Every single executive order and action Trump has signed in his 4 years as president

Yuqing Liu,Jake Lahut,Oma Seddiq,Sawyer Click
trump executive order christmas
President Donald Trump shows off an executive order declaring formal recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel on Dec. 6, 2017. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images

  • President Donald Trump issued executive actions at a brisk pace through his one term in office.

  • Often mistakenly referred to under the blanket term of executive orders, there are actually three types of presidential actions — orders, memoranda, and proclamations. Each has different authority and effects, with executive orders bearing the most teeth and debate over their constitutionality.

  • The sheer size of these orders can be difficult to pin down, but they say something larger about a president's priorities.

  • Insider compiled every action Trump put his Sharpie pen to since taking office, and you can browse them by category here.

  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Executive orders from US presidents have long been a source of both partisan and constitutional debate, but their sheer volume and the policy realms they target are harder to pin down.

Presidents also make a bunch of non-binding proclamations as well as memoranda, all of which say something about the administration's priorities.

Insider broke down all of President Donald Trump's executive orders since he took office and sorted them by category.

One of the most notable things about Trump's approach to executive action is how much of a departure he took from his predecessors, signing more executive orders in just four years than many of his predecessors did in eight. Trump also focused many of his executive actions on particular policy issues of great interest to his base.

Here's a look at all of the executive actions Trump put his Sharpie to since 2017:

Though they're often all mistakenly called "executive orders," there are technically three types of presidential actions - orders, memoranda, and proclamations. Each has different authority and effects, with executive orders holding the most prestige.

Executive orders are assigned numbers and published in the federal register, similar to laws passed by Congress, and typically direct members of the executive branch to follow a new policy or directive. Trump has issued 202 orders in one term, compared to former President Barack Obama's 276 in two terms, former President George W. Bush's 291 in two terms, and former President Bill Clinton's 364 in two terms.

Presidential memoranda do not have to be published or numbered (though they can be) and usually delegate tasks that Congress has already assigned the president to members of the executive branch.

While some proclamations - such as President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation - have carried enormous weight, most are ceremonial observances of federal holidays or awareness months.

These numbers and this graphic are updated as of December 18, 2020.

Read the original article on Business Insider

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