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Commentary

PERKINS: Executive Orders Are Good, but Congress Must Make Them Permanent

February 10, 2025

The pace at which President Trump is issuing executive orders has some heads spinning and others exploding. In just three weeks, the White House has already reached 90 orders and executive actions. Here are just some of the changes initiated by the president so far:

  • Prohibiting biological men from competing in girls’ sports
  • Eradicating anti-Christian bias in government
  • Withdrawing the United States from several U.N. entities, including the World Health Organization (WHO)
  • Ending radical indoctrination in K-12 public schools
  • Expanding school choice opportunities
  • Combating anti-Semitism
  • Protecting children from chemical and surgical mutilation
  • Prioritizing military excellence and readiness by removing DEI mandates
  • Ending transgender service in the military
  • Enforcing the Hyde Amendment throughout the federal government to prevent taxpayer-funded abortion
  • Eliminating radical and wasteful government programs
  • Reaffirming the federal government’s recognition of only two genders, male and female

And that list is far from exhaustive. Now, there’s both good news and bad news regarding these orders. First, the good news. Although the ink is barely dry, these executive orders are already having an effect beyond the federal government’s legal reach. Corporate America is responding in unexpected ways. For instance, tech giants like Google and Meta have indicated they’re moving away from woke DEI initiatives. Amazon is another prime example, scaling back its programs, while Walmart is also rolling theirs back.



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Some of these corporate decisions pre-date President Trump’s inauguration, but his unambiguous statements of intent, combined with the recent Supreme Court decision on affirmative action, have produced a tectonic shift in policy. At least a dozen major corporations are also stepping away from the Human Rights Campaign’s annual Corporate Equality Index, parting ways with its LGBTQ requirements.

Even the NCAA, which has long championed transgenderism dating back to its 2017 standoff with North Carolina over the law banning biological men from using women’s restrooms, changed its stance this week. The change came after Trump signed an executive order that essentially says girls’ sports are for girls. That’s a profound statement in 2025.

In many cases, companies have abandoned DEI policies — not because they had to — but because even woke corporate America can sense a looming wave of common sense that rejects the Left’s ideological overreach.

Now for the bad news. While President Trump’s executive orders may reflect a surge in public frustration with extreme woke ideologies, public opinion can change rapidly. Executive orders are temporary by nature. A future administration could reverse these common-sense policies, just as Joe Biden did after taking office in 2020.

How do we solidify these cultural gains? By making these orders statutory through Congress. Legislators must pass laws embodying the principles President Trump has laid out. It will be challenging, and it will take time. But we can’t let this moment pass without codifying the cultural shift.

The most significant challenges lie ahead. Americans must not sit on the sidelines if we want to see this momentum for traditional values continue. Make no mistake: the attacks on our faith, family, and freedoms have not ended. Nor have the architects of these attacks been reformed. This battle to secure our future is not over. It has just begun.

Tony Perkins is president of Family Research Council and executive editor of The Washington Stand.



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