Behind the Curtain: Trump is running the Santa and Grinch presidency

President Trump's first 296 days of his second term, while precedent-shattering, are producing a lot more one-off, giveth-or-taketh-away deals than actual new U.S. laws.In fact, no president since at least Dwight Eisenhower in 1953 has signed fewer bills into law in a similar governing period, GovTrack Insider found — despite Trump's party controlling both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue.Why it matters: It's the Santa and Grinch presidency, in which almost every day reveals a new promise to give something of financial value to a nation, group or individual — or take it away. But rarely do these transactions cement new laws.This reality reflects Trump's improvisational and dealmaking impulses. But it also means that a lot of what he does will be easily reversible.The last few days show the pattern: Trump, increasingly vocal about affordability after the Democratic romp in Tuesday's elections, called for two actions — tariff rebate checks and 50-year mortgages.Both were in-the-moment ideas, tossed out by the president on social media, that don't require new laws.Zoom in: On Truth Social on Saturday afternoon, Trump floated the idea of a 50-year mortgage to improve housing affordability. Bill Pulte, the powerful director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), then tweeted: "Thanks to President Trump, we are indeed working on The 50 year Mortgage — a complete game changer." Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) argued on X that the idea would "ultimately reward the banks, mortgage lenders and home builders while people pay far more in interest over time."Then on Truth Social on Sunday morning, Trump said: "A dividend of at least $2000 a person (not including high income people!) will be paid to everyone." (An idea he's floated on and off since July, without any concrete plans.) In a real-time reflection of Trump improv, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told George Stephanopoulos shortly thereafter on "This Week": "I haven't spoken to the president about this yet ... [T]he $2,000 dividend could come in lots of forms ... [I]t could be just the tax decreases that we are seeing on the president's agenda." (Trump later clarified that it would, in fact, be a direct payment to people.)Reality check: The Supreme Court might nullify the tariffs, in part because he didn't get them signed into law. Herein lies the downside to Trump's approach: Anything not codified by law can be easily undone by the courts — or by Democrats when they win back the White House.The intrigue: These measures can also be undone by Trump himself, if the winds shift the right way. Auto companies, for instance, now get a partial refund for the tariffs that Trump imposed on the industry.Another case in point: Trump has pushed for lower prescription drug prices — not by seeking legislation, but by directly pressuring pharmaceutical companies, including last week's Oval Office announcement that they'll reduce the price of GLP-1 weight loss drugs.He has attacked health insurance companies in recent days and over the weekend called for Americans to receive cash directly with which to buy health insurance.But he hasn't engaged in negotiations with congressional Democrats over extending Affordable Care Act subsidies that currently help millions afford insurance — the core of the shutdown fight.The bottom line: Almost all of Trump's astonishing expansions of precedent-stretching presidential power flow not from law, or even congressional approval. It's just Trump doing what he wants ... to whoever he wants ... when he wants.Axios' Tal Axelrod, Ben Berkowitz, Courtenay Brown and Neil Irwin contributed reporting.Go deeper: "The resistance revitalized."

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