The Indiana University Maurer School of Law hosted a panel discussion to better understand President Trump’s executive orders.
The panelists were Steve Sanders, Associate Dean and Professor of Law; Dawn Johnson, Walter W. Foskett Professor of Law and former U.S. Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel; and Dan Conkle, Robert H. McKinney Professor of Law Emeritus.
They discussed how the presidential executive orders are developed in conjunction with the Justice Department.
Steve Sanders spoke on President Trump’s recent orders and the role these directives have historically played in articulating and advancing an administration's priorities.
“He has a swift and unrelenting approach to dramatically changing the United States government beyond the swiftness and the breath of these orders is they’re dubiously legality and questionable constitutionality,” Sanders said.
Dawn Johnson spoke on how Trump’s executive relate to the legal system and the Constitution.
“But far more serious are the executive orders that President Trump has issued that provide the basis or directly or provide the basis of implementation to alter the very structure of our federal government and radically change course for defending our nations policies," Johnson said. "Some are clearly unlawful, others winding their ways through courts, we’re learning more everyday.”
According to Johnson, the unlawful ones include ending birthright citizenship and terminating federal employees.
The panel’s goal was to increase understanding of the implications of Trump's executive orders and the effect they may have on the separation of powers between the President and Congress.
“The president can ignore Congress if there’s an independent constitutional basis for his actions rooted in powers of that office in Article Two, but there’s no credible Article Two justification for Donald Trump’s actions,” Conkle said.