Comparing Trump's Day 1 executive orders to past presidents: See graphics
President Donald Trump signed over 20 executive orders and actions on Inauguration Day ‒ more than any previous U.S. president.
The focus of the directives ranged from pardoning or commuting sentences for almost everyone convicted in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, to attempting to pause a TikTok ban and pulling the country out of the World Health Organization.
He started by rescinding 78 executive orders approved by his predecessor President Joe Biden, including efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions, protect federal lands from oil drilling and reduce the cost of prescription medications.
Other actions targeted the country's relationship with immigration, its economy, the environment and even gender roles as Trump took steps toward fulfilling many of his "Day 1" promises.
According to data from the University of California, Santa Barbara's American Presidency Project, a majority of past U.S. presidents did not sign executive orders on their first day in office.
Six of Trump's executive orders concern immigration. In the national border emergency declaration, the Trump administration states its intent to use the military to crack down on illegal immigration, combat transnational gangs and drug trafficking, and execute his promised mass deportations of undocumented migrants.
A majority of Trump's decrees will impact the federal government and its workforce. Trump signed an executive order directing department heads to require federal employees to "return to work in-person at their respective duty stations on a full-time basis" immediately, with exemptions allowed.
Trump also declared that the federal government only recognizes two sexes − male and female.
The State Department, Department of Homeland Security and other agencies will be tasked with enforcing the directive, which applies to passports, visas and other government documents, according to the incoming White House official.
History of executive orders
Presidents often use executive orders to establish councils and commissions, set administration-wide policies on hiring or purchasing, or give federal employees a day off.
They're also numbered and published in the Federal Register. The Department of State started numbering executive orders in 1907, according to the American Presidency Project.
Executive orders can be rescinded or amended by an act of Congress, a court order, or another executive order.
CONTRIBUTING Lauren Villagran, Elizabeth Weise, Gregory Korte, Paste BN