CNN: Federal hiring freeze nearly included POTUS

The President reviews what would have been a major mistake on his first full day in office: "Hmm, you're right. That was a close one."

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WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Donald Trump's presidency was nearly over soon after it began, according to a exclusive CNN report. A correction in his initial flurry of executive order signings, this one mandating a federal hiring freeze, avoided freezing him out of his own new job.

The initial executive order would have blocked all federal hires and appointments made after the Nov. 8 election. Trump did not start his position until he was sworn in at noon on Jan. 20, about six weeks after the hiring freeze's implementation.

The oversight was spotted by a White House aide who tackled the pen from the presidential hand after the aide realized the source of the eager anticipatory smiles on the faces of Democratic lawmakers in the room, according to the CNN report.

CNN did not have a reporter in the room, having been the subject of a selective media freeze by the new administration, but confirmed the report with people inside the Oval Office.

According to the report, the President looked over his order and stated: "That was a close one. Oh well, even if I had signed it, I could have always signed another order overturning the first order."

When advised that he would no longer have had the authority to sign a second order after negating his new post with the first, the president reportedly replied: "Yes I could. Remember, I won."

Presidential executive orders (EOs) are nothing new, dating all the way back to George Washington. Often used to help officers and agencies of the executive branch manage operations within the federal government, critics argue that it is a way to bypass Congress.

Some of the most famous EOs include Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation and FDR's New Deal.

On the other hand, some presidents have used EOs to award patronage jobs, set up Japanese internment camps in WWII, and President Herbert Hoover even signed an EO 5658 of 1931, at the height of the Great Depression, spelling out a how-to guide for EOs, including details about grammar, spelling, margins, selecting a title, and even what size paper to use (8 ½ x 11).

"Here we go again," said political watchdog George Santayana.

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