Donald Trump has signed a flurry of executive actions just after being sworn in as the 47th president of the United States, marking the beginning of his second term.
There are two types of executive actions: executive orders, which are legally binding written orders to the federal government that do not require congressional approval. Presidents also issue proclamations, which are generally not legally binding.
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What are executive orders?
Executive orders are formal written statements outlining the president’s agenda in running the federal government. These can include directives for federal agencies or requests for specific reports. Many orders can be unobjectionable, such as giving federal employees the day after Christmas off, and they can also establish major policies.
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New presidents, as the head of the executive branch often do – can issue orders to cancel orders of their predecessors.
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Article II of the US Constitution grants the president the power to issue executive orders, according to the American Bar Association (ABA).
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“Only a sitting US president may overturn an existing executive order by issuing another executive order to that effect,” the ABA said.
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According to the association, these orders don’t need congressional approval and can’t be directly overturned by lawmakers. However, Congress can prevent an order from being carried out by cutting funding or imposing other obstacles.
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Immigration and U.S. borders
• Designate an “invasion across the southern border of the United States,” a move that triggers certain executive branch powers so, Trump says, his Cabinet “shall take appropriate action to repel, repatriate or remove any alien engaged in the invasion.”
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• Allow U.S. military service members to act as immigration and border enforcement officers as part of Trump’s promised mass deportation program. Trump’s order covers the Ready Reserve and National Guard, military property that could be used as detention space, ground and air transport vehicles and “other logistics services in support of civilian-controlled law enforcement operations.” The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 has historically limited use of military personnel in domestic law enforcement actions. Trump’s orders frame migrant flow as a national security threat, which he reasons justifies his military orders as commander in chief.
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• Stop refugee arrivals and suspend the U.S. Refugee Admission Program effective Jan. 27, 2025, pending a 90-day review and recommendations from Homeland Security, the State Department and others. Source
• Prioritize continued construction of a wall and “other barriers” along the U.S.-Mexico border.Source
• Direct the attorney general and Homeland Security secretary to create Homeland Security Task Forces in all 50 states, comprising of state and local law enforcement charged with “ending the presence of criminal cartels, foreign gangs, and transnational criminal organizations.” Source
• Give the Homeland Security secretary wide latitude to establish agreements with individual state and local law enforcement agencies, “to the maximum extent permitted by law,” that empower those non-federal officials to act as federal immigration officers. Source
• Require collection of DNA samples and fingerprints from immigration detainees under a 2005 federal law.Source
• Forbid so-called “catch-and-release” – which allows some migrants to remain in the U.S. while awaiting their immigration court proceedings – in favor of detention and deportation of anyone in the U.S. illegally.
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• Direct Homeland Security to immediately devote resources and secure contractors “to construct, operate, control, or use facilities to detain removable aliens.”
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• End so-called “parole programs” (often referred to as “family reunification”) that allow family members of certain citizens and permanent-resident immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to come to the U.S. while their visa applications are still pending.
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• Require a review of all cases for all immigrants now in the U.S. under “Temporary Protected Status,” with the stated intent of “ensuring ... that such designations are appropriately limited in scope” and last the minimum amount of time “necessary to fulfill the textual requirement” of federal law.
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• Revert to vetting and screening standards used during Trump’s first term for any person seeking a visa or “immigration benefit of any kind” and apply the standard visa vetting procedures to “any refugee or stateless individual” seeking admission.
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• Repeal a Biden order requiring planning for the effects of climate change on world migration patterns.
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• Direct the secretary of state and U.S. diplomats effectively to threaten sanctions against any nation seen as reluctant to accept and facilitate the return of its citizens the U.S. deports.
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• Direct the State Department, Homeland Security and others to review and recommend changes to vetting for visas and produce a report to the president within 60 days. The order calls for identifying countries “for which vetting and screening information is so deficient as to warrant a partial or full suspension” of admission to the U.S. for their citizens.
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• Direct the attorney general and others to deny federal money to “so-called ‘sanctuary’” cities the administration sees as interfering with federal immigration enforcement, with the caveat that the Trump administration pursues action “to the maximum extent possible under the law.”
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• Pause distribution of federal money to non-governmental organizations “supporting or providing services, either directly or indirectly, to removable or illegal aliens” pending reviews and audits to identify any operations that may “promote or facilitate violations of our immigration laws.”
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• Designate international cartels as “Foreign Terrorist Organizations” or “Specially Designated Global Terrorists” under existing federal law. The order triggers the Alien Enemies Act to combat cartels and their members.
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• Require, within 30 days, the attorney general, secretary of state and others to “evaluate the adequacy of programs designed to ensure the proper assimilation of lawful immigrants into the United States, and recommend any additional measures ... that promote a unified American identity.”
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International trade, business and the economy
• Broadly direct all executive agencies to tailor their policies to reduce consumer prices. Trump wants a progress report from a top White House economic adviser every 30 days.
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• Direct the treasury and commerce secretaries, U.S trade representative and others to examine causes of U.S. trade deficits, identify unfair trade practices and make recommendations, potentially including “a global supplemental tariff.”
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• Begin review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, Trump’s first-administration rewrite of NAFTA, with an eye to a renegotiation in 2026 or sooner. Trump said he plans 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods as of Feb. 1, but he has not signed such executive actions so far.
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• Begin establishment of an “External Revenue Service to collect tariffs, duties and other foreign trade-related revenues.”
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• Begin review of U.S. trade dealings with China to consider new or increased tariffs. As a candidate, Trump threatened Chinese tariffs as high as 60%.
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• Order review of fentanyl flows into the U.S., specifically from Canada, Mexico and China, and make recommendations, including potential tariffs and sanctions.
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• Direct the commerce and trade secretaries and the U.S. trade representative to consolidate multiple reviews and assessments. Trump ordered consolidated reports by April 1.
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• Suspend U.S. participation in the Global Tax Deal, an international agreement intended to set a minimum corporate tax globally to prevent multinational corporations from avoiding taxation altogether.
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• Pause the U.S. ban on TikTok for 75 days, specifically barring the attorney general from enforcing the law Congress passed in 2024 to allow the new administration to assess national security concerns and seek a potential American buyer for the popular digital platform.
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• Bar U.S. government officials from pushing social media companies to combat misinformation and disinformation. Trump’s order states that such previous efforts “infringed on the constitutionally protected speech rights of American citizens” and “advanced the Government’s preferred narrative about significant matters of public debate.”
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Climate, energy and the environment
• Withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement, which committed nations to pursue policies limiting carbon emissions that cause climate change. The order blocks transfer of U.S. funds previously obligated to the International Climate Finance Plan.
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• Declare a “national energy emergency.” This is both a symbolic measure reflecting Trump’s promise of energy expansion but also specifically urges federal use of eminent domain and the Defense Production Act, measures that allow the government to commandeer private land and resources to produce goods deemed to be a national necessity.
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• Compel the Army Corps of Engineers to use “to the fullest extent possible” its emergency permitting provisions to speed energy projects and urge all agencies to use similar emergency procedures that expedite or bypass permitting processes under the Endangered Species Act or other federal laws that protect wildlife.
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• Eliminate Biden policies intended to encourage electrical vehicle development and purchases — part of Trump’s effort to limit non-fossil fuel energy sectors.
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• Require all agencies within 30 days to submit to the White House Office of Management and Budget their plans to eliminate regulations and rules deemed “burdensome” to domestic energy production and consumption, “with particular attention to oil, natural gas, coal, hydropower, biofuels, critical mineral, and nuclear energy.”
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• Repeal multiple Biden orders and memoranda regarding climate change, including guidelines for implementing climate-related provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022; an effort to assess financial risks of not combating climate change; and establishment of a President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology.
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• Streamline other fossil fuel extraction in Alaska with a command to “rescind, revoke, revise, amend, defer or grant exemptions from any and all” regulatory actions relevant in the state. Specifically, Trump is restoring any suspended fossil fuel leases within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
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• Deny a pending U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service request to create an indigenous sacred site within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
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• Restore first Trump administration rules on hunting and trapping in national preserves in Alaska. Order the Interior Department to align federal rules on hunting and fishing in Alaska with rules for state-government lands.
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• Roll back other Biden era limits or regulations on fossil fuel extraction on federal lands.
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• Make the Outer Continental Shelf ineligible for wind energy leases — another limitation on non-fossil fuel development.
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• Reengage a legal and regulatory battle with California state government over water routes from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Trump wants to override fish and wildlife protection efforts to route more of the water to the Central Valley and Southern California.
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Diversity, transgender rights and civil rights
• Give executive branch departments and agencies 60 days to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs, including all “chief diversity officer” jobs, “equity action plans” and “environmental justice” positions. Require departments and agencies to give the White House Office of Management and Budget an accounting of previous DEI efforts, including names of relevant DEI contractors and DEI grant recipients. Terminate a 60-year-old executive order setting anti-discrimination requirements for government agencies and contractors.
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• A separate OMB memo effectively put all federal DEI officers on immediate leave pending their elimination.
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• Repeal several Biden-era directives on racial and ethnic equity and LGBTQ rights. They included orders intending to ensure equitable distribution of federal money based on the 2020 census; preventing government discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation and specifically encouraging inclusion in school settings; White House educational initiatives for Native Americans, Hispanics and Black Americans; and an order expressly allowing transgender persons to serve in the military.
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• Require that the U.S. government recognize two genders only – male and female – on passports, visas, Global Entry cards and all other forms and documents, and in all programs and communications.
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• Mandate that all federal civil rights law and labor law be interpreted and enforced with the understanding that “‘sex’ is not a synonym for and does not include the concept of ‘gender identity.’”
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• Dissolve the White House Gender Policy Council and repeal Department of Education guidelines on Title IX concerning transgender rights and various documents advising schools on how to support and protect LGBTQ persons.
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• Forbid federal money, including grants, from being used to “promote gender ideology” and direct the attorney general and Homeland Security secretary to “ensure that males are not detained in women’s prisons or housed in women’s detention centers.”
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Federal workers and government structure
• Establish the Department of Government Efficiency under the Executive Office of the President until July 4, 2026. This is the entity led by Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, and is charged with recommending cuts in federal programs and spending.
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• Require each agency head to establish their own DOGE team of at least four people to work with Musk’s operation.
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• Freeze federal hiring, with exceptions – notably immigration and border enforcement posts and U.S. military jobs, plus a generic exception for to “maintain essential services.” The directive also does not apply to top presidential political appointees. The action bars contracting with outside labor to circumvent the hiring freeze.
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• Block new federal rules and regulations in all agencies where Trump’s appointed agency chief is not yet on the job to approve new edicts. The White House Office of Budget and Management can override the ban in emergency situations.
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• Require all federal workers to return full-time to in-person work.
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• Direct reviews across the Executive Branch of “career senior executive service” officials and effectively make it easier to fire, demote or reassign those federal employees — generally the highest-ranking civil service employees whose jobs historically have been protected through administration changes. “Because SES officials wield significant government authority, they must serve at the pleasure of the president,” Trump’s memoranda states.
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• Make it easier to fire federal workers by reinstituting an executive order from the first Trump administration, which was later repealed under Biden. The latest Trump policy adds provisions that state that federal employees and applicants “are not required to personally or politically support the current president” but must “faithfully implement administration policies,” understanding that “failure to do so is grounds for dismissal.”
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• Require a “Federal Hiring Plan” within 120 days to set new standards for hiring federal workers. The order prioritizes “recruitment of individuals ... passionate about the ideals of our American republic” and preventing “the hiring of individuals based on their race, sex or religion,” while also blocking those “who are unwilling to defend the Constitution or to faithfully serve in the Executive Branch.”
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• Formally nominate Cabinet and sub-Cabinet officers and name many acting Cabinet officers, agency chiefs and commission chairs as Trump nominees await Senate confirmation.
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Health care
• Repeal Biden directives intended to make it easier to enroll in Medicaid services, secure insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act and lower prescription drug costs. The Trump action, however, does not actually repeal the Biden-era $35 monthly cap on insulin, Medicare’s $2,000 annual out-of-pocket cap on prescription drugs or Medicare’s ability to negotiate drug pricing. Those policies remain enforced by federal statutes passed by Congress.
• Repeal multiple Biden orders and directives on COVID-19.
• Withdraw the U.S. from the World Health Organization, direct the White House Office of Management and Budget to stop future transfers of U.S. money to WHO and order the secretary of state to end negotiations on the WHO Pandemic Agreement.
• Order the secretary of state and OMB director to identify “credible and transparent United States and international partners” to replace the U.S. relationship with WHO.
Foreign policy, national security and ‘America First’
• Cancel Biden-era sanctions on far-right Israeli groups and individuals accused of violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. Biden’s order had frozen U.S. assets and barred Americans from dealing with Israelis covered by his order.
• Direct Secretary of State Marco Rubio to issue guidance to put all State Department “politics, programs, personnel and operations in line with an America First foreign policy, which puts America and its interests first.”
• Re-designate Yemen’s Houthis as a terrorist organization. Trump’s administration designated the Houthis as global terrorists and a foreign terrorist organization in one of his last acts in office in 2021. But Biden reversed course early on, at the time citing the humanitarian threat that the sanctions posed to ordinary Yemenis.
• Define the membership and establish operating procedures for the National Security Council.
• Pause all U.S. foreign development aid pending reviews of “efficiencies and consistency” with administration aims, to be conducted within 90 days by relevant agency heads “under guidelines” from Rubio the White House Office of Management and Budget. Rubio can lift the freeze for any program.
• Immediately grant six-month security clearances to certain administration officials whose background checks are pending. The White House counsel determines which aides get the temporary clearance.
• Repeal Biden’s executive order on artificial intelligence that aimed to set guardrails on the development of AI.
Nationalism
• Restore the name of Mount McKinley in Alaska. The change for North America’s tallest peak recognizes William McKinley, the 25th U.S. president, whom Trump has praised for economic leadership and expanding U.S. territory through the Spanish-American War. President Barack Obama had in 2015 renamed the mountain Denali — what native tribes called it historically. Trump’s order did not change the name of the surrounding Denali National Park and Reserve.
• Require Trump’s personal approval of new architectural and design standards for federal buildings so the president can ensure federal structures “respect regional, traditional, and classical architectural heritage in order to uplift and beautify public spaces and ennoble the United States.”
• Order that U.S. flags always be flown at full-staff on Inauguration Day. The immediate effect was to countermand Biden’s traditional 30-day order lowering flags as a mourning tribute to former President Jimmy Carter, who died Dec. 29, 2024. Trump’s order returned flags on federal installations to half-staff on Jan. 21, through the end of the Carter mourning period.
Death penalty and crime
• Direct the attorney general to explore whether 37 federal prisoners who had death sentences commuted to life imprisonment by Biden can be charged and tried with capital crimes in state courts.
• Direct the attorney general to “take all necessary and lawful action” to supply states with adequate drugs to carry out lethal injection.
• Direct the attorney general to seek reversals of U.S. Supreme Court precedents that limit application of the death penalty in state and federal jurisdictions.
• In a symbolic gesture, direct the attorney general to “encourage state attorneys general and district attorneys” to pursue the death penalty in all possible cases.
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The Capitol riot and 2020 campaign redux
• Commute the sentences and grant full pardons to hundreds of individuals convicted or still being prosecuted for their roles in the Jan. 6, 2021, attacks on the U.S. Capitol as Congress convened to certify Biden’s victory over Trump in the 2020 election.
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• Order the attorney general and others to review all agencies’ investigative and enforcement actions during Biden’s tenure to identify what Trump describes as “weaponization of the federal government” against his supporters. The directive identifies the Justice Department, Federal Trade Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the intelligence community. It requires a report to the president on the findings, with recommended “remedial actions.”
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• Direct the attorney general to investigate U.S. government dealings with social media platforms during Biden’s tenure and make “recommendations for appropriate remedial actions” in response to what Trump frames as censorship efforts.
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• Revoke the security clearances of 50 people Trump accuses of aiding Biden’s 2020 campaign via their collective public statement about a laptop that belonged to Biden’s son, Hunter Biden. The list includes former top intelligence officials James Clapper, Michael Hayden and Leon Panetta, along with Trump’s onetime National Security Adviser John Bolton.
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• Direct the director of national intelligence and CIA director to submit a report within 90 days with recommendations for additional “disciplinary action” and how to “prevent the Intelligence Community or anyone who works for or within it from inappropriately influencing domestic elections.”
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