We’ve looked at the four main sources of law in the U.S. — Constitutions, Statutes, Case Law, and Administrative Law. These are the foundations of our legal system and explain where most laws come from.

But there’s another way government rules and policies can be created: through executive orders.

Executive orders are powerful tools that presidents use to direct how the government operates and to respond quickly to urgent issues.

They must still follow the Constitution, but unlike statutes or case law, they don’t come from Congress or the courts.