House Speaker Paul Ryan said he and other Republicans are trying to encourage Donald Trump not to use his executive authorities in the same way as President Obama, who has drawn years worth of GOP complaints about executive overreach.
“This is one of the things we are in discussion with our presumptive nominee about, which is our steadfast commitment to our principles of self government,” the Wisconsin Republican told reporters Tuesday.
Some Republicans have fretted about the possibility of a President Trump wielding an even more active executive pen than Obama, who has moved on his own to change environmental rules, immigration policy and other regulations rather than making legislative changes with the cooperation of Congress.
Republicans believe Obama’s executive actions violate their constitutionally protected power to write laws, and have made the restoration of their authority a central theme of their 2016 agenda, which is now under development.
“This is not only one of our highest priorities of our agenda project,” Ryan said, but also an item of discussion with Trump.
