Within hours of his Inauguration, President Donald Trump set out to fulfill a number of his campaign promises, issuing a spate of presidential actions on everything from the border to federal building architecture.
The White House’s website lists 46 presidential actions on Jan. 20. The first four were administration staffing announcements—Trump’s Cabinet and sub-cabinet nominations as well as his designations of acting Cabinet and Cabinet-level leaders and chairs of various commissions. Of the rest, 26 were executive orders, 12 were memorandums and four were proclamations.
[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]Read More: The Steep Price of Trump’s Executive Orders
What these different types of presidential actions mean and how much authority they each carry isn’t always clear. Many are also likely to face swift challenges in court. Here’s what to know.
Constitutionally, the President can’t create laws, but he does have broad authority to direct how the federal agencies enforce the law. There is no official definition of executive orders or memoranda or proclamations, though they are generally written directives from the President to government officials and agencies, and they’ve been issued by every President since George Washington. “The distinction between these instruments,” according to a Congressional Research Service report, “seems to be more a matter of form than of substance.”
“The only technical difference,” the CRS report states, “is that executive orders and proclamations must be published in the Federal Register, while presidential memoranda are published only when the President determines that they have ‘general applicability and legal effect.’”
Historically, executive orders have dealt with more controversial topics, while memoranda often cover more routine directives to federal agencies that require less public scrutiny, such as instructions to issue a report, according to the CRS report.
Proclamations, according to the Library of Congress, deal with the activities of private individuals and today tend to be more ceremonial in nature. They are typically used, according to the Federal Register, when the President “communicates information on holidays, commemorations, special observances, trade, and policy.”
“If issued under a valid claim of authority and published, executive orders and presidential memoranda have the force and effect of law,” according to another CRS report. However, because they are based on implied authority, “it is important to examine the legal basis for each executive order and presidential memoranda issued and the manner in which the President has used these instruments.”
Executive orders can be reviewed by the judicial branch, and they can also be ratified or nullified by the legislative branch, according to another CRS report, which also points out that “they can also be impermanent because a later President can, generally, revoke or modify any previously issued executive order with which he disagrees”—something Trump has expressly said he is seeking to do to many of former President Joe Biden’s presidential actions.
Below are summaries of all the executive orders, memoranda, and proclamations Trump issued on Jan. 20.
Proclamation on flying flags at half-staff
After former President Jimmy Carter died on Dec. 29, President Biden, following U.S. Flag Code, issued a proclamation for flags to be flown at half-staff for 30 days at all public buildings, including the White House, military posts and naval stations, and embassies. Trump, however, expressed his displeasure at the idea of flags being flown at half-staff on the day of his Inauguration, prompting Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and a number of Republican governors to order flags to be flown at full-staff on Jan. 20 at the Capitol and state buildings.
As his first move back in office, Trump issued a proclamation titled “Flying The Flag Of The United States At Full-Staff On Inauguration Day” that ordered flags to be flown at full-staff on all Inauguration Days, including the current one. Trump’s proclamation stated that the flag may be lowered back to half-staff, in memory of President Carter, once Inauguration Day ended.
Executive order on rescinding previous executive orders
Trump issued an executive order titled “Initial Rescissions Of Harmful Executive Orders And Actions,” revoking 78 executive orders and memoranda issued by the Biden Administration, many to do with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and tackling the climate crisis. Trump’s order accused the Biden Administration of having “embedded deeply unpopular, inflationary, illegal, and radical practices within every agency and office of the Federal Government.”
Executive order on freedom of speech
Trump issued an executive order titled “Restoring Freedom Of Speech And Ending Federal Censorship” that claimed the Biden Administration “trampled free speech rights by censoring Americans’ speech on online platforms” under the guise of combating disinformation and misinformation. The order directs the Attorney General to investigate federal policies of the past four years and to recommend appropriate remedial action.
Executive order on the ‘weaponization’ of government
Trump issued an executive order titled “Ending The Weaponization Of The Federal Government” that directs the Attorney General to “identify and take appropriate action to correct” supposed “politically motivated” law enforcement activity at the Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Federal Trade Commission. The order also calls on the Director of National Intelligence to do the same with regard to the intelligence community.
Memorandum ending remote work
Trump issued a memorandum titled “Return to In-Person Work,” which orders federal employees in the executive branch to terminate all remote-work arrangements.
Memorandum limiting new regulations
In a memorandum titled “Regulatory Freeze Pending Review,” Trump ordered all executive departments and agencies not to propose any rule or directive until a department head reviews and approves it.
Memorandum stopping federal hiring
Trump issued a memorandum titled “Hiring Freeze,” ordering a pause on recruiting federal civilian employees in the executive branch, effective as of noon on Jan. 20. The memorandum, however, has some exceptions, including that it does not apply to military personnel and to positions related to immigration enforcement, national security, or public safety. It also asks the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to submit a plan within 90 days “to reduce the size of the Federal Government’s workforce through efficiency improvements and attrition,” at which point the hiring freeze will be lifted except for the IRS, for which the freeze is indefinite.
Memorandum on ‘emergency price relief’
In a memorandum titled “Delivering Emergency Price Relief for American Families and Defeating the Cost-of-Living Crisis,” Trump directed executive departments and agencies to implement so-called “emergency price relief” measures to lower the cost of housing, health care, food, and fuel costs—as well as create employment opportunities for workers. No specific measures were outlined, though the memorandum calls on the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy to report every 30 days thereafter on the status of implementation.
Executive order on withdrawing from international climate agreements
Trump issued an executive order titled “Putting America First In International Environmental Agreements,” which effectively withdraws the U.S. from the landmark Paris Agreement that focuses on reducing countries’ carbon emissions. It also orders the withdrawal of the U.S. from any other international climate pacts as well as any financial commitments the U.S. made to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, and it immediately revokes the U.S. International Climate Finance Plan.
Proclamation pardoning Jan. 6 Capitol rioters
In a proclamation titled “Granting Pardons And Commutation Of Sentences For Certain Offenses Relating To The Events At Or Near The United States Capitol On January 6, 2021,” Trump pardoned all his supporters who were criminally charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol that injured more than 100 police officers, except for 14 individuals, for whom he commuted the sentences to time served. He also ordered the dismissal of all pending indictments related to Jan. 6. The sweeping clemency directive is believed to cover over 1,500 defendants.
Executive order delaying TikTok ban
Trump, in an executive order titled, “Application Of Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act To TikTok,” effectively delayed the U.S. ban, which was passed with broad bipartisan support by Congress and unanimously upheld by the Supreme Court, of Chinese-owned shortform video app TikTok for 75 days. The order came after the app’s brief shutdown over the preceding weekend.
Read More: Here’s What Happened When India Banned TikTok in 2020
Executive order withdrawing from the World Health Organization
Trump issued an executive order titled “Withdrawing The United States From The World Health Organization,” fulfilling a campaign promise. Trump had pushed for the U.S. to leave the international health organization near the end of his first term in 2020, citing failed handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, but Biden reversed the withdrawal when he took office in 2021. According to Devex, the U.S. withdrawal could cost the WHO some $130 million in annual financial backing.
Executive order on hiring and firing federal employees
Trump’s executive order titled “Restoring Accountability To Policy-Influencing Positions Within the Federal Workforce” restores and amends an executive order from his first term and rescinds a Biden executive order that effectively makes it easier to hire and fire certain federal civil servants, with an eye toward loyalty.
An addendum to the reinstatement states: “Employees in or applicants for Schedule Policy/Career positions are not required to personally or politically support the current President or the policies of the current administration. They are required to faithfully implement administration policies to the best of their ability, consistent with their constitutional oath and the vesting of executive authority solely in the President. Failure to do so is grounds for dismissal.”
Executive order revoking security clearances
Trump issued an executive order titled “Holding Former Government Officials Accountable For Election Interference And Improper Disclosure Of Sensitive Governmental Information.” The order revokes the security clearances of more than four dozen former intelligence officials, including Trump’s first-term national security advisor John Bolton, who signed a 2020 letter saying that published information purportedly from one of Hunter Biden’s laptops has the aspects of “a Russian information operation.” Trump’s executive order declares that it is U.S. policy “that the Intelligence Community not be engaged in partisan politics or otherwise used by a U.S. political campaign for electioneering purposes” and “that classified information not be publicly disclosed in memoirs, especially those published for personal monetary gain.”
Proclamation declaring a ‘national emergency’ at the southern border
In a proclamation titled “Declaring A National Emergency At The Southern Border Of The United States,” Trump declared a “national emergency” that calls for military personnel and resources to help secure the southern border, including through additional physical barriers as well as drones.
Memorandum on resolving delayed security clearances
In a memorandum titled “Memorandum to Resolve the Backlog of Security Clearances for Executive Office of the President Personnel,” Trump ordered the White House counsel to “provide the White House Security Office and Acting Chief Security Officer with a list of personnel that are hereby immediately granted interim Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) security clearances for a period not to exceed six months,” to address supposed backlogs that have prevented workers’ access to the White House complex, infrastructure, and technologies.
Some have criticized the move for lacking transparency. “The only cases where this would apply, obviously, are to people who did not qualify for a top secret security clearance,” journalist Roger Sollenberger posted on X. “Also, will the public be able to know who gets the special Trump clearance? Or will that list be private?”
Memorandum on trade
Trump issued a memorandum titled “America First Trade Policy” addressed to multiple Cabinet secretaries, the U.S. Trade Representative, the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, the Senior Counselor for Trade and Manufacturing, and the director of the Office of Management and Budget. The memorandum stipulates that “unfair and unbalanced trade” should be addressed, directing Cabinet officials to look into trade and tariff policies, including those with China.
Executive order on plans for troop deployment to the border
Trump signed an executive order titled “Clarifying The Military’s Role In Protecting The Territorial Integrity Of The United States,” which effectively authorizes the U.S. military to create a plan that would deploy troops to the southern border.
Executive order on energy
Trump’s broad executive order titled “Unleashing American Energy” directs an immediate review of agency activities that “potentially burden” the development of domestic energy resources—particularly “natural gas, coal, hydropower, biofuels, critical mineral, and nuclear energy resources.” After a month, agencies are required to have action plans to counter previous rules that hinder energy development.
The order also revokes 12 Biden-era regulatory actions related to clean energy initiatives and orders federal agencies to “immediately pause” the disbursement of funds from the Inflation Reduction Act—a Biden-era law that gave billions in subsidies to clean energy initiatives.
Executive order suspends refugee resettlement
Trump has suspended the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program in an executive order titled “Realigning the United States Refugee Admissions Program.” The order takes effect Jan. 27 and is indefinite, asking the Secretary of Homeland Security, consulting with the Secretary of State, to submit a report every 90 days regarding whether refugee resettlement should be resumed.
Executive order to redefine birthright citizenship
Trump issued an executive order titled “Protecting The Meaning And Value of American Citizenship” aimed at effectively ending birthright citizenship by redefining it such that it would not apply to a person born in the U.S. to a mother and a father who both are neither a lawful permanent resident nor a citizen when the person is born. This executive order is already facing at least one legal challenge, as it explicitly undermines the current understanding of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment.
Executive order to secure the U.S.-Mexico border
Trump revoked several Biden-era immigration policies, reinstating many of his own first-term border policies in a sweeping executive order titled “Securing Our Borders.” These include establishing a border wall and bringing back his Remain in Mexico policy (formally known as the Migrant Protection Protocols), which requires asylum seekers at the southern border to wait out their cases outside of the U.S. The order terminates use of the Biden-era CBP One app, which made legal entry easier, and ends the so-called “catch-and-release” practice—whereby undocumented migrants were released into the U.S. on parole to await their immigration hearings—calling instead for greater detention.
Under the Biden administration, Trump’s sweeping first-term deportation policy was narrowed to prioritize people convicted of serious crimes, considered national security threats, or stopped at the border. Now, the order calls for criminal charges against and deportation of anyone in violation of immigration laws as well as criminal charges against “those who facilitate their unlawful presence in the United States.”
The executive order also terminates the Biden-era program known as humanitarian parole that allowed migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to apply for authorization to enter the U.S. for up to two years if they secured a U.S.-based sponsor and passed certain vetting requirements.
Memorandum removing environmental protections for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
In a memorandum titled “Putting People Over Fish: Stopping Radical Environmentalism to Provide Water to Southern California,” Trump ordered for water from California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to be redirected for use in the rest of the state, overruling environmental protections of the wildlife in the Delta. In a post earlier this month on Truth Social directed at California Gov. Gavin Newsom amid the wildfires in Southern California, Trump wrote, “RELEASE THE WATER FROM UP NORTH. MILLIONS OF GALLONS A DAY. WHAT’S TAKING YOU SO LONG.”
Executive order expanding the use of the death penalty
Trump called for a more aggressive and expansive use of the death penalty in an executive order titled “Restoring The Death Penalty And Protecting Public Safety.” The order instructs the Attorney General to pursue the death penalty for all capital crimes and to “pursue Federal jurisdiction and seek the death penalty regardless of other factors for every federal capital crime involving: the murder of a law-enforcement officer; or a capital crime committed by an alien illegally present in this country.” The order also asks the Attorney General to encourage state prosecutors to pursue the death penalty whenever applicable and to ensure that states have a “sufficient supply” of lethal injection drugs.
Biden issued commutations for 37 of 40 federal death row inmates in December—a presidential action that Trump cannot reverse.
Memorandum on classical architecture for public buildings
A memorandum titled “Promoting Beautiful Federal Civic Architecture” calls for federal public buildings to be designed in a style that respects “regional, traditional, and classical architectural heritage.” Classical architecture has become a “dog whistle” for a subset of nationalists, former deputy director of the Architecture Association Phineas Harper wrote in 2020 when Trump issued a similar order.
Memorandum facilitating the firing of civil servants
In a memorandum titled “Restoring Accountability for Career Senior Executives,” Trump asserted that career Senior Executive Service officials, a classification of civil service officers who serve just below presidential appointees and hold various employment protections, are subordinate and accountable to the President. The directive calls on federal agency heads to reassign or replace SES members to “optimally” implement Trump’s agenda and “prioritize accountability.”
Executive order declaring a ‘national energy emergency’
Trump signed an executive order titled “Declaring a National Energy Emergency,” citing the need to lower energy costs as a reason to boost oil and natural gas production across the country. The order calls for a review of “obstacles to domestic energy infrastructure” resulting from legal environmental protections like the Endangered Species Act.
Memorandum pausing certain wind energy projects
Trump suspended and called for a review of the leasing and permitting practices of wind energy projects in a memorandum titled “Temporary Withdrawal of All Areas on the Outer Continental Shelf from Offshore Wind Leasing and Review of the Federal Government’s Leasing and Permitting Practices for Wind Projects.” This includes pausing development of the Lava Ridge Wind Project in Idaho by Magic Valley Energy. The order is in line with Trump’s attacks on renewable energy and campaign promises to boost the oil and natural gas industry.
Executive order to pause U.S. foreign aid
Trump signed an executive order titled “Reevaluating And Realigning United States Foreign Aid” that calls for a 90-day pause in U.S. foreign development assistance and a review of the nation’s foreign aid programs. The order says the “foreign aid industry and bureaucracy are not aligned with American interests and in many cases antithetical to American values,” though gives the Secretary of State the authority to waive the pause for specific programs. According to the Associated Press, Republicans have long targeted foreign assistance for cuts, though it typically only “amounts to roughly 1% of the federal budget, except under unusual circumstances such as the billions in weaponry provided to Ukraine.”
Memorandum organizing the National Security Council
In a seemingly strictly-administrative memorandum on the “Organization of the National Security Council and Subcommittees,” Trump outlined the structure, membership, and purpose of the National Security Council for his administration.
Memorandum pulling out of the OECD’s Global Tax Deal
In a memorandum titled “The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Global Tax Deal (Global Tax Deal),” Trump effectively withdrew the U.S. from a landmark agreement on a universal corporate minimum tax ratified by nearly 140 countries. The global tax deal, which the U.S. signed in October 2021, would have ended competitive reductions in corporate tax rates.
Executive order to tighten immigration laws and restrict federal funds for sanctuary cities
An executive order titled “Protecting The American People Against Invasion” introduces a slew of policies aimed at curbing immigration. These include restricting federal funds for so-called sanctuary jurisdictions, allocating resources to creating more detention centers, and establishing Homeland Security TaskForces in every state to “ensure the use of all available law enforcement tools to faithfully execute the immigration laws of the United States.”
Executive order repealing Biden-era environmental protections and promoting resource extraction in Alaska
The executive order “Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential” reverses a number of restrictions on drilling and extraction in Alaska set by the Biden Administration—which included protecting areas within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from oil and gas leasing—to promote oil, gas, and other resource extraction from the state of Alaska.
Executive order to restrict visa-seekers from certain countries
Trump’s order titled “Protecting The United States From Foreign Terrorists And Other National Security And Public Safety Threats” intensifies the vetting and screening of visa-seekers, particularly “those aliens coming from regions or nations with identified security risks” as well as refugees or stateless persons. The order is reminiscent of the Muslim travel ban from Trump’s first presidential term that he promised to bring back.
Executive order calling for an ‘America First’ foreign policy approach
Trump directed the Secretary of State to bring the State Department in line with Trump’s isolationist foreign policy approach that puts “America and American citizens first” in an executive order titled “America First Policy Directive To The Secretary Of State.” Trump’s Secretary of State nominee Marco Rubio, who was confirmed unanimously by the Senate on Jan. 20, said as much at his confirmation hearing last week, vowing: “Under President Trump, the top priority of the United States Department of State, will be the United States.”
Executive order establishing DOGE
Trump signed an executive order titled “Establishing And Implementing The President’s ‘Department Of Government Efficiency’” that renames the U.S. Digital Service as the “Department of Government Efficiency,” a new agency Trump controversially promised to create and install Elon Musk as head of. The order gives DOGE advisory powers to “maximize governmental efficiency and productivity.”
But the non-governmental advisory body is already facing multiple lawsuits, including one alleging that DOGE violates the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which oversees the public accountability of federal advisory committees.
Executive order defining gender and rolling back transgender protections
In an executive order titled “Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism And Restoring Biological Truth To The Federal Government,” Trump outlined federal definitions of “women” and “girls” as females and “men” and “boys” as males, defining male and female as biological, binary, and immutable. The order seeks to remove the promotion of “gender identity” and “gender ideology” from federal policies, communications, IDs and more. The order calls for imprisoned trans men to be detained in women’s prisons and trans women in men’s prisons, and it calls for agencies to restrict “intimate spaces” by sex and not identity. The order also sets in motion the rollback of Biden-era guidance about transgender people and gender identity, including certain Title IX protections, and Trump instructs the Attorney General to “ensure the freedom to express the binary nature of sex and the right to single-sex spaces in workplaces and federally funded entities covered by the Civil Rights Act of 1964.”
Executive order to end DEI programs
Trump dismantled federal DEI programs in an executive order titled “Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing.” The order calls for the termination of all DEI, accessibility, and environmental justice offices and positions across the federal government.
Executive order calling for ‘merit’-based federal hiring
Trump further took aim at DEI initiatives in an executive order titled “Reforming The Federal Hiring Process And Restoring Merit To Government Service.” The order blocks federal hiring based on race, sex, or religion—describing diversity hiring practices as “illegal racial discrimination under the guise of ‘equity,’ or one’s commitment to the invented concept of ‘gender identity’ over sex”—as well as the hiring of “individuals who are unwilling to defend the Constitution or to faithfully serve the Executive Branch.” Instead, it calls for the prioritization of “merit” and “skill” in hiring.
Executive order to designate certain Latin-American gangs and cartels as terrorist organizations
The President designated drug cartels, Salvadoran gang MS-13, and Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua as foreign terrorist organizations in an order titled “Designating Cartels And Other Organizations As Foreign Terrorist Organizations And Specially Designated Global Terrorists.” The classification enables the federal government to prosecute anyone seen as supporting the cartels on the charge of providing material support to terrorists. The Trump Administration plans to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport anyone designated as a terrorist under this order.
Executive order to rename Denali and the Gulf of Mexico
In an executive order titled “Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness,” Trump directs the Secretary of the Interior to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America and return the name of Denali—the highest mountain in North America—to its former name, Mount McKinley. Former President Barack Obama announced the renaming of Mount McKinley to Denali in 2015, referencing a 1975 request by the state of Alaska, where the mountain is located, to honor the mountain’s sacredness to Alaska Natives.
Proclamation declaring an ‘invasion’ and restricting entry into the U.S.
Trump claimed the U.S. is facing an “invasion” due to the migrant crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border in an executive order titled “Guaranteeing The States Protection Against Invasion.” Citing the inability to conduct comprehensive medical and criminal background checks at the southern border as well as “emergency tools” of the Immigration and Nationality Act, the proclamation suspends entry by “any alien engaged in the invasion across the southern border of the United States.” It also calls on the Secretary of Homeland Security, Secretary of State, and Attorney General to “take all appropriate action to repel, repatriate, or remove any alien engaged in the invasion across the southern border of the United States.”
0 Comments