What is happening with this administration is exposing the great flaw of electoralism that anarchists and other leftists have been warning about for nearly a century.

That if we do not restructure our society, our politics and our culture leave us manipulatable to where these corrupt individuals could systematically consolidate power and out themselves or their allies into positions of power.

This is the result of not a decade but over a century of political and systemic manipulation by the owning-class.

Living in the US during this time has radicalized me so much against the system.

I don't think it's so much "fear" of defying the president as it is they're getting what they want from him (white christo-fascism), and they're getting bribed by the same people. Most of the Dems are also dependant on the same interests as well (not necessarily the white Christian-nationalist stuff, but the same money). The concentration of wealth has put far too much power into too few hands. These same people are heavily influencing politics and public opinion worldwide. Idk, how we get out of this mess; have to bring the entire global economic system to its knees; forcibly redistribute their wealth or make it worthless I guess.

He is de facto incredibly powerful, but he is de jure not. He's only capable of doing those things because the checks and balances failed through the coordinated efforts of hundreds of Republican congressmen. Every heinous act that goes unchecked bears the implicit seal of approval of the entire Republican party. He could do many of the things you claim he's powerless to do, too, but he doesn't want to, and all the mechanisms meant to force him to have failed.

The decrees are basically glorified memos. They hold little to no legal weight in and of themselves, except that they direct the agencies that work under the president's control, so it's less legally binding document and more written order from your boss. The problem is that he writes ones directing them to do illegal shit, and they just do it because they know Trump and the rest of the Republicans spent decades packing the courts to protect them when this day came, and if they packed the courts, they're sure as hell not gonna ruin all that work by properly using their congressional powers.