On Monday, Donald Trump will take the oath of office as the country’s 47th president. He is expected to begin signing several executive orders as part of his 100-order plan, which he revealed to Senate Republicans on January 8. On his first day in the White House, he is expected to begin doing so.
The executive orders will cover a range of topics, including border security, immigration, domestic energy production and presidential pardons.
In this explanation, Al Jazeera examines the executive orders that have been issued by the US president for 236 years and examines what Trump will likely push through in his first year in office.
What is an executive order?
The US president’s official directive to run the federal government is known as an executive order. Although it has the authority of the law, Congress is not required to approve it.
Federal institutions and organizations are subject to executive orders, such as the Department of Homeland Security’s directive to build the US-Mexico border wall.
If it is determined that it is unconstitutional, it cannot be used to pass new laws. Legislation that overridees them can be passed by Congress.
A new president’s first day in office typically involves executive orders, which set the tone and priority for their administration.
Throughout history, executive orders have been used.
Executive orders have been a key tool for US presidents since they were unable to pass legislation through Congress. Over the span of 236 years – from 1789 to 2025 – 46 US presidents issued at least 15,902 executive orders, averaging 67 per year.
The first executive order was passed by the first president, George Washington, in 1789. In the pre-Civil War era (1789-1861), presidents issued very few orders, averaging zero to four per term, reflecting the limited federal role. The number of orders increased during the Civil War and the Reconstruction era (1861-1977), with Abraham Lincoln receiving 48 orders during the Civil War and Ulysses S Grant receiving 217 orders.
Between 1897 and 1929, there was a sharp rise in orders, led by Theodore Roosevelt (1,081 orders) and Woodrow Wilson (1,803) during World War I.
Between 1933 and 1945, Franklin D. Roosevelt issued 3,721 executive orders, primarily to address the difficulties of World War II and the Great Depression. His New Deal initiatives for economic recovery and national defense and mobilization included many of these orders.
Presidents fewer orders were issued after World War II as fewer executive orders were enforced by Congress and courts.
Among the most powerful presidential orders are:
The Confederate States’ Emancipation Proclamation (1863) abolished slavery and brought about the release of slaves.- Executive Order 9066 (1942) – Franklin D Roosevelt’s order saw “the forced removal of all persons deemed a threat to national security from the West Coast to “relocation” centres further inland, resulting in the imprisonment of 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War II.
- Executive Order 9981 (1948) – The order by Harry S Truman sought to end discrimination based on race, colour, religion and national origin in the US military.
- Executive Order 10924 (1961) – Introduced by John F Kennedy, it established the Peace Corps.
- The DACA program, which Barack Obama introduced, deferred action for children’s arrivals (2012) to some people who were unaccompanied and were undocumented for two years.
- Executive Order 13769 (2017) – Also known as the travel ban, introduced under Trump, it restricted entry into the US by certain foreign nationals. Many people labeled it as a “Muslim ban” and it quickly gained notoriety because it primarily affected nations with a majority of Muslim populations.
Who was the president’s most powerful executive order maker?
Franklin D Roosevelt, the 32nd president of the US, issued the most executive orders during his 12-year presidency (1933-45). He issued 3,721 orders, averaging about 308 orders a year.
He was followed by Woodrow Wilson (1,803 orders), Calvin Coolidge (1,203), Theodore Roosevelt (1,081) and Harry S Truman (907).
Recent presidents, including Obama (276 orders), Trump (220 orders during his first term from 2017-21) and Joe Biden (160 orders), had much lower averages.
Trump’s upcoming executive orders
In his first few days in office, President Trump is expected to sign a number of executive orders.
His proposed list of more than 100 executive orders, which includes allowing people to be deported from their homes and reversing many of Biden’s energy policies, is reported by The Associated Press news agency.
Mass deportation of migrants
Trump is expected to start his first term with a ban on Muslim-majority countries and a number of border enforcement measures between the US and Mexico. Beginning with the first day of Trump’s second term, Tom Homan, the president’s top “border czar,” said that the incoming Republican administration will launch extensive operations to detain and deport undocumented immigrants.
Domestic energy production
Trump wants to reverse several climate policies that Biden has introduced, including ceasing the oil and offshore gas industry, removing his electric vehicle mandate, and putting an end to the export of natural gas.
Presidential pardons
As president, Trump has the power to pardon anyone convicted in federal court. He has labelled those arrested in the Capitol riot case as “political prisoners” and “hostages”, pledging to issue pardons swiftly upon taking office. More than 1,500 people were facing federal charges for offenses ranging from trespassing to assaulting law enforcement.
