Blocked at every turn by congressional Republicans who hated him, President Obama turned to techniqu

Blocked at every turn by congressional Republicans who hated him, President Obama turned to techniques developed by a long line of presidents of both parties—use existing laws and powers to bypass Congress. Republicans charged Obama with exceeding constitutional limits on presidential power, but Nixon, Reagan, and both Bushes had done the same with Republican approval. Constitutional challenges to it seldom work because hundreds of laws allow the president to issue “executive orders” to fill in the details, make exceptions, and go slow on enforcement.