Trump's go-it-alone strategy carries its own risks

A federal judge's order in Seattle Friday evening blocking Trump's ban on admitting travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries showed the limits of the president's powers and the role of checks and balances among the three branches of government.

The State Department cancelled visas for about 60,000 people from the affected countries; the legal setbacks had many rushing to restore their documents and find flights to the United States over the weekend.

The president has also signed a blitz of actions on border security, health care and financial regulation, showing few signs of slowing down.

On Friday, Trump's administration imposed sanctions on companies and individuals in response to Iran's recent ballistic missile test — after months of bitter criticism of Obama's landmark nuclear deal with Tehran.

Since Inauguration Day, Trump has signed 20 memoranda and executive orders.

The former president signed a memorandum in his first week in 2009 rescinding a ban on providing federal money to international groups that perform or provide information on abortions.

Democrats are broadly and bitterly opposed to Trump's proposals — on the health care law, oil pipelines and the border wall — as well as the unilateral way he's going about pursuing some of them.

[...] Graham said the bumpy start still pales in comparison to Obama's use of executive action, pointing to federal courts blocking the former president's executive actions on immigration and a piece of his health care overhaul.