Trump executive orders: What are they and what do they mean?

President Donald Trump pauses while signing  executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, following his inauguration as the 47th president. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)

Credit: NYT

Credit: NYT

President Donald Trump pauses while signing executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, following his inauguration as the 47th president. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)

The White House website, as of early Tuesday morning, listed 46 “presidential actions” approved by new U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday, in the hours after he was inaugurated.

This newspaper is in the process of reviewing all of these documents. Each document is multiple pages long, but we are attempting to give a brief description of each one. The full text to each is linked below.

High-profile individual actions

  • Granting Pardons And Commutation Of Sentences For Certain Offenses Relating To The Events At Or Near The United States Capitol On January 6, 2021 : This is a full pardon for everyone convicted of crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021 storming of the U.S. Capitol, including violent attacks on law enforcement officers. Names 14 individuals whose sentences are commuted to time served. “I do hereby … grant a full, complete and unconditional pardon to all other individuals convicted of offenses related to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021. … The Attorney General shall … ensure that all individuals convicted of offenses related to events that occurred at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, who are currently held in prison are released immediately. … I further direct the Attorney General to pursue dismissal with prejudice to the government of all pending indictments against individuals for their conduct related to the events at or near the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021.
  • Withdrawing The United States From The World Health Organization : “The United States intends to withdraw from the WHO. … The Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs shall establish directorates and coordinating mechanisms within the National Security Council apparatus as he deems necessary and appropriate to safeguard public health and fortify biosecurity. … The Secretary of State and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget shall take appropriate measures, with all practicable speed, to: (i) pause the future transfer of any United States Government funds, support, or resources to the WHO; (ii) recall and reassign United States Government personnel or contractors working in any capacity with the WHO; and (iii) identify credible and transparent United States and international partners to assume necessary activities previously undertaken by the WHO. The Director of the White House Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy shall review, rescind, and replace the 2024 U.S. Global Health Security Strategy as soon as practicable.”
  • Restoring The Death Penalty And Protecting Public Safety : “The Attorney General shall pursue the death penalty for all (federal) crimes of a severity demanding its use. … The Attorney General shall take all necessary and lawful action to ensure that each state that allows capital punishment has a sufficient supply of drugs needed to carry out lethal injection. … The Attorney General shall take all appropriate action to seek the overruling of Supreme Court precedents that limit the authority of State and Federal governments to impose capital punishment.”
President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Credit: AP

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Credit: AP

Immigration/citizenship-related

  • Guaranteeing The States Protection Against Invasion : “I have determined that the current situation at the southern border qualifies as an invasion under Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution of the United States. Accordingly, I am issuing this Proclamation … and suspending the physical entry of aliens involved in an invasion into the United States across the southern border until I determine that the invasion has concluded. … aliens engaged in the invasion across the southern border of the United States on or after the date of this proclamation are restricted from invoking provisions of the INA (Immigration and Nationality Act) that would permit their continued presence in the United States.”
  • Protecting The American People Against Invasion : Revokes three 2021 Biden administration executive orders on immigration, and directs the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish Homeland Security Task Forces (HSTFs) in all states. “The objective of each HSTF is to end the presence of criminal cartels, foreign gangs, and transnational criminal organizations throughout the United States, dismantle cross-border human smuggling and trafficking networks, end the scourge of human smuggling and trafficking …”
  • Declaring A National Emergency At The Southern Border Of The United States : “I hereby declare that this emergency requires use of the Armed Forces … The Secretary of Defense … shall order as many units or members of the Armed Forces, including the Ready Reserve and the National Guard, as the Secretary of Defense determines to be appropriate to support the activities of the Secretary of Homeland Security in obtaining complete operational control of the southern border of the United States. … The Secretaries of Defense and Homeland Security shall immediately take all appropriate action, consistent with law, including 10 U.S.C. 2214, to construct additional physical barriers along the southern border.
  • Realigning the United States Refugee Admissions Program : Suspends the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) “until such time as the further entry into the United States of refugees aligns with the interests of the United States.” However, “the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security may jointly determine to admit aliens to the United States as refugees on a case-by-case basis, in their discretion.”
  • Protecting The Meaning And Value Of American Citizenship : Addresses the issue of “birthright citizenship,” by stating that from Feb. 19, 2025 on … “no department or agency of the United States government shall issue documents recognizing United States citizenship, or accept documents issued by State, local, or other governments or authorities purporting to recognize United States citizenship, to persons: (1) when that person’s mother was unlawfully present in the United States and the person’s father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth, or (2) when that person’s mother’s presence in the United States was lawful but temporary, and the person’s father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth.
  • Securing Our Borders

Foreign relations / national security

President Donald Trump holds a letter that former President Joe Biden left for him as signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Credit: AP

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Credit: AP

Energy/environment-related

Economy/ tax/ trade

Government process

Other presidential actions