Major Executive Orders Issued by U.S. Pres. Donald Trump During His Second Term of Office (2025– )
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U.S. Pres. Donald Trump signed 26 executive orders on January 20, 2025, a record number for the first day of a presidential term. The orders issued on that day and during the following weeks were not only numerous but also wide-ranging and assertive of Trump’s bold campaign promises of significant changes in government policy and structure. As expected, dozens of his orders and other executive actions were challenged in federal courts, and many were temporarily enjoined by judges who considered them likely to be found illegal or unconstitutional.
Below is a list of major executive orders issued by Trump during the first weeks of his second term of office.
Major orders issued in January 2025
Among the first executive orders signed by Trump on January 20, 2025, was “Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions” (14148), which revoked nearly 80 orders and memoranda issued by his predecessor, Democratic Pres. Joe Biden (2021–25). Other major orders signed by Trump through the end of January 2025 include the following:
Executive Order 14147, “Ending the Weaponization of the Federal Government,” directed the U.S. attorney general to investigate the activities of federal law-enforcement and intelligence agencies under the Biden administration to identify cases in which an agency’s actions, including investigations and prosecutions, were directed against Biden’s political opponents for the purpose of “inflicting political pain” rather than “pursuing actual justice or legitimate governmental objectives.” The order, signed on January 20, cited as an example the Justice Department’s prosecution of more than 1,500 individuals for their role in the January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol attack. On the same day that Trump signed the order, he pardoned nearly all of the convicted January 6 rioters.
Executive Order 14151, “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,” required the termination of all diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) “mandates, policies, programs, preferences, and activities in the Federal Government, under whatever name they appear.” The order more specifically directed each executive agency, commission, or department to eliminate all DEI, DEIA, and environmental justice “positions, committees, programs, services, activities, budgets, and expenditures” and “all DEI or DEIA performance requirements for employees, contractors, or grantees.”
Executive Order 14153, “Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential,” aimed to increase fossil fuel production to the fullest extent possible on federal and state lands in Alaska. The order rescinded all environmental or conservation-based restrictions on drilling, mining, or transporting energy resources in the state, in particular those implemented through agency actions during the Biden administration, and declared a new policy of expediting the “leasing of energy and natural resource projects in Alaska.” The order also prioritized “the development of Alaska’s liquified natural gas (LNG) potential.” In keeping with Trump’s repeated vow to “drill, baby, drill!,” the order specifically rescinded President Biden’s cancellation in 2023 of the last oil and gas leases in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Other energy-related executive orders include “Unleashing American Energy” (14154), which in part rescinded Biden’s nonbinding executive order calling for electric vehicles to make up half of new car sales in the United States by 2030. Trump’s order also terminated a federal waiver permitting California to eliminate the sale of new gas-powered cars in the state by 2035.
Another executive order, “Declaring a National Energy Emergency” (14156), promoted an end to America’s shift toward renewable energy, in part by directing relevant agencies to exert emergency powers to facilitate the production and distribution of fossil fuels that otherwise would be limited under existing environmental statutes, including the Clean Water Act (1972) and the Endangered Species Act (1973).
Executive Order 14158, “Establishing and Implementing the President’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency,’ ” changed the name of the existing United States Digital Service (USDS) to the United States DOGE Service and created within it the U.S. DOGE Service Temporary Organization, which would continue operating until its official termination on July 4, 2026. Under the executive order, DOGE, as the temporary organization is commonly known, was tasked with assigning to each federal agency or department a team of investigators to modernize the agency’s technology and software and collectively “improve the quality and efficiency of government-wide software, network infrastructure, and information technology.”
Although DOGE’s mission is officially focused on software, from the beginning, the organization has relied on access to sensitive government databases (granted under the executive order) to recommend significant funding and personnel cuts in many agencies and departments. Although DOGE was assigned an acting administrator in late February 2025, its effective leader is Elon Musk, an ardent Trump supporter and the world’s richest person. Later executive orders signed by Trump enhanced DOGE’s power by mandating significant reductions in agency personnel, the elimination of undesirable regulations, and large-scale budget cuts.
Executive Order 14160, “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship,” prohibited the federal government from recognizing as an American citizen any person born in the United States whose biological mother and father are not themselves American citizens or legally permanent residents. The order rejected the traditional interpretation of the citizenship clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, which does not explicitly condition the citizenship of persons born in the United States upon the citizenship or residency of their parents:
All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.
Executive Order 14164, “Restoring the Death Penalty and Protecting Public Safety,” required that the U.S. attorney general “pursue the death penalty for all crimes of a severity demanding its use,” in particular for
The order also directed the attorney general to encourage states to bring their own capital murder charges “for all capital crimes with special attention to the crimes described in…(i) and (ii),” and to facilitate executions by ensuring that “each state that allows capital punishment has a sufficient supply of drugs needed to carry out lethal injection.”
Executive Order 14168, “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” declared that the federal government would henceforth recognize only two sexes, male and female, which “are not changeable” and are based on an individual’s “immutable biological classification” from birth. The order effectively eliminated federal regulations designed to recognize and protect the rights of transgender and nonbinary gender persons.
Executive Order 14171, “Restoring Accountability to Policy-Influencing Positions Within the Federal Workforce,” effectively reinstated Schedule F, an order issued by Trump near the end of his first term (2017–21) and rescinded at the beginning of Biden’s term in January 2021. Order 14171 reclassified career federal civil servants as political appointees who can be removed without cause (i.e., for reasons unrelated to their performance or behavior).
Executive Order 14172, “Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness,” directed the United States Board on Geographic Names, which is responsible for maintaining the uniform promulgation of geographic feature names within the federal government, to oversee “the naming of our national treasures, including breathtaking natural wonders,” under a policy of “honor[ing] the contributions of visionary and patriotic Americans in our Nation’s rich past.” Specifically, the order required that Denali, the highest peak in North America, be renamed Mount McKinley, as it had been called from 1917 to 2015, and that the Gulf of Mexico be renamed the Gulf of America.
Executive Order 14185, “Restoring America’s Fighting Force,” prohibited any program or policy within any branch of the armed forces or any military agency or department from reflecting the goals or values of DEI, which the order characterized as a form of discrimination based on “sex, race, ethnicity, color, or creed.”
Executive Order 14187, “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation,” established that the federal government “will not fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support the so-called ‘transition’ of a child from one sex to another, and it will rigorously enforce all laws that prohibit or limit these destructive and life-altering procedures.” The order, which applies to gender transition care for persons under 19 years of age, more specifically prohibits federal research and education grants to institutions, including hospitals and medical schools, that perform transgender surgeries or administer hormone therapies.
Executive Order 14190, “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K–12 Schooling,” called for the creation of a plan to prevent teachers and administrators in K–12 schools from informing students of the existence of racial and ethnic discrimination and bias or accepting a student’s transgender or nonbinary identity. The plan would specifically prohibit K–12 teachers and administrators from using a transgender or nonbinary student’s desired name or pronouns should they be inconsistent with the student’s “biological sex”; allowing such students to use “intimate facilities” normally reserved for students of the opposite biological sex; or permitting such students to participate in “athletic competitions or other extracurricular activities specifically designated for persons of the opposite sex.” The plan would also disallow K–12 schools from complying with students’ request or preference that their gender identity not be revealed to their parents.
Major orders issued in February 2025
Executive Order 14193, “Imposing Duties to Address the Flow of Illicit Drugs Across Our Northern Border,” declared a “public health crisis” and “national emergency” stemming from the increased smuggling of fentanyl and other opioids from Canada into the United States. As a means of compelling the Canadian government to do more to “arrest, seize, detain, or otherwise intercept” drug trafficking organizations and other groups and individuals involved in opioid smuggling, the order imposed a general 25 percent tariff on “articles that are products of Canada” and a 10 percent tariff on Canadian products that would qualify as “energy or energy resources” under the definition of that term in Trump’s earlier executive order, “Declaring a National Energy Emergency” (see above), effective on February 4, 2025. In recognition of Canada’s cooperative response to the threat of U.S. tariffs, Trump later issued another executive order, “Progress on the Situation at Our Northern Border” (14197), which delayed the tariffs by one month in order to determine whether Canada’s efforts had adequately addressed the national emergency he had earlier declared. The delay notwithstanding, the tariffs went into effect in March 2025.
Executive Order 14194, “Imposing Duties to Address the Situation at Our Southern Border,” declared another “national emergency”—this one stemming from the “influx of illegal aliens and illicit drugs into the United States” from Mexico. Citing Mexico’s supposed failure to adequately combat drug trafficking organizations, human traffickers, and other criminal groups and individuals, the order imposed a general 25 percent tariff on “all articles that are products of Mexico,” effective on February 4, 2025. In recognition of Mexico’s cooperative response to the threat of U.S. tariffs, Trump later issued another executive order, “Progress on the Situation at Our Southern Border” (14198), which delayed the tariffs by one month in order to determine whether Mexico’s efforts had adequately addressed the national emergency he had earlier declared. The delay notwithstanding, the tariffs went into effect in March 2025.
On the same day that he signed the tariff orders targeting Canada and Mexico, Trump issued a similar order imposing a 10 percent tariff on products from China. In a later order, he increased the tariff to 20 percent.
Executive Order 14201, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” directed the Department of Education to prevent transgender girls and women from participating in all-female athletic competitions or using female-only restrooms or locker rooms in federally funded schools, colleges, and universities. The order called for the enforcement of Title IX (1972)—which prohibits sexual discrimination in federally funded education programs or activities—under the biological definitions of “female” and “male” presented in Trump’s executive order “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government.” (see above).
Executive Order 14203, “Imposing Sanctions on the International Criminal Court,” aimed to punish the International Criminal Court (ICC)—created in 1998 to investigate, prosecute, and try individuals accused of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity—for “illegitimate” investigations of personnel of the United States and Israel involved in the Israel-Hamas War (2023– ). In November 2024 the ICC had issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas commander Mohammad Deif, whose death in an Israeli air strike in July 2024 had not been officially confirmed. Trump’s order prohibited the ICC’s chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, or any other ICC official involved in “illegitimate” investigations or prosecutions, from entering the United States; it also blocked their control of property in U.S. territory.
Executive Order 14209, “Pausing Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Enforcement to Further American Economic and National Security,” temporarily blocked criminal investigations and prosecutions of American citizens accused of bribing foreign government officials to secure business deals. Moreover, the order instructed the U.S. attorney general to provide new guidelines or policies regarding the law’s enforcement that would “adequately promote the President’s…authority to conduct foreign affairs and prioritize American interests, American economic competitiveness…, and the efficient use of Federal law enforcement resources.” The order was widely seen as effectively acknowledging and accepting the practice of bribery among international businesses.
Executive Order 14214, “Keeping Education Accessible and Ending COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates in Schools,” directed the secretary of education and the secretary of health and human services to devise a plan to withhold or cancel federal financial assistance to any elementary school, secondary school, or school of higher education seeking to prevent the spread of COVID-19 by requiring students to be treated with COVID-19 vaccines.
Executive Order 14216, “Expanding Access to In Vitro Fertilization,” directed the assistant to the president for domestic policy to submit policy recommendations to “aggressively” reduce the cost, and otherwise increase the accessibility, of in vitro fertilization (IVF), in part by “easing unnecessary statutory or regulatory burdens.”
Later orders
Executive Order 14224, “Designating English as the Official Language of the United States,” did just that, in order “to promote unity, cultivate a shared American culture for all citizens, ensure consistency in government operations, and create a pathway to civic engagement.” Interestingly, the order officially revoked an executive order issued by Pres. Bill Clinton in 2000, “Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency” (13166), which had directed federal agencies to “prepare a plan to improve access to…federally conducted programs and activities by eligible LEP [limited English proficiency] persons.” Trump’s order did not prohibit federal agencies from continuing to follow existing LEP plans.
Executive Order 14225, “Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production,” directed the secretary of the interior, the secretary of agriculture, and other department and agency heads to facilitate the increased production of timber in national forests and other federal lands through various strategies, including speeding up the required approval of forestry projects under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973, setting a target for “the annual amount of timber per year to be offered for sale…from Federal lands,” adopting “categorical exclusions” from provisions of the ESA in order to “reduce unnecessarily lengthy processes…related to administrative approvals,” and creating new exclusions and exceptions to provisions of environmental laws that effectively limit the deforestation of federal lands across the United States.