Last year, Biden said “Things you can’t do by executive order unless you’re a dictator. We’re a democracy. We need consensus.” Several mainstream outlets activated the bucket brigade, carrying water for Biden and insisting he didn’t really say that.
Summary
President Joe Biden has been utilizing executive orders at a “furious pace” to set or reverse previous policies on issues ranging from energy to the coronavirus pandemic to abortion funding.
- The Biden administration is receiving criticism from those who are normally allies, namely from The New York Times editorial board, over his use of executive orders.
- Politico’s reporting on climate-related orders used the tired meme of “Republicans Pounce”, in which a story is not about the action itself, but rather of GOP reaction to the action.
- A comprehensive list of President Biden’s executive orders and memoranda has been compiled by Marketwatch, which also reported Biden is “holding off on signing some immigration-related” orders, attributed to Senate Republicans’ filibuster of Biden’s Homeland Security Secretary nominee.
- Biden’s energy-related orders got the attention of two dozen GOP senators seeking a meeting to discuss the impact the revocation of permits and expiration of leases has on their states, a meeting they say the White House has rejected.
- After McConnell criticized Biden’s use of executive orders, paraphrasing Biden’s own words on the subject from last year, multiple mainstream outlets embarked on fact checks to essentially insist Biden did not say what he is on record as saying.
- Newsweek broke ranks, saying Biden has in fact used executive actions at a dizzying pace, “far outpacing his immediate predecessors” while using the caveat he is reversing previous administration policy.
- While The New York Times applauded Biden for aggressively reversing many Trump-era policies, they noted the abrupt back and forth of executive actions “creates instability and uncertainty that can carry significant economic as well as human costs.”
- The Federalist highlighted the hypocrisy and silence of those who called Trump a dictator for using executive orders while Biden picks up the pace, noting several senators calling Trump “authoritarian” for utilizing executive authority in a manner similar to Biden.
- Newsmax reported that a half-dozen state attorneys general have threatened to sue the federal government over Biden’s immigration orders, as well as health care and energy executive actions.
- The Blaze savored the opinion of The New York Times editorial board, emphasizing the Times’ calls for Biden to work with Congress on his agenda.
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© Dallas Gerber, 2021
