Department or Program
Politics
Abstract
Executive actions, defined by political scientists as formal presidential directives aimed at managing federal governance systems, have become increasingly prevalent in the modern presidency. This research investigates the political and constitutional consequences of presidents bypassing Congress by enacting unilateral policy, with broader implications for democratic institutions, the system of checks and balances, and public trust in our system of governance. Political scientists identify Barack Obama’s presidency as a turning point, with Obama strengthening a precedent for his successors, Donald Trump and Joe Biden, to govern unilaterally during periods of congressional gridlock. This research explores why Obama diverged from his predecessors and how and why Trump and Biden followed, a pattern existing literature fails to address. I conduct a comparative case study of six executive orders, two per presidency, to analyze political and public responses. This study finds that executive actions under Obama, Trump, and Biden were shaped not only by congressional inaction, but also by strategic calculations about public opinion, partisan polarization, and media response. These findings suggest that modern presidents increasingly do and will continue to rely on executive actions as both policy tools and political signals, reinforcing a broader trend toward unilateralism that challenges legislative processes and reshapes the balance of power in American government.
Level of Access
Open Access
First Advisor
Baughman, John
Date of Graduation
5-2025
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Recommended Citation
Senator, Sarah C., "Executive Actions in the Obama, Trump, and Biden Presidencies: Constitutional and Political Implications" (2025). Honors Theses. 489.
https://scarab.bates.edu/honorstheses/489
Number of Pages
168
Components of Thesis
1 PDF
