Donald Trump is returning to the White House ready to immediately overhaul the government using the fastest tool he has — the executive order. During his first term, Trump, a Republican, signed 220. (X/@cb_doge) An incoming president signing a flurry of executive orders is standard practice. Executive orders allow a president to wield power without action from Congress. But there are also limits to what orders can achieve. A primer on how the presidential power works and its often fleeting impact: What are executive orders? Basically, they are signed statements about how the president wants the federal government to be managed. They can be instructions to federal agencies or requests for reports. Many orders can be unobjectionable, such as giving federal employees the day after Christmas off. They can also lay out major policies. For example, President Joe Biden signed an order to create a structure for establishing regulations on artificial intelligence. But executive orders — and their policy sausage-making siblings, the proclamation and political memorandum — also are used by presidents to pursue agendas …