Can anyone specifically name the law or executive order she is referring to?
There are lots of emergency powers the POTUS can invoke in the form of E.O., but they are good for only 90 days & come under instant Congressional scrutiny.
Committing troops to war without a declaration of war, for instance. Like Korea & Vietnam. In the case of the latter, LBJ possessed the sheer political horsepower to ram through our extended committment to the Vietnam war. Until his political muscle deteriorated & LBJ refused to run for a second term.
Point: Obama has none of LBJ’s power to intimidate. If he were to issue a truly dictatorial decree, for instance freezing gun sales by shutting down the NCIS background check system, it would kick up a huge hornets’ nest. Members of Congress, no matter their idoelogy, tend to take turf challenges very seriously.
Maybe Obama can’t issue ukazes, but he has publicly wished he could do so.