“I Walk in, Sign. I Don’t Have to Go Through Congress.” President Trump’s Use of Executive Orders to Unravel the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

Authors

Elizabeth Van Nostrand, University of Pittsburgh Center for Public Health PracticeFollow
Tina Batra Hershey, University of Pittsburgh School of LawFollow

Document Type

Symposium Article

Abstract

Executive orders, used by presidents to advance their administrations’ agendas, have changed history. These powerful written instruments were used to confine Japanese Americans during World War II, desegregate public schools, and create NASA. On the day of his inauguration, President Donald J. Trump issued his first Executive Order which directed secretaries of executive branch agencies to begin dismantling President Barack Obama’s flagship initiative—the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). This action, along with subsequent executive orders, precipitated a flurry of regulatory change and judicial challenges. Whether President Trump will ultimately be successful in crippling the ACA is still to be determined; however, his use of executive orders and the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the scope and limits of presidential authority will affect all future administrations.

Recommended Citation

Elizabeth Van Nostrand & Tina B. Hershey, “I Walk in, Sign. I Don’t Have to Go Through Congress.” President Trump’s Use of Executive Orders to Unravel the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, 12 St. Louis U. J. Health L. & Pol'y (2018).
Available at: https://scholarship.law.slu.edu/jhlp/vol12/iss1/9