What are executive orders – and will Donald Trump’s latest ones work?
Donald Trump signed more than 100 executive orders on his inauguration day.
It has become standard practice for new presidents to use them within hours of taking office – Joe Biden signed 17 on his first day.
They are arguably the president’s most powerful tool for enacting change – as they have the same force behind them as legislation – and bypass both Houses of Congress.
Trump will be ‘vengeful’; new presidency latest
Mr Trump’s inauguration day executive orders included declaring a national emergency at the US-Mexico border, withdrawing US birthrights from migrants’ children, and taking the US out of both the Paris Climate Agreement and the World Health Organisation.
But they do have limits – and can be subject to legal challenges.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Donald Trump’s executive orders
What are they – and how do they work?
Executive orders are official instructions from the president about how US federal agencies, such as government departments and the FBI, should use their resources.
They are enshrined in the second article of the constitution, which states: “The executive power shall be vested in a president of the United States of America.”
Effectively, they are a way for the president to dictate how the federal government should be run.
Read more
All Trump’s inauguration executive orders
Avalanche of orders to ‘reshape’ US landscape
Why does Trump want to leave WHO?
They can take various forms – from laying out major policies and requesting official reports to giving federal employees days off for public holidays.
The president’s role as commander in chief means they can also be used to control what the military does.
Donald Trump signs an executive order on a hiring freeze on inauguration day. Pic: AP
How quickly do they take effect?
It depends on the subject matter – and the work required to achieve the president’s aims.
Executive orders that are relatively straight forward and face no opposition can be acted upon straight away.
For example, one of Mr Trump’s latest ones pardoned all of the 6 January rioters, declaring any still behind bars in federal prisons should be released immediately.
But others that are more abstract will take longer – and require further direction on how to achieve them.
One example from Monday was the order that all agencies should “address the cost-of-living crisis”.
Those that take longer than the four-year presidential term are often overridden if a new president is elected. Many of Mr Trump’s executive orders from his first presidency were focused on undoing the work of President Barack Obama, Mr Biden’s overturned many of Mr Trump’s – and so on.
Pic: AP
Can they be overturned?
Congress and the courts have the power to block executive orders – but this is not absolute.
For example, Congress can pass laws to override them but these can still be vetoed by the president.
Congress can also deny the required funding from being allocated.
However, Congressional opposition is less likely this time around, as the Republican Party has control of the House of Representatives, the Senate – and the White House.
👉 Follow Trump 100 on your podcast app 👈
Executive orders are supposed to work within the confines of the law, which means they can also be subject to legal review.
State government officials, campaign groups, and other entities can challenge an executive order if they can prove the president is going beyond his legal powers – or the constitution.
For example, President Harry Truman was stopped from trying to seize steel mills by the Supreme Court during the Korean War after it was argued he lacked the authority to take private property without Congress’s permission.
Member of Trump staff carries his executive orders on inauguration day. Pic: Reuters
Will Trump’s latest orders face opposition?
Many of Mr Trump’s latest executive orders are highly controversial.
Although he is less likely to face political opposition due to Republican majorities in Congress, civil rights groups and Democratic attorney generals have already signalled they will launch legal proceedings.
For example, legal action was lodged within minutes of Mr Trump officially ordering the creation of his new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led by Elon Musk on Monday.
Legal action is less likely to be successful when challenging the revocation of Joe Biden’s policies – as these were lawfully approved during his administration.
Opposition groups are more likely to win against the Trump administration’s use of new, untested legal arguments, according to Sky’s US partner network NBC News.
One example is the order rescinding birthrights for children whose parents are not permanent residents or US citizens.
Protesters in Washington DC on Monday. Pic: Reuters
Birthrights – the right of citizenship to anyone born on US soil – come from the 14th amendment of the constitution, which states they apply to anyone “subject to the jurisdiction” of the United States.
Mr Trump’s executive order argues this means it does not apply to undocumented migrants – but legal experts have already indicated the language only refers to those exempt from US law – such as foreign diplomats.
Another example is Mr Trump’s proposed use of the Alien Enemies Act, which is part of the Alien and Sedition Acts 1798.
It gives the president powers to detain or deport foreign citizens during times of war – and was used during the Second World War.
However, Mr Trump’s order will likely struggle to hold up in court – as the US is currently not at war.
A Mexican navy ship has hit the Brooklyn Bridge during a promotional tour in New York City.
The New York Fire Department said authorities were responding to injuries but had no details about how many people might have been hurt or whether they were on the vessel or on the bridge.
Sky’s US partner network NBC News reports that at least three people were seriously injured in the incident.
The Mexican navy said in a post on X that the Cuauhtemoc, an academy training vessel, was damaged in the accident, which has prevented it from continuing its voyage.
Eyewitness video of the collision posted online showed the mast of the ship, which was flying a large Mexican flag, scraping the underneath of the bridge.
Pic: AP
The vessel then drifted toward the edge of the river as onlookers scrambled away from shore.
The Mexican navy said the status of personnel and material was under review by naval and local authorities, which were providing assistance.
The Cuauhtemoc is about 297ft long and 40ft wide, according to the Mexican navy. It sailed for the first time in 1982.
Pic: AP
Each year, it sets out at the end of classes at the naval military school to finish cadets’ training.
It left the Mexican port of Acapulco, on the Pacific coast, on 6 April with 277 people onboard, the navy said at the time.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.
One person has died in a bomb explosion near a reproductive health clinic in California, authorities have said.
The incident took place in Palm Springs, a city two hours east of Los Angeles, and is being investigated as a possible car explosion.
The city’s mayor Ron DeHarte said one person died in the blast, adding that the bomb was “either in or near” a vehicle. The deceased’s identity is not known, Palm Springs police said.
Dr Maher Abdallah, who runs the American Reproductive Centers clinic, told the Associated Press his facility was damaged but all staff were safe and accounted for.
The explosion damaged the office space where the practice conducts patient consultations, but the IVF lab and stored embryos were unharmed, he added.
“I really have no clue what happened,” he said. “Thank God today happened to be a day that we have no patients.”
Debris covers the ground after the explosion. Pic: ABC7 Los Angeles/AP
In a statement posted on Facebook the clinic said it was “heartbroken” to learn someone died in the explosion and added: “Our deepest condolences go out to the individuals and families affected.”
It continued: “Our mission has always been to help build families, and in times like these, we are reminded of just how fragile and precious life is.
“In the face of this tragedy, we remain committed to creating hope – because we believe that healing begins with community, compassion, and care.
The clinic will be fully operational on Monday, it added.
“This moment has shaken us – but it has not stopped us. We will continue to serve with strength, love, and the hope that brings new life into the world,” the statement concluded.
Pic: ABC7 Los Angeles/AP
The Palm Springs city government said in a post on Facebook that the explosion happened on North Indian Canyon Drive, near East Tachevah Drive, before 11am local time (6pm GMT).
A burned-out car can be seen in a parking lot behind the building in aerial footage.
The blast caved in the clinic’s roof and blew debris across four lanes of the road.
Another person said he was inside a cannabis dispensary nearby when he felt a massive explosion.
Nima Tabrizi said: “The building just shook, and we go outside and there’s massive cloud smoke.”
Investigators from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are travelling to the scene to help assess what happened.
California governor Gavin Newsom has been briefed on the explosion, his press office said.
A former FBI director has been interviewed by the US Secret Service over a social media post that Republicans say was a call for violence against President Donald Trump.
James Comey, who led the FBI from 2013 until he was fired in 2017 by Mr Trump during his first term in office, shared a photo of seashells appearing to form the numbers “86 47”.
James Comey later removed the Instagram post. File pic: AP
He captioned the Instagram post: “Cool shell formation on my beach walk.”
Some have interpreted the post as a threat, alleging that 86 47 means to violently remove Mr Trump from office, including by assassination.
Mr Comey later removed the post, saying he thought the numbers “were a political message” and that he was not aware that the numeric arrangement could be associated with violence.
“I didn’t realise some folks associate those numbers with violence. It never occurred to me, but I oppose violence of any kind, so I took the post down,” Mr Comey said.
Mr Trump rejected the former FBI director’s explanation, telling Fox News: “He knew exactly what that meant. A child knows what that meant… that meant assassination.”
Donald Trump Jr accused Mr Comey of “casually calling for my dad to be murdered”.
US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed in a post on X that Mr Comey had been interviewed as part of “an ongoing investigation” but gave no indication of whether he might face further action.
The Secret Service is part of the Department of Homeland Security.
White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich said Mr Comey had put out “what can clearly be interpreted as a hit on the sitting president of the United States”.
“This is deeply concerning to all of us and is being taken seriously,” Mr Budowich wrote on X.
Another White House official James Blair said the post was a “Clarion Call (…) to terrorists & hostile regimes to kill the President of the United States as he travels in the Middle East”.
Read more US news:
Smokey Robinson under criminal investigation
Cassie challenged over Diddy ‘freak off’ allegations
Mr Trump fired Mr Comey in May 2017 for botching an investigation into 2016 democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, the White House said at the time.
While Mr Comey was the director of the FBI, the agency opened an investigation into possible collusion between the Trump 2016 presidential campaign and Russia to help get Mr Trump elected.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway