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executive order

/ɪɡˈzɛkjətɪv ˈɔrdər/
IPA guide

Other forms: executive orders

An executive order is a presidential decree that doesn't require congressional approval. In 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed an executive order authorizing the National Guard to enforce school desegregation laws.

An executive order has the force of a law, but it's not proposed, negotiated, or voted on by Congress. As the head of the executive branch, the U.S. president can issue executive orders without any congressional involvement — as long as those orders are constitutional or follow an existing federal law. The courts and Congress, in turn, have the power to block an executive order, and a future president can rescind it by issuing another executive order.

Definitions of executive order
  1. noun
    a command, issued by a president or governor, which has the authority of law but does not require an act of Congress
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