President Donald Trump signed 32 executive orders in his first 100 days.

Presidential usage of executive orders has varied wildly throughout history. George Washington issued eight. Wartime presidents have issued the most, like Franklin Delano Roosevelt (with nearly 4,000) and Woodrow Wilson (nearly 2,000). Modern presidents since John F. Kennedy have issued nearly 300 on average, with Barack Obama issuing the fewest on average for a two-term president since Grover Cleveland.

In a political system designed to separate powers across three branches of government in order to block any one of them from gaining too much authority, the president uses the executive order at his own peril. Because executive orders provide presidents with the ability to advance policy unilaterally, leaders who use them risk appearing too dictatorial or, at least, end up being forced to accept blame if a policy becomes unpopular.

Here's where President Donald Trump stands on the issuing of executive orders in relation to his predecessors. We’ll track them here throughout his first 100 days in office.

Published: Monday, May 1, 2017 10:00 AM EST

  • Addressing Trade Agreement Violations and Abuses

    Directs a review of NAFTA and other free trade agreements.

    Read Order ➡Read article ➡
  • Establishment of Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy

    Creates a trade policy office within the White House.

    Read Order ➡Read article ➡
  • Implementing an America-First Offshore Energy Strategy

    Instructs the Department of the Interior to review regulations for offshore drilling.

    Read Order ➡Read article ➡
  • Improving Accountability and Whistleblower Protection at the Department of Veterans Affairs

    Creates an office in the Department of Veterans Affairs charged with investigating misconduct and holding employees accountable to any wrongdoing.

    Read Order ➡Read article ➡
  • Enforcing Statutory Prohibitions on Federal Control of Education

    Seeks to reduce federal intervention in education by ordering the Department of Education to review regulations and determine if they overstep the federal government's authority.

    Read Order ➡Read article ➡
  • Review of Designations Under the Antiquities Act

    Instructs the Interior Department to review monument designations made under the Antiquities Act of 1906 that were created after 1996 and are at least 100,000 acres.

    Read Order ➡Read article ➡
  • Promoting Agriculture and Rural Prosperity in America

    Revokes an Obama-era executive order establishing a rural council and replaces it with a task force charged with identifying policy and regulatory changes that will promote agricultural and economic development.

    Read Order ➡Read article ➡
  • Identifying and Reducing Tax Regulatory Burdens

    Directs the Treasury secretary to review changes to the tax code made since the beginning of 2016.

    Read Order ➡Read article ➡
  • Buy American, Hire American

    Asks agencies to review H-1B visas and propose reforms to ensure they are only granted to highly skilled workers, and encourages purchases of American-made products.

    Read Order ➡Read article ➡
  • Establishing Enhanced Collection and Enforcement of Antidumping and Countervailing Duties and Violations of Trade and Customs Laws

    Attempts to arm federal agencies with tools to enforce penalties against importers with unfair trade practices

    Read Order ➡Read article ➡
  • Providing an Order of Succession Within the Department of Justice

    Establishes a order of succession within the Department of Justice and revokes a previous order signed in February on the order of succession.

    Read Order ➡Read article ➡
  • Omnibus Report on Significant Trade Deficits

    Seeks to rebalance the U.S. trade deficit by ordering agencies to conduct a review of every country the U.S. has a trade deficit with to identify abuse and non-reciprocal practices.

    Read Order ➡Read article ➡
  • Establishing the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis

    Establishes a commission designed to combat the opioid crisis. The order specifies that members of the commission shall be appointed by Trump and will be “fairly balanced in terms of the points of view represented.”

    Read Order ➡Read article ➡
  • Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth

    Instructs the Environmental Protection Agency to review the Clean Power Plan, instructs the Department of the Interior to lift a ban on coal leasing on federal lands and gets rid of a rule that instructs agencies to consider the climate impact of their policies. It also disbands a team focused on calculating the social cost of carbon.

    Read Order ➡Read article ➡
  • Revocation of Federal Contracting Executive Orders

    Revokes President Obama's executive orders on fair pay and workplace regulations.

    Read Order ➡Read article ➡
  • Comprehensive Plan for Reorganizing the Executive Branch

    Aims to streamline the executive branch and directs the Office of Management and Budget to evaluate and propose a plan for reorganizing federal agencies and departments to eliminate waste and improve efficiency.

    Read Order ➡Read article ➡
  • Protecting The Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into The United States

    A walked-back version of previous immigration order removes Iraq from the list of banned countries, only applies to non-visa holders, and removes exceptions for religious minorities.

    Read Order ➡Read article ➡
  • Restoring the Rule of Law, Federalism, and Economic Growth by Reviewing the Waters of the United States Rule

    Instructs the Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers to review and reconsider an Obama-era clean water rule that clarifies which waterways should be protected under the Clean Water Act.

    Read Order ➡Read article ➡
  • White House Initiative To Promote Excellence and Innovation at Historically Black Colleges and Universities

    Establishes a board of advisers on historically black colleges and universities and moves the federal HBCU initiative from the Department of Education to within the executive branch, with the goal of increasing collaboration with the private sector and federal programs.

    Read Order ➡Read article ➡
  • Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda

    Imposes more oversight on government regulations and designates officials within agencies to oversee regulatory rules.

    Read Order ➡Read article ➡
  • Enforcing Federal Law With Respect to Transnational Criminal Organizations and Preventing International Trafficking

    Instructs federal officials to prioritize targeting of transnational criminal organizations.

    Read Order ➡Read article ➡
  • Preventing Violence Against Federal, State, Tribal, and Local Law Enforcement Officers

    Instructs the Department of Justice to form a task force focused on reducing crime against law enforcement officers.

    Read Order ➡Read article ➡
  • Providing an Order of Succession Within the Department of Justice

    Reverses an order signed by Obama and changes the order of succession within the Department of Justice.

    Read Order ➡Read article ➡
  • Task Force on Crime Reduction and Public Safety

    Instructs the Department of Justice to form a task force focused on crime reduction and criminal justice.

    Read Order ➡Read article ➡
  • Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs

    Sets forth guidelines for how the Trump administration will regulate the financial system.

    Read Order ➡Read article ➡
  • Presidential Executive Order on Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs

    Limits federal regulation on small businesses, gives the president more power to oversee agency regulations and mandates that two regulations are repealed for every one that is enacted.

    Read Order ➡Read article ➡
  • Ethics Commitments By Executive Branch Appointees

    Mandates that executive branch appointees sign an ethics pledge saying they will not participate in lobbying activities after the termination of their appointments.

    Read Order ➡Read article ➡
  • Protecting The Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into The United States

    Restricts entry to the U.S. for passport holders from seven Muslim-majority countries and halts entry for refugees for 120 days.

    Read Order ➡Read article ➡
  • Border Security And Immigration Enforcement Improvements

    Calls for the construction of a wall along the United States' border with Mexico.

    Read Order ➡Read article ➡
  • Enhancing Public Safety In The Interior Of The United States

    Calls for a crackdown on so-called sanctuary cities.

    Read Order ➡Read article ➡
  • Executive Order Expediting Environmental Reviews and Approvals For High Priority Infrastructure Projects

    Calls for expediting construction of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines.

    Read Order ➡Read article ➡
  • Executive Order Minimizing the Economic Burden of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Pending Repeal

    Instructs the Department of Health and Human Services to interpret the Affordable Care Act with discretion.

    Read Order ➡Read article ➡
See older orders

Executive orders per year (and by president)

0

100

200

300

400

500

1933

573

Franklin D.

Roosevelt

1933-1945

139

1945

(Highlight is president’s

first year in office)

Harry S. Truman

1945-1953

80

1953

Dwight D.

Eisenhower

1953-1961

70

1961

John F. Kennedy

1961-1963

7*

1963

Lyndon B. Johnson

1963-1969

52

1969

Richard Nixon

1969-1974

Gerald

R. Ford

1974-1977

29

1974

66

1977

Jimmy Carter

1977-1981

50

1981

Ronald Reagan

1981-1989

31

1989

George Bush

1989-1993

57

1993

Bill Clinton

1993-2001

54

2001

George W. Bush

2001-2009

39

2009

Donald Trump

As of April 29, 2017

Barack Obama

2009-2017

2017

32

0

100

200

300

400

500

*Johnson’s term began in November.

Source: National Archives