Executive Orders

How Executive Orders Can Drive Transformative Change for the Next Democratic President

In an era often marked by legislative gridlock and partisan division, the American people frequently look to the executive branch for decisive action. As the nation anticipates its next leader, a growing chorus of voices argues that the upcoming Democratic president must embrace and strategically leverage the power of executive orders to advance a comprehensive progressive agenda. This approach, they contend, is not merely about bypassing legislative hurdles, but about demonstrating an unwavering commitment to the values and promises made to the electorate, thereby maximizing presidential power “for good.”

Executive orders, while subject to legal challenge and legislative oversight, offer a potent tool for a president to direct the federal government’s vast resources and regulatory power. For a progressive administration, this means the potential for immediate and impactful change across critical sectors. Here are ten key areas where a progressive president could, and arguably should, wield executive authority:

1. Lowering Healthcare Costs: The rising burden of healthcare costs demands innovative solutions. Executive orders could direct federal agencies to explore and implement strategies for expanding access to more affordable healthcare plans, leveraging federal purchasing power, and increasing crucial transparency in healthcare pricing to empower consumers and curb exorbitant charges.
2. Canceling Federal Student Loan Debt: The weight of student loan debt stifles economic mobility and disproportionately affects marginalized communities. A progressive president could direct the Department of Education to take bold steps towards meaningful debt cancellation for federal student loan borrowers, providing life-changing relief and stimulating economic activity.
3. Expanding Worker Power and Raising Wages: The strength of the American workforce is fundamental to economic prosperity. Executive orders could be utilized to strengthen overtime protections, significantly raise the minimum wage for federal contractors, and proactively promote worker organizing and empowerment, ensuring fair compensation and robust labor rights.
4. Advancing Immigrants’ Rights: A humane and efficient immigration system is a moral imperative. Executive orders have the potential to immediately address punitive deportation policies, provide legal status for certain undocumented immigrants, and increase resources for immigration processing, fostering a more compassionate and orderly approach.
5. Delivering on the Promise of Equal Justice Under Law: Systemic inequities demand systemic solutions. Executive orders could be used to establish national standards for law enforcement, address racial disparities embedded within the criminal justice system, and advance racial equity and support for underserved communities through explicit directives to federal agencies.
6. Combatting the Climate Crisis and Reducing Fossil Fuel Dependence: The existential threat of climate change requires urgent and comprehensive action. Executive orders could direct federal agencies to prioritize climate considerations in their operations, set ambitious emissions reduction targets for the federal government as a standard-setter, and vigorously promote clean energy initiatives across the economy.
7. Investing in Care Economy Jobs and Standards: The vital care economy—childcare, elder care, and disability support—is often undervalued. Executive orders could support critical investments in these sectors, potentially by directing agencies to prioritize federal funding for programs that meet certain quality and wage standards, recognizing care work as essential infrastructure.
8. Regulating for Economic and Tax Fairness: A truly equitable economy requires robust oversight. Executive orders could direct agencies to investigate and address anticompetitive practices, increase corporate transparency, and explore innovative ways to ensure the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes, rebalancing the economic scales.
9. Protecting Voting Rights: The cornerstone of democracy, voting rights, must be vigorously defended. Executive orders could direct federal agencies to assist states in expanding voter registration opportunities, modernize Vote.gov, increase federal employees’ access to voting, and ensure voting access and education for citizens in federal custody, making casting a ballot easier and more secure.
10. Advancing Environmental Justice: Decades of environmental injustice have disproportionately burdened disadvantaged communities. Executive orders could revitalize the nation’s commitment to environmental justice, directing federal agencies to achieve environmental justice as an integral part of their mission, and ensuring that federal investments genuinely benefit communities most impacted by pollution and climate change.

In a political landscape where legislative progress can be painstakingly slow, the next Democratic president has a unique opportunity and a clear mandate to leverage the full extent of their constitutional authority. By strategically deploying executive orders across these ten critical areas, a progressive administration can not only deliver on key policy promises but also demonstrate the transformative potential of governmental power when wielded intentionally to uplift all Americans and build a more just, equitable, and sustainable future. The time for maximizing power for good is now.