Executive orders have been around since forever.
Using them to create Law, that is a recent occurance.
Agreed. Prior to this administration, EO’s were used to clarify how the executive branch will execute the laws passed by Congress. This current administration is using them to do .... well, anything Obama wants.
Executive Orders are declarations of POLICY, and could only operate within the Constitution to the degree they comply with existing law. They cannot, in and of themselves, set new mandates not already found to be Constitutional.
Creating law is not the purpose of Executive orders.
There is a long line of SCOTUS decisions holding that they are to implement, not change the intent of the legislation by Congress.