Trump’s order on reorganizing the government simply directed his budget director to devise a plan for reorganizing the government. His order on the opioid crisis set up a commission. His orders on rebuilding the military, streamlining permits for manufacturers, and preventing violence against law enforcement instructed Cabinet secretaries to devise plans to achieve those goals—which they were presumably supposed to do anyway. His orders on trade deficits, drug cartels and burdensome tax regulations called for reports on those issues, essentially homework assignments issued on national television. Yesterday, as he signed an order regarding aluminum imports, he complained that foreign dumping was destroying the U.S. industry. But his order—like a similar one he signed last week about steel imports—did not impose any retaliatory duties; it just called for expediting an ongoing investigation of the issue.

This has become a predictable pattern, especially as the 100-day milestone has approached and the White House has been on the prowl for quick victories. On Wednesday, Trump held an Oval Office ceremony to sign an order he hailed as a blow against federal control of education, even though it merely directed his education secretary to make sure her department’s regulations comply with existing laws prohibiting federal control of education. That same day, Trump signed an order that he declared would “end another egregious abuse of federal power,” Obama’s designation of 265 million acres worth of national monuments. But the order didn’t end anything; it assigned a review and a report. Today, he’ll sign an order “Implementing an America First Offshore Energy Strategy,” which will mostly be another review of Obama’s offshore drilling restrictions–although the White House believes it can immediately reverse some of Obama’s restrictions in the Arctic, a move that will surely invite more lawsuits.