Trump’s record-breaking flurry of executive orders
Since returning to the White House on January 20, Donald Trump has signed a whopping 79 executive orders touching on issues from foreign policy to transgender rights.
With his Republican Party only holding narrow majorities in Congress, and seeking to move quickly to remake the US government, Trump has brandished his pen as a weapon targeting trade, civil rights and federal bureaucracy.
No US president has signed so many executive actions so quickly since 1937, according to the Federal Register, which has published the orders made since that date.
Trump has met fierce resistance. By February 27, 16 of the orders had been challenged in court, according to monitoring by Just Security at the New York University School of Law.
Here is a look at the main issues targeted by the 47th president of the United States.
– Economy and trade –
Customs duties, support for fossil fuels, creation of a sovereign fund: the economy is one of Trump’s biggest priorities, with 27 related orders so far, according to an AFP count.
Twelve concern trade and customs duties, such as threats of tariffs on Canada and Mexico, and 10 percent levies — for now — on Chinese goods.
He also ordered a “national energy emergency” among other moves to keep his campaign promise to “drill, baby, drill” for oil.
The billionaire, who says the green energy transition is a “scam”, has also signed orders against electric cars, wind projects, and dumping paper straws in favour of plastic.
– Diversity and gender –
No less than 14 orders concern diversity and gender, casualties of Trump’s crusade against transgender people and his crackdown on programmes targeting racism, sexism and inequality in the workplace.
Among the measures adopted: the recognition of only male and female genders, the exclusion of transgender people from the military and restrictions on gender transition procedures for under 19s. These orders are all being challenged in court.
Other orders ban government agencies and the army from all positive discrimination based on race or gender when hiring.
– Immigration –
Another priority, immigration, is covered by 15 orders.
One signed in January put a halt to refugee admissions, calling them “detrimental to the interests of the United States”.
The administration then froze funding for organisations in the refugee program. A US court has since blocked the order.
Trump also signed an order seeking to reinterpret the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution, which decrees anyone born on US soil is a citizen.
That has ignited a legal battle which could go all the way to the conservative-dominated Supreme Court.
In his 77th order signed Saturday, Trump made English the official language of the United States.
– DOGE –
Six of Trump’s executive orders have given authority to the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under Elon Musk, his cost-cutter-in-chief.
One of the latest orders calls for the “deconstruction of the overbearing and burdensome administrative state.”
– Health –
A total of 13 orders concern health.
One of Trump’s first moves after taking office was to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization and rescind orders issued under his predecessor Joe Biden that protected access to abortion pills and abortion data privacy.
He also signed orders reinstating members of the armed forces who had been fired for refusing to be vaccinated against Covid-19, and banned all federal subsidies for schools imposing Covid jabs.
– Technology –
Trump has signed 10 decrees on technology, including two on cryptocurrencies and three on artificial intelligence.
He has been closely advised by Musk, the boss of SpaceX and Tesla, whose companies hold government contracts worth billions, despite concerns about conflicts of interest.
