Unusual for him, Donald Trump recently signed an executive order with little fanfare. However, this 69th order of his second term, under the misleading title of “Ensuring accountability for all agencies,” has been criticized as a significant power grab that seeks to turn the president into a dictator. The order, coming between two other directives on Covid vaccine mandates in schools and access to in vitro fertilization, gives the president the authority to determine what constitutes the law and who must abide by it. Constitutional conservatives are alarmed by this, seeing it as a step towards American-style despotism. The order aims to bring “independent” regulatory agencies under direct White House oversight, potentially allowing Trump to favor his political and business allies. Critics argue this supports the Republican right’s “unitary executive theory,” which risks undermining democracy’s checks and balances. Trump has also been criticized for stripping agencies of their independence by making them accountable to the Office of Management and Budget, led by a proponent of an authoritarian takeover of government. Even some conservatives worry about the order’s implications, arguing the law is what Congress passes and the Supreme Court interprets, not what the president says.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/01/trump-executive-order-dictatorship