On his first day in office, President Donald Trump wasted no time signing more than 40 executive orders just hours after he was sworn in.
Among those orders were pardons for more than 1,500 Jan. 6 participants, an order to rename the Gulf of Mexico and Mt. Denali in Alaska, a declaration of national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border and more.
Here’s what an executive order is, who can overturn it and how and a list of 12 impactful executive orders President Trump signed on Jan. 20, 2025.
Is an executive order a law?
If you don’t know, executive orders are not laws, in that they don’t require congressional approval. But Congress can pass legislation that rejects them or makes it very hard for executive orders to take effect.
Executive orders can also be challenged in the courts. They are essentially statements that dictate how the president would like the other branches of the government to operate.
“Executive orders are not legislation; they require no approval from Congress, and Congress cannot simply overturn them,” According to the American Bar Association.
“Congress may pass legislation that might make it difficult, or even impossible, to carry out the order, such as removing funding. Only a sitting U.S. President may overturn an existing executive order by issuing another executive order to that effect.”
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What executive orders did Trump sign on day one?
U.S. President Donald Trump signs documents as he issues executive orders and pardons for January 6 defendants in the Oval Office at the White House on Inauguration Day.
Here are 12 executive orders that President Trump signed on his first day in office. This is not an exhaustive list, as the President signed more than 40 executive orders on his first day in office.
You can access the full list of executive orders that Trump signed, with full descriptions of what they aim to do, on the White House’s website underneath the “Presidential Actions” tab.
“Guaranteeing the States Protection Against Invasion” – This executive order aims to curb immigration in a variety of ways, including: Allocating resources to make more detention centers, restricting federal funding for localities that protect undocumented immigrants by not prosecuting them for violating immigration laws and creating Homeland Security task forces to “ensure the use of all available law enforcement tools to faithfully execute the immigration laws of the United States.”
“Reforming the Federal Hiring Process and Restoring Merit to Government Service” – This order calls diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) hiring practices “illegal racial discrimination under the guise of ‘equity,’ or one’s commitment to the invented concept of ‘gender identity’ over sex.” The order also calls out “individuals who are unwilling to defend the Constitution or to faithfully serve the Executive Branch,” and aims to prioritize “merit” and “skill” in the hiring process for federal jobs.
“Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government” – This executive order redefines gender as strictly male or female and would dissolve transgender protections, by providing federal definitions for “women” and “girls” as females and “men” and “boys” as males. It defines gender as biological, binary, and immutable. It aims to move phrases like “gender identity” and “gender ideology” from federal policies and communications. The order further asks 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.”
“Establishing and Implementing the President’s “Department of Government Efficiency” – This order would establish a new advisory body, that Trump controversially appointed Elon Musk to lead in November. This order is already facing lawsuits. One lawsuit alleges that the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency would violate the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) that regulates how federal advisory committees are created and established. If implemented, the order would rename The United States Digital Service the “Department of Government Efficiency” and aim to “maximize governmental efficiency and productivity.”
“America First Policy Directive to The Secretary of State” – This order would direct the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, to do his job based on an “America first” policy. “As soon as practicable, the Secretary of State shall issue guidance bringing the Department of State’s policies, programs, personnel, and operations in line with an America First foreign policy, which puts America and its interests first,” the executive order says.
“Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential” – This order would “expedite the permitting and leasing of energy and natural resource projects in Alaska” and “prioritize the development of Alaska’s liquified natural gas (LNG) potential.” Should this order go into effect, it would repeal some of the restrictions the Biden Administration set on drilling in Alaska.
“Withdrawing the United States from the World Health Organization” – This order would withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO) “due to the organization’s mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic that arose out of Wuhan, China, and other global health crises, its failure to adopt urgently needed reforms, and its inability to demonstrate independence from the inappropriate political influence of WHO member states.” The executive order also alleges that the WHO “continues to demand unfairly onerous payments from the United States, far out of proportion with other countries’ assessed payments.”
Can the Supreme Court overturn an executive order?
Yes, the Supreme Court can overturn an executive order if the court deems it unconstitutional.
“The complex role of the Supreme Court in this system derives from its authority to invalidate legislation or executive actions which, in the Court’s considered judgment, conflict with the Constitution,” The Supreme Court’s website says.
How do you format an executive order?
Here’s a template for how executive orders are formatted, to help you read the original executive orders on the White House website.
This template is from the American Bar Association:
Heading: “Executive orders are generally labeled as such, include a number, and a date of issue. Historically, however, these features might appear at the end of an order, rather than the beginning, and the number might be handwritten at the bottom of the last page.”
Title: “Each executive order has a title, which typically indicates what the order concerns.”
Introduction: “The introduction usually begins with phrasing to the effect of ‘by the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America,’ and follows with an introduction to what is being ordered. The introduction typically acts to legitimize the order, and may even resemble the beginning of traditional legislation with a ‘whereas’ or a ‘therefore.’ The introduction may be longer or shorter, depending on the complexity of the order, whether it quotes other existing orders or laws, or offers the President’s legal rationale for issuing the order. From the introduction, we can note that the order is written in the first person, from the President to other officials or personnel in the executive branch or federal agencies.”
Body of the order: “The orders in the executive order are grouped into sections and subsections, each numbered or lettered according to a general outline. The body of the executive order will be longer or shorter, depending on the order contents. Sections spell out the orders, action steps to realize the orders, and other directives, such as study or evaluation, and subsections add additional details, including any relevant definitions. The last section in the order is typically administrative in nature, authorizing publication of the order in the Federal Register, or offering a relevant disclaimer.”
Signature: “Executive orders are signed by the issuing President. Following the signature is a ‘White House’ notation and date that the order was issued. If there was a date in the heading, the dates in the heading and signature typically match. Executive orders that are pulled from the Federal Register will also include a time and date stamp of when the order was published, and a billing code.”
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Executive orders Trump signed on day 1, What they mean, Who can overturn
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