Donald Trump shatters records with 142 executive orders in just 100 days
In his first 100 days of a second term, President Trump signed 142 executive orders, nearly matching Joe Biden’s total over four years. Key actions included pardoning over 1,500 individuals, withdrawing from the WHO, and creating the DOGE to slash federal spending.
In an unprecedented show of executive authority, US President Donald Trump has signed 142 executive orders in the first 100 days of his second term—nearly matching former President Joe Biden’s total of 162 orders issued over four years. This pace has not been seen since Franklin D. Roosevelt’s era. Trump signed 26 orders on his first day alone, surpassing the previous 100-day record of 99 orders held by Roosevelt.
Day-one actions: Pardons, WHO exit, and a renaming controversy
On January 20, Trump’s first day in office, he signed 26 orders. These included controversial decisions such as pardoning more than 1,500 people convicted for the January 6 Capitol riot, withdrawing from the World Health Organisation, and even renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the "Gulf of America"—a move that drew global criticism.
Executive Orders without Congressional approval
Trump has used his executive powers to bypass Congress, reshaping federal policy across immigration, trade, energy, and the environment. His orders have imposed hundreds of billions of dollars in new import taxes and initiated mass federal layoffs—decisions typically subjected to legislative debate.
Immigration, energy, and trade at the core
A large share of Trump’s 142 orders focused on hardline immigration enforcement, expansion of domestic energy production, and sweeping tariffs on foreign goods. Some of these moves have triggered lawsuits from civil rights organisations, unions, environmental groups, and state attorneys general.
DOGE: Elon Musk’s government efficiency drive
On Day 1, Trump created the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) via executive order, appointing Elon Musk to lead the new agency. DOGE claims it has slashed $160 billion from the federal budget, with major cuts from the Department of Health and Human Services ($47.4 billion), USAID ($45.2 billion), and the State Department ($2.6 billion). Critics argue that DOGE’s figures are unverified and its process opaque.
Mass layoffs: Over 120,000 federal workers fired
Thousands of federal employees have been laid off in Trump’s second term, with the USAID seeing the most severe impact—nearly 10,000 jobs eliminated, effectively gutting the agency. These firings were enabled by executive orders aimed at reducing federal bureaucracy.
Pardons raise eyebrows
Among the 1,500+ pardons Trump issued were several controversial figures, including supporters convicted in the January 6 Capitol attack.
Executive Order use surpasses entire second terms of predecessors
Trump’s 100-day total of 142 orders surpasses the entire second-term executive order count of both Barack Obama (129) and George W. Bush (118). His pace also exceeds the full-term executive order outputs of early US presidents, including George Washington (8) and Thomas Jefferson (4).
Legal and political backlash grows
Many of Trump’s directives are now facing legal scrutiny. Civil rights groups, state governments, and university leaders are challenging key orders related to illegal immigration, education funding, environmental rollbacks, and budget cuts. With federal courts set to weigh in, Trump’s aggressive use of executive power is likely to remain at the center of political and judicial debate in the coming months.
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