Executive orders and signing statements have historically existed but were used differently than they are now—George W. Bush inaugurated the practice of using signing statements to preemptively exempt himself from congressional legislation he disagreed with by claiming it interfered with presidential powers

factualpending

Speaker

Dan Carlin

Evidence Quote

When George W. Bush started um issuing signing statements to bills that he disagreed with but he wanted to pass for political reasons. What he essentially did was say, 'I'm signing this bill, but I'm not being bound by anything that I feel later interferes with the actual powers of the presidency'

Source

Dan Carlin Explains Why Autocracy in America Was Inevitable (Making Sense #433)Sam Harris
Created: 8/11/2026, 7:41:50 AM

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