In an unusual move for a Republican

[Mbobrova]

In an unusual move for a Republican, the president's directive established price controls.

(A)the president's directive established pricecontrols
(B)the president's directive was to establishprice controls
(C)the president was successful in theestablishment of controls on prices
(D)the president had instituted controls onprices
(E)the president established price controls

[Kasia@EconomistGMAT]

The correct answer is E.

Answers A and B don't use "president" as the subject and they are incorrect since the introductory phrase refers to the president and not the directive.

C - too wordy
D - unnecessary use of the Past Perfect

[mv12]

President should be immediately after comma, also E is short and sweet, so E.