a president is relying toomuch on executive orders, to me
it's a sign of A they don't wantto work with Congress.
I always think of the questionare they doing what people
(22:12):
actually want, as opposed tojust trying to be in control?
Because, again, the Congressrepresents the country more than
the president does.
So if they want to just passexecutive orders because they
don't want to go throughCongress, to me it's like they
just want to go for more of apower grab.
But I'm more worried about howmany proclamations of more
celebration days have beencreated and I don't know about.
Did anyone get me a gift forright brother's day?
Cesar (22:35):
no, I thought that was reversed with uh hunters.
Victor (22:39):
Uh, awesome, that was national crack day.
Cesar (22:45):
That's what we have on executive actions.
They're powerful, they canshape history and they allow
presidents to act quickly, butthey're also controversial,
easily reversible and sometimeschallenging court.
As we move forward, it's worthwatching how future presidents
use or abuse this power.
Will executive actions continueto grow in influence or will
(23:08):
Congress step up to take backsome control?
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(23:29):
Not Dumb but Podcast.
Until next time, stay curious,see you later.
Caesar, how depressed am I going to be after this
episode.
Rob (00:04):
I grabbed a tissue and my crying blanket.
I am ready?
Victor (00:07):
Are you ready?
Take the hope out.
Cesar (00:08):
of me today, but you're going to learn.
You're going to learn today.
All right, here we go, here wego, here we go.
What if I told you, with justone signature, the course of
history could be changed?
Victor (00:21):
I'd believe you.
It's called the Magna Cartabitch could be changed, I
believe you.
Cesar (00:28):
It's called the Magna Carta bitch Wow History.
Every president, from GeorgeWashington to Donald Trump, has
used executive actions toenforce policies, respond to
crises and push their agendasforward.
But what exactly are executiveactions?
Are they necessary tools forleadership or do they give the
president too much power?
I'm not dumb, but what arepresidential executive actions?
Welcome to the I'm not dumb,but podcast, where we won't
(00:50):
claim to have the answers tolife's deepest questions.
Victor (00:52):
But we'll give you an exciting journey into the realms
of knowledge you never knew youneeded.
Cesar (00:56):
Might be mainstream, but not common knowledge.
From artificial intelligence toconspiracy theories, no topic
is too taboo for us to explore.
Let's get curious together.
I'm your host, cesar, joinedalways by Chris, yup, rob, you
and Victor.
Victor (01:14):
How y'all doing.
Cesar (01:15):
What is up, fellas, what is up?
Let's make some executivedecisions.
Victor (01:20):
Yeah, and I'm not talking about Steven Seagal
movies.
Never saw that one.
You never saw ExecutiveDecision.
No, he died in like fiveminutes into the movie.
Rob (01:30):
But he held the plane together.
He held two planes together heheld two planes together With
both his hands so that the guyscould make it through.
So John Leguizamo can live.
You know what he put that inthere.
John Leguizamo can live.
You know what he put that inthere?
Chris (01:46):
John Leguizamo said that he wanted to die like that, Like
he was, like I'm going to holdthese planes together.
Rob (01:50):
It's an excellent film.
You got to watch it.
That's terrible, but you stillgot to watch it.
I hope there's a good movie onthis flight.
Cesar (01:55):
So congratulations to us.
We became the president of theUnited States Together, no.
Rob (02:01):
I think only like one of us could be president, because
only like one of us was, like,born in America.
Yeah, well, that's true.
Cesar (02:07):
I could be vice president .
Rob (02:08):
I mean yeah.
Victor (02:11):
And you could be like a manager at a Starbucks too.
Manager, assistant manager.
Cesar (02:16):
So one of the most powerful positions in the world?
Well, second only to a bouncerat a club that you're really
trying trying to get into.
The presidents always have bigplans, ideas and, let's be real
big obstacles, like that peskything called the congress,
slowing them down.
But presidency comes equippedwith a hundred thousand miles
(02:37):
powertrain warranty and thepower of the executive actions.
What are executive actions?
You might be asking why I'mhere.
Well no, you're here forsomething else, I'm just you're
kind of strolling into a collegecourse You're like am I in the
right one?
Victor (02:50):
I'm like surveying.
Cesar (02:52):
Is this math?
Chris (02:54):
No, I remember that class .
It was just between recess andlunch.
Cesar (03:00):
But they tell the federal government what to do.
Do, but not all executiveactions are the same.
So there's three differenttypes.
We got the executive orders.
Those are the big ones, thoseare the power moves, those are
the ones we know most about, andthese things are legally
binding orders that directfederal agencies how to enforce
laws or policies.
Think of these as like companywide emails that everyone has to
(03:24):
follow.
So then we got the presidentialmemoranda, and these are kind
of like executive orders butthey carry less weight.
So think of it like, as yourcompany says, we should probably
be focusing on this.
They don't release it to thepublic, but it's kind of like a
directive that internally weshould follow.
And then, lastly, we gotproclamations, and and some of
them are purely ceremonial, likethe Thanksgiving proclamations,
(03:46):
like the one we do every yearGive thanks to God for football
and food and some of the oneshave legal consequences.
And you guys must remember thisone Lincoln's Emancipation
Proclamation.
Victor (03:59):
Can you say that again, but actually say it?
Lincoln's Emancipation.
Cesar (04:03):
I can't even say itcipation, I can't even say it
now.
I can't even say it nowemancipation proclamation, I
can't even say it, I don't think.
Emancipation proclamation, oh,there you go, there you go.
The difference betweenexecutive actions and laws.
(04:24):
Congress has the authority topass laws through their lengthy
legislative process, whileexecutive actions take effect
immediately.
Rob (04:34):
So then, why don't we just make laws?
Why don't we just do executiveorders?
They sound like a lot moreefficient.
Victor (04:39):
Wouldn't that make the president the role of a king at
that point Powerful?
Chris (04:43):
right, yeah.
Cesar (04:44):
Because, although executive orders are powerful,
they do come with theirlimitations.
Rob (04:50):
Okay, so there is some sort of checks and balance.
Cesar (04:53):
Those pesky checks and balances that presidents have to
follow.
Victor (04:56):
yes, Okay, not many people know this, but executive
orders are like Chick-fil-A theydon't work on Sundays, is that?
Rob (05:02):
true, that's not Okay, that are like.
Victor (05:03):
Chick-fil-A.
They don't work on Sundays, isthat true, that's not, I don't
know.
Cesar (05:05):
No.
Victor (05:07):
That is not legal advice for anyone breaking the law.
Cesar (05:11):
He saw three episodes of Suits.
I would follow his advice whenI studied for the bar.
But no, there are somelimitations.
They can't make new laws.
They can't explicitly defyCongress, they can't violate the
constitution.
Congress can overturn executiveorders.
They can be blocked by thecourts and they can actually be
(05:32):
undone by the next president.
Rob (05:33):
So then, what is the difference between creating an
executive order and creating alaw, because it seems like both
can be repealed.
Victor (05:39):
No laws are way harder to repeal, okay, and laws are
way harder to create and have itbecause it's all three branches
that need to be involved.
Chris (05:50):
I'm just a bill.
Yes, I'm only a bill.
Cesar (05:53):
So Congress is the annoying roommate you can't
evict, and they can pass laws tooverride any executive order.
But let's be real, they got toget a two-thirds majority.
And getting two-thirds of themajority is kind of like herding
cats.
Especially the way things are,the courts kind of act like
referees.
Judges can block executiveorders if they've deemed that
(06:15):
these executive orders haveviolated the Constitution or any
existing law.
Oh really, yeah, so ultimatelythe federal courts and the
Supreme Court have the final say.
Rob (06:24):
So how many judges do you need?
Can one judge just block anexecutive order and it's done?
Or is that also like a majoritything?
Victor (06:32):
It's not done, but I think one judge can block it.
Cesar (06:36):
Yeah, you can actually rewrite it after it's been
blocked, and then it goes toanother court and then it could
be agreed upon.
You remember a couple of yearsago, Trump's first term what was
it first?
As a Muslim ban.
Victor (06:49):
Yes, the Muslim ban yeah .
Cesar (06:51):
So initially it was blocked.
I forgot why exactly.
I think it was because it wastargeting certain groups.
It was rewritten and then theSupreme Court actually upheld it
.
Rob (07:04):
So we're still blocking Muslims.
Cesar (07:06):
Canada.
Rob (07:07):
The worst.
They'll be the 51st state.
Victor (07:09):
Yeah, welcome brothers to the North.
Dunkin' Donuts is gone.
Eh, it's all Tim Hortons.
Now what's that all about?
Cesar (07:19):
They speak French there too.
God, that place is a mess.
So yeah, some of therestrictions.
Some of the judge can block it,and they block it based on if
it violates the constitution orif it deems that the president
has exceeded his power, which iswhat happened to the um biden's
uh, student loan forgiveness ah, yeah, that was an executive
(07:42):
order that was an executiveorder, wow what was the
reasoning for blockage?
Because he it exceeded his uhpresidential authority.
Victor (07:50):
It's kind of nebulous what the the fuck is that Word
of the day calendar?
What?
Rob (07:54):
does that mean?
That's like an unnebulous word?
Victor (07:56):
Are we in space?
I can't say emancipationproclamation, but I can say
nebulous yeah but, can you tellme what it means, because I
don't fucking know.
Cesar (08:05):
It just means like it has no.
Rob (08:07):
It's like a nebula.
Cesar (08:14):
Yeah, it has no sort of definition sun defined.
Victor (08:16):
A nebula doesn't have a definition.
Cesar (08:17):
Yeah, nebulous pretty sure that's a sat word.
Victor (08:17):
I didn't do well on.
Rob (08:18):
The sat is the definition that you're likely to hear and
use the most is the version thatmeans vague, indistinct,
confused or lacking form.
There you go nice.
Cesar (08:28):
um, I don't remember biden having a vaccine mandate,
do you?
You guys remember that For thecountry?
He tried to mandate largecompanies to have their
employees mandated for aCOVID-19 vaccine and then that
was stricken down by a judge.
And the next president couldcome in and literally reverse
(08:48):
all executive orders, which iswhat tends to happen, I think.
When Biden came into officeoffice, I think he reversed the
whole bunch that trump did yes,that I remember trump just
started.
Chris (08:58):
He reversed the whole bunch that's par for the course,
it seems.
Where does it start?
How does it originate?
Like whose idea?
Is it like a group of peoplethat he works with that like
let's talk about this and let'sbring this to the executive
order, or is it like a chris?
It starts with a fortune cookie, they open it up and it goes.
Victor (09:15):
Your path will be lit up today and they go.
You know what?
Cesar (09:19):
yes, an executive order around this.
Lucky numbers are 27 and 13also snapple facts my only
education is snapple caps it'sjust a party line.
The whole thing about executiveorders or executive actions is
that this is the president's wayof swaying his power and
avoiding having to do it withCongress.
(09:40):
Trump, I think he signed, Idon't know, like 40, whatever it
is, 50 the first day 50 thefirst week.
Victor (09:47):
whatever it is More than that.
Cesar (09:49):
Yeah, they're pretty much just being written by his party
and then he's just going thereand signing them when I was
reading about them.
Rob (09:56):
They're like they'll get them from like think tanks who
create policy and then they justtry to come up with like a
playbook on like, hey, this iswhat we need to do to get in to
kind of support our agenda.
I think right now Trump has theAgenda 47 is what he's working
off of and a lot of theexecutive orders actions are
(10:19):
coming off of that.
So he comes in he says this ispart of my agenda 47.
And then he just starts.
But you know what I like aboutit, he's got great handwriting,
like every time he writes it andhow he shows it.
Victor (10:30):
His signature.
Rob (10:31):
Yeah.
Victor (10:32):
His signature looks ridiculous.
Rob (10:33):
It looks amazing.
It looks like a stamp thank youvery much.
Cesar (10:36):
That's really nice, thank you yeah, it looks kind of like
a little like how does he do?
Victor (10:41):
that uh practice, I guess.
Trump signed 26 executiveorders on his first day guy's
getting to work 36 his firstweek, and then he hit 18 holes
his first weekend.
Chris (10:56):
And this is a big deal.
Cesar (10:57):
I'm curious to know how many of those were reversals of
Biden's.
Rob (11:02):
Oh yeah.
Cesar (11:03):
Because when Biden was in office, they were like whoa,
you did so many, and he's like Idid many.
But most of them were justreversals of what Trump did.
So don't be fooled by the media, come on.
So I got a question for youguys which president do you guys
think signed the most number ofexecutive orders?
I will give you four optionsI'm gonna guess biden you sure
(11:27):
don't want, you don't okay giveme four.
Give me four, I need four allright, so harry s truman f.
So Harry S Truman FDR, reaganor Obama.
Rob (11:36):
I was going to say Reagan.
I was going to say, reagan,I'll go with Obama, then you
guys were all wrong.
Cesar (11:41):
It was actually FDR.
Fdr signed 3,721 executiveorders and he did that with
polio yeah.
Chris (11:51):
Wow.
Cesar (11:52):
In his terms, the most.
He also did like what?
Four terms?
Yeah, he did.
So that's great.
Victor (11:57):
Oh, so that's cheating.
Cesar (11:58):
He got extra, he averaged like 300 a year, when normally,
like everyone else, averageslike 200 or something like that.
Victor (12:04):
That's cheating.
Cesar (12:05):
Obama only signed 276.
Chris (12:08):
Obama.
Cesar (12:09):
Truman signed 907.
Rob (12:11):
Andagan signed 1803 well, more to read about reagan.
I kind of liked him let's goback.
Victor (12:19):
He kind of fucked a lot of things up for the country for
celebrities after him.
Cesar (12:25):
Can't trust a celebrity until arnold came.
You are mine.
Now you belong to me.
Fun fact, you guys.
Fun fact next time you're at abar for trivia night.
William Henry Harrison, ourninth president, was the only
president who did not issue anexecutive action.
Do you guys want to guess whyhe died?
Victor (12:44):
He couldn't write, he forgot he had the power.
He died quickly into his term.
Cesar (12:49):
Victor Crump.
He died 32 days into his term.
Victor (12:54):
Got pneumonia he got pneumonia.
I think I'm new here Look atall the books he reads.
Rob (13:00):
Look at all these books behind me.
Victor (13:02):
You think they're just for show.
Cesar (13:03):
Why do those books don't move?
Are you in the Tesseract?
Chris (13:09):
Are you?
Cesar (13:09):
in deception.
Don't leave Murph, Don't leave.
Chris (13:14):
What's it?
Victor (13:14):
called Interstellar Interstellar.
Yeah, jesus Christ, I'm nottaking you to trivia night.
Cesar (13:20):
Pneumonia and died, unfortunately Damn yeah, the
first and only president whodied within his terms.
So that's trivia.
So where does the executiveactions get their power?
Well, from the US Constitution,of course.
But the US Constitutionactually doesn't explicitly
mention the executive orders.
Instead, it just the Articles 2, grants the president executive
(13:44):
power and the duty to ensurethat all laws are faithfully
executed.
What does that mean?
Nobody knows, but it gets thepresident going.
Rob (13:52):
I don't even know what that means.
This broad language allows thepresident going.
Cesar (13:54):
I don't even know what that means.
This broad language allows apresident to interpret this in
many ways so it's not explicitlywritten anywhere, it's just an
article too yeah, it's in theconstitution, but not in
executive orders themselves.
Victor (14:06):
It's not explicitly written who was the first to
come up with executive orders?
Cesar (14:11):
boy, george washington.
He was the first one who did itso he was just like like yo.
Victor (14:14):
There's some leeway in this.
I'm going to make an executiveorder.
Rob (14:18):
What did?
Victor (14:18):
he do with his executive order.
Cesar (14:19):
The first one.
According to his letters, hewrote letters to all the
executive department heads andasked them to fill them in on
what exactly were they in chargeof.
Victor (14:31):
Wait a minute.
His first executive order washey, can you tell me what your
job is here?
Cesar (14:36):
Yes In layman's terms.
Victor (14:39):
That couldn't just be done in a meeting or something
you can have like a staffmeeting?
Cesar (14:43):
Like let's go around the table.
He's like yo, what are you guysdoing for the country?
What is your role andresponsibilities for the nation?
Victor (14:51):
Oh, I see that's a power move.
He copies for the nation.
Oh, I see that's a power move.
He was like tell me what yourjob is here and I'll tell you if
you're still hired.
Cesar (14:58):
What do you do here To fix the copy machine?
I just fixed it, so I did yourjob, so you can go.
I think he had loosely eight ofthem.
Is any of them still standing?
Victor (15:10):
It was probably just things to get the nation going.
He was a man of few words.
George Washington Things to getthe nation going.
He was a man of few words.
Chris (15:14):
George Washington.
Everyone knows this famously.
So that order stands stilluntil someone reverses it right?
Is that how it usually works?
Cesar (15:22):
Yes.
Chris (15:30):
Did you find anything about?
Victor (15:30):
like if there's any executive order that's like the
famous one or anything that'severybody knows.
He said the EmancipationProclamation.
Cesar (15:33):
Proclamation is one of the.
Yeah is one of them.
Victor (15:35):
How much more famous do you think?
Cesar (15:37):
Yeah, there's that one, chris.
There's also the FDR'sexecutive order, the one about
the Japanese internment camps.
That was an executive order.
And actually President Trumancreated an executive order where
he desegregated the US military, setting up the stage for the
civil rights movement.
Victor (15:55):
Ooh, I got one for you.
This is a proclamation fromGeorge Washington.
Let's go Now, therefore.
This is my George Washingtonvoice.
Now, therefore, I do recommendand assign Thursday, the 26th
day of November next, to bedevoted by the peoples of these
states to the service of thatgreat and glorious being who is
(16:19):
the beneficent author of all thegood that was done, that is or
that will be.
This goes on, but basicallyit's Thanksgiving.
Oh shit the day of nationalThanksgiving, damn.
So he created Thanksgiving, hebirthed Thanksgiving.
Yeah, you know what he didn'tdo, though he didn't pardon any
(16:40):
fucking turkeys.
I'll tell you that Because heknew better.
He fucking knew better.
Chris (16:48):
What about?
Was there any infamousexecutive order?
That was the president proposed, but he got shut down.
I don't know if you rememberObama's.
Cesar (16:55):
DACA Obama.
Like any infamous executiveorder, that was the president
proposed, but he got shut down.
I don't know if you rememberObama's DACA.
Victor (16:59):
Obama, the Dreamers.
Cesar (17:01):
Yeah, he basically shielded young immigrants,
undocumented immigrants, fromdeportation.
Victor (17:07):
Deferred action for childhood arrivals.
There you go.
It's a policy that allowscertain individuals who meet
program requirements to requesta grant of deferred action.
Individuals who are grantedDACA are able to renew their
grant and eligible for workauthorization.
Cesar (17:23):
So you were under 18 and you were undocumented.
Under this program you wereable to still go to school, I
think, and potentially work.
Victor (17:31):
Yeah, going back to the Thanksgiving one, he issued this
Thanksgiving proclamation inOctober.
Rob (17:37):
So motherfuckers, by the time they learned about this.
They're like oh shit, I got toprep.
Victor (17:41):
I got to find a turkey.
I got to make mashed potatoes.
I got to make a pie.
I got to invite people over.
This was last minute, thinkingthis was reckless behavior.
Rob (17:51):
Yeah.
Victor (18:01):
A lot of these letters it says primarily delivered by
horseback riders or post riders.
Biden made a proclamation ofright brother's day.
Did you guys know about this?
When's that?
December 17th is rightbrother's day.
We celebrate that.
No one has given me any type ofwarning about this.
Cesar (18:12):
And Corn Pop was a bad dude.
Are executive orders overused?
And this is where the debatekind of heats up.
You know a lot of people arguethat executive actions are
necessary, especially whenCongress is gridlocked, and then
others start saying thatthey're overused and kind of
undermine democracy.
A lot of these executiveactions could concentrate way
(18:33):
too much power for the president.
Victor (18:36):
That would be the issue, I think, with the courts right,
let's say, a majority of theappointees to the Supreme Court,
done by Trump or whoever, andthen he issues executive actions
, they get stopped and then theyget overruled and they get
enforced by the Supreme Court.
Now you're creating an issuewhere you're just you're handing
the president the keys to thekingdom because you're getting
(18:59):
rid of that check and balance,because now you're saying, oh
well, no, we are agreeing thatthis is part of your power, and
then you're just giving thatbranch more and more power.
Cesar (19:08):
That's my thought on it.
Everything is based on thewhole constitution, right?
So there is no sort of okay.
This is the defined set ofthings that you can't cross.
With every administration, withevery executive action, the
power gets concentrated and getsmore and more towards the
president.
If Congress says, okay, it'sfine with it, or if the Supreme
(19:30):
Court says it's fine with it, orany court says it's fine with
it, then the president is goingto continue to push that.
But who cares about peskychecks and balances?
Victor (19:37):
I don't, you don't care about checks and balances.
Cesar (19:39):
I want to be president one day.
I don't.
Victor (19:41):
They're never going to put a Dominican in office.
Rob (19:43):
That's why I need no checks and balances, not yet.
Victor (19:47):
Yeah, when, when, Rob.
Anytime soon it's coming baby.
Chris (19:58):
Chris it does sound like the president has too much power
, but at the same time it's likedefinitely something that's
necessary for the country, thatrequires, you know, like you
said, sort of a power to setrules and whatnot.
But at the same time I'm gladthere's some check and balances,
that the Constitution that youknow, the government that can
(20:19):
set so that you know thepresident doesn't go crazy power
trip.
But no, bro, I think it's agood thing, I think it's
something that we utilize andthat should hopefully help with
our country and hopefully thatwill make us better.
I guess, what about you, rob?
Rob (20:37):
It just seems like the executive actions, it seems like
they're an interpretation ofpower, so I think it's just
created for presidents or anyonecoming in, use these executive
actions to set the tone of theirpresidency.
Any small stuff that can berepealed, major items that they
want to get through, they getthrough.
(20:58):
But it seems like more and moreit's a shotgun blast of laws
that they'll throw in theirpresidency and see what sticks.
They just leave it up toCongress or anyone else to kind
of knock it down Whatever hitshits, and it's a fast way to
(21:18):
circumvent bureaucracy, it seems.
Circumvent bureaucracy, itseems, you know, definitely
needed, because if not, a lot ofstuff would probably get, you
know, be too slow to get done.
But I think I just would want toknow where they draw the line
in the sand.
I don't think it's there.
You know what I mean.
(21:38):
Like it's very clear.
But yeah, I mean, I didn't knowthat it's.
It's not really a thing.
I don't really think it's justan interpretation.
But yeah, I mean, I didn't knowthat it's not really a thing,
not really a thing, it's just aninterpretation.
Victor (21:45):
Victor, what about you?
Obviously, executive ordershave their use.
It always concerns me whenthey're overused and I think
when a president is relying toomuch on executive orders, to me
it's a sign of A they don't wantto work with Congress.
I always think of the questionare they doing what people
(22:12):
actually want, as opposed tojust trying to be in control?
Because, again, the Congressrepresents the country more than
the president does.
So if they want to just passexecutive orders because they
don't want to go throughCongress, to me it's like they
just want to go for more of apower grab.
But I'm more worried about howmany proclamations of more
celebration days have beencreated and I don't know about.
Did anyone get me a gift forright brother's day?
Cesar (22:35):
no, I thought that was reversed with uh hunters.
Victor (22:39):
Uh, awesome, that was national crack day.
Cesar (22:45):
That's what we have on executive actions.
They're powerful, they canshape history and they allow
presidents to act quickly, butthey're also controversial,
easily reversible and sometimeschallenging court.
As we move forward, it's worthwatching how future presidents
use or abuse this power.
Will executive actions continueto grow in influence or will
(23:08):
Congress step up to take backsome control?
If you enjoyed today's show,hit that follow button and
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(23:29):
Not Dumb but Podcast.
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