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A lot happens every day. Alliances shift, leaders change, and conflicts erupt. With In Brief, we’ll help you make sense of it all. Each week, experts will dig deep on a single issue happening in the world to help you better understand it.***The Trump administration has moved quickly in its first two weeks in office, with more than 45 executive orders addressing a wide range of issues. We asked four experts to identify what orders they consider most impactful for U.S. foreign policy and national security — and why.Ankit Panda Stanton Senior Fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program Carnegie Endowment for International PeaceThe “Iron Dome for America” executive order articulates a vision for U.S. homeland missile defense far grander than any in the past. It seeks to deter and defend against “any foreign aerial attack on the Homeland,” including everything from drones to nuclear-armed intercontinental-range ballistic missiles.The order has significant implications for strategic stability with Russia and China, which have long feared a U.S. effort to expand the scope of homeland missile defense. They will see the order as a vindication of their concerns. Assuring that their second-strike capabilities can penetrate any U.S. homeland defense system will remain an overarching priority.The prohibitive costs associated with this Iron Dome aspiration will lead to intense debates on Capitol Hill. While certain costs associated with enabling technologies — such as space-launch capabilities — have come down substantially in the last decade, the sheer scope of what this order aspires to accomplish — with its call for everything from new space-based interceptors to new sensors — is staggering.Emma Ashford Senior Fellow, Reimagining U.S. Grand Strategy Program The Stimson CenterMany of the executive orders President Donald Trump signed in his first few days in office were signaling exercises with little practical impact on foreign policy.