George W. Bush issued 161 signing statements in which he cast doubt on more than 1,000 provisions in legislation and essentially stated his intention to ignore those parts of the law.
From The Buffalo News: Bush’s signing statements were viewed by many critics, Republican and Democratic alike, as an attempt to expand the scope of presidential power.
Bush didn’t publicize them, and for much of his presidency, the public was largely unaware of the practice.
Obama ordered the Executive Branch not to use them to do end runs around Congress and will ignore the previous administration’s signing statements.