President-elect Donald Trump is expected to sign dozens of executive orders, proclamations and memoranda on everything from securing the border to rolling back transgender rights. He's aiming for a record-breaking Day 1. But, numerically, that isn't a high bar to clear.
According to analysis from Bowdoin College professor of government Andrew Rudalevige, the previous record was set by President Biden, who signed nine executive orders and three memos on his first day in office. By the end of his first week, Biden had taken about 30 executive actions. Many of those were efforts to immediately reverse the policies in place during Trump's first term.
Now, Trump is trying to reverse Biden administration policy and show that he is keeping campaign promises, which included pledging many "Day 1" actions.
If Trump signs as many executive orders as he's been telegraphing, he could even beat the single year record of 100, set in 1952 by former President Harry Truman -- a tally that only includes executive orders.
It is worth noting that the sheer number of executive actions matters less than the substance of them. In Trump's first term, many of his executive actions faced legal challenges. There are limits to what can be done through the power of the president's pen alone, though Trump officials have made clear they intend to test those limits in an effort to enact his agenda as quickly as possible.
It's a much faster start than Trump's first term. In 2017, Trump signed only one executive order on Day 1 and had issued fewer than 15 actions by the end of his first week.
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