President Trump’s presidency has included a number of executive orders released over his first 100 days. Below you’ll find the full text — along with summaries — of some of the more notable declarations, as provided by the White House and Federal Register websites.
April 26: Enforcing Statutory Prohibitions on Federal Control of Education
Summary: The action gives Education Secretary Betsy DeVos nearly a year to gauge the federal government’s role in public education in order to make a determination on whether there is overreach. The order is similar in practice to a number of others Trump has issued in the past three months to address varying corners of Washington. (UPI)
April 25: Promoting Agriculture and Rural Prosperity in America
Summary: Establishes a task force to make sure “regulatory burdens do not unnecessarily encumber agricultural production, harm rural communities, constrain economic growth, hamper job creation, or increase the cost of food for Americans and our customers around the world.”
April 21: Identifying and Reducing Tax Regulatory Burdens
Summary: Trump’s order will direct Treasury to review recent tax regulations to see whether they place an undue financial burden on taxpayers, are needlessly complex, create unnecessary requirements or exceed what’s allowed under the law. Separate memos call for a review of the designation process for systemically important financial institutions and orderly liquidation authority. (Bloomberg)
April 18: Buy American and Hire American
Summary: The order looks to bolster protections for certain American-made goods and calls for a review of the H-1B visa program for skilled workers, with the goal of reforming the program, senior administration officials said. (CNN)
March 30: Opioids
Summary: The goal is to create a panel to combat America’s opioid crisis. The panel’s mission would be to identify federal funding streams that could be directed to address the crisis, for everything from medical treatments to long-term support services. The commission would also aim to identify areas in the United States with limited treatment options, review ways to prevent opioid addiction — including possible changes to prescribing practices — and consider changes to the criminal justice system to provide support for incarcerated individuals after their release from prison. (STAT)
March 6: Revised travel ban
Summary: The updated version of the travel ban after the original was struck down in court. The order temporarily halts immigration from six majority-Muslim countries, down from the seven in January’s language (Iraq was removed from the list). The Jan. 27 order was to be revoked when the revised ban went into effect on March 16, but it too has been blocked by the courts.
Feb. 8: Trio of law enforcement-related executive orders
Summary: One order directs the Justice Department to define new federal crimes and increase penalties for existing ones to further protect local and federal officers from acts of violence. Another order calls for the creation of a task force to reduce violent crime — even though the murder rate has declined sharply in recent decades — and a third is aimed at dismantling international drug cartels. Taken together, the directives, announced amid a national dialogue about racial bias in policing and appropriate police use of force, suggest that the White House wants to prioritize law and order and align itself closely with local law enforcement. (Associated Press)
Feb. 3: Fiduciary Duty Rule/Core principles for regulating the United States financial system
Summary: President Trump will halt an Obama administration regulation, hated by the financial industry, that requires retirement advisers to work in the best interests of their clients, while the new administration reviews the rule. The president also will order a review of Dodd-Frank Act rules enacted in response to the 2008 financial crisis. Trump’s directive stalls the so-called fiduciary rule, which was set to take effect in April, that the Obama administration said would protect millions of retirees from being steered into inappropriate high-cost or high-risk investments that generate bigger profits for brokers. (Bloomberg)
Jan. 30: Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs
Summary: Major regulations are typically reviewed by the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) before they are issued. That review will continue under this new measure, but agencies will also have to identify which two regulations will be repealed to offset the costs of any new rule. (Reuters)
Jan. 27: Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States
Summary: This act limited immigration from seven majority-Muslim countries. The ban has been challenged successfully by civil liberty groups, but Trump has defended the order and mocked Sen. Chuck Schumer for crying at one of the many antiban protests. As the protests sprang up across the country, former President Barack Obama released a statement saying that he was “heartened by the level of engagement taking place.”
Jan. 27: Rebuilding the U.S. Armed Forces
Summary: President Trump’s order to review and expand the military, including potential overhauls of nuclear deterrent and missile defense systems.
Jan. 25: Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements/Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States
Summary: President Trump’s order to begin construction of the wall and detention facilities along the Mexican border while limiting funding to sanctuary cities. “I believe the steps we will take starting right now will improve the safety in both our countries, going to be very, very good for Mexico,” Trump said. “A nation without borders is not a nation. Beginning today, the United States of America gets back control of its borders, gets back its borders.”
Jan. 24: Construction of American Pipelines
Summary: President Trump’s orders to continue the construction of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines, and to use American-made products when doing so to the extent possible.
Jan. 23: Hiring Freeze
Summary: A halt to hiring of civilian employees for federal positions across the executive branch, excluding military or national security personnel.
Jan. 23: Mexico City Policy
Summary: The Mexico City Policy prohibits foreign aid from the U.S. to be given to any nongovernmental organization (NGO) abroad that discusses abortion as a family planning option. Currently, taxpayer dollars cannot be used to fund abortion procedures in other countries, but the order expands that oversight and also prohibits organizations from receiving U.S. family planning funding if they offer abortion counseling or advocate for abortion rights in other countries — even if the medical procedure is legal in that country. (Time)
Jan. 23: Withdrawal of the United States From the Trans-Pacific Partnership Negotiations and Agreement
Summary: President Trump’s order to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations and agreement, which included the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, Vietnam and seven other allies. (AFP)
Jan. 20: Minimizing the Economic Burden of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Pending Repeal
Summary: The order directs federal agencies to stop issuing regulations that would expand the Affordable Care Act’s reach. It also directs them to grant waivers, exemptions and delays of provisions in the act that would impose costs on states or individuals, potentially including the law’s penalties on people who remain uninsured — a key provision. The order also says federal agencies must allow states greater flexibility in carrying out the health care programs. (Associated Press)