Donald Trump is criticized, often justly, for misstatements of facts and failure to understand the details of public policy. But in two of his most recent controversial actions, he has taken stands upholding the rule of law and undoing the lawless behavior of his most recent predecessor.

The question now is whether the author of “The Art of the Deal” — and congressional Republicans and Democrats — can maneuver and compromise on these issues in ways that produce sensible public policy.

The first action in question was Trump’s Sept. 5 announcement that he would withdraw Barack Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which gave immigrants brought to the United States illegally when they were children protection from deportation.

Obama acted despite his initial explanation that the president only has the authority to faithfully execute laws, not to make them. So DACA was dressed up with a fig leaf argument that he was only exercising the kind of discretion prosecutors employ when they choose to bring one case and not another.