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Donald Trump

President Trump's executive actions: The complete list so far

Gregory Korte
USA TODAY
President Trump signs an executive order in the Oval Office Monday.

WASHINGTON — In just his first 10 days on the job, President Trump has already signed two proclamations,  seven executive orders and seven presidential memoranda. He's invented a new form of presidential directive — the national security presidential memorandum — and signed three of those.

And his chief of staff has signed another document — a regulatory freeze — that carries the same force as a presidential order. It's the most prolific use of executive action to start a presidency in modern history.

And he has more on tap.

They cover subjects as wide-ranging as national security, immigration, health care, manufacturing, energy and regulation. While the White House often uses the term "executive orders," the documents that Trump has signed have come in varying forms, all of which have the same force of law.

Here's the complete list of actions Trump has signed so far:

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Friday, January 20

Proclamation 9570National Day of Patriotic Devotion 

As one of his first official acts, President Trump declared his inauguration day to be a "National Day of Patriotic Devotion." The tradition goes back to President George H.W. Bush, but Trump's proclamation was less personal and more nationalistic than his predecessors.

Executive Order 13765: Minimizing the Economic Burden of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Pending Repeal

Trump's first executive order was as much a messaging document as a policy-making one, emphasizing Trump administration to seek the repeal of the health insurance law known as Obamacare. While the order was vague about what specific measures the administration will take — using the phrase "to the maximum extent permitted by law" three times — it suggests that federal agencies give states, insurance companies and consumers the maximum amount of flexibility in complying with the law.

Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies: Regulatory Freeze Pending Review

The "regulatory freeze" memo is not technically a presidential action. Following tradition, the memo came from the new president's chief of staff, Reince Priebus. But it has the same force and effect as if the president signed it: An immediate halt to the publication of any new regulations. The freeze lifts when Trump's nominees to lead agencies are confirmed by the Senate. The White House Office of Management and Budget may make exceptions for health, safety, financial, or national security matters.

Monday, January 23

Presidential Memorandum: Withdrawal of the United States From the Trans-Pacific Partnership Negotiations and Agreement

The Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, was a 12-member trade pact of countries along the Pacific Rim. Trump's directive made it 11, formally withdrawing from the trade agreement. While the Obama-negotiated agreement was unlikely to be ratified by Congress anyway, the memorandum also set forth a Trump administration policy of negotiating future trade deals one by one, instead of regional, multi-national agreements.

Presidential Memorandum: Mexico City Policy

The Mexico City Policy, known to critics as the global gag rule, was a Reagan-Bush policy that restricted the use of foreign aid money to support family planning organizations that promote abortion. Trump's memorandum reinstated that policy, which had been rescinded by Obama, but also vastly expanded it: The restriction now applies not just to the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development, but now all federal funding. And the ban applies to all global health aid, not just family planning.

Presidential Memorandum: Hiring Freeze

Most recent presidents have instituted some kind of hiring freeze, often just long enough for the president's new cabinet members to be confirmed so they can make their own hiring decisions. While Trump makes an exception for the military, it also forbids contracting to circumvent the ban. The order calls for a long-term plan to reduce the federal workforce within 90 days.

Tuesday, January 24

Presidential Memorandum: Construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline

The Obama administration scuttled the proposed 1,179-mile cross-border pipeline from Alberta to Nebraska, which Republicans had supported as a job-booster. Trump invited pipeline company, Transcanada, "to promptly resubmit its application," and ordered the secretary of State to make a decision within 60 days, fast-tracking existing procedural requirements.

Presidential Memorandum: Construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline  

A separate order applied to the Dakota Access Pipeline, a 1,172-mile pipeline from North Dakota to Illinois. That project has been the subject of heated protests by American Indian groups and environmentalists. Because the pipeline crosses waterways, it needs approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Trump ordered the Army to "review and approve in an expedited manner" the permit.

Presidential Memorandum:Construction of American Pipelines

Trump asked the secretary of Commerce to review ways to mandate the use of American-made steel in pipeline projects. for all new, expanded or retrofitted pipelines in the United States. The plan is due in six months.

Executive Order 13766: Expediting Environmental Reviews and Approvals for High Priority Infrastructure Projects 

The order sets up a new system to fast-track infrastructure projects. Under the executive order, any governor or cabinet secretary can ask for a project to be designated as high-priority. If the chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality approves, the project will go to the front of the line for any agency required to review and approve the project.

Presidential Memorandum: Streamlining Permitting and Reducing Regulatory Burdens for Domestic Manufacturing

Under this order, the secretary of Commerce will launch a review of manufacturing regulations with the goal of streamlining those rules. The secretary will seek input on the issue over the next 60 days, with a report to Trump containing specific proposals 60 days after that.

Wednesday, January 25

Proclamation 9571: National School Choice Week, 2017

Trump proclaimed the week of Jan, 22 as National School Choice week. Though the proclamation was entirely ceremonial, Trump is the first president ever to proclaim this week, which is sponsored by a coalition of charter, magnet, private, online and home schools.

Executive Order 13767: Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements

This is the "build the wall" executive order, directing the Customs and Border Patrol to "secure the southern border of the United States through the immediate construction of a physical wall on the southern border." The order also directs the hiring of 5,000 more border patrol officers. The order does not specify how the wall would be paid for, but does request a report on all U.S. foreign aid to Mexico over the last five years.

Executive Order 13768: Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the United States

Complementing the border wall, this executive order applies to immigration enforcement in the interior, and specifically targets so-called "sanctuary cities" by cutting off their federal funding. The order also expands the enforcement priorities in order to give immigration officers almost unlimited discretion in instituting deportation proceedings, to include any non-citizen not yet charged a crime but who, in the judgment of an immigration officer, poses a risk to public safety or national security.

Friday, January 27

Executive Order: Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into The United States

This is perhaps Trump's most controversial executive order to date, leading to weekend protests at international airports across the country. Trump promised to keep "radical Islamic terrorists" out of the country, largely though a ban on entry from seven countries for 90 days. Those countries (Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen) are all majority Muslim, and the order allows an exception for religious minorities, which Trump said was to protect Christians there. The order was subject to immediate action in three federal courts in the 48 hours after its signing, in order to protect people who were caught in legal limbo when they arrived at U.S. airports.

National Security Presidential Memorandum 1: Rebuilding the U.S. Armed Forces​

The presidential national security memorandum — a first-of-its-kind presidential directive — calls for a 30-day review of military readiness. It requires the the Pentagon and Office of Management and Budget to come up with a plan to bolster the military, and calls for an examination of the nation's nuclear arsenal and missile-defense capabilities.

Saturday, January 28

Executive Order: Ethics Commitments by Executive Branch Employees

In one sense, Trump's executive order on administration ethics goes further than any similar order in history, imposing a lifetime ban on administration officials lobbying foreign governments, and a five-year ban on other types of lobbying. But that ban covers only people who were lobbyists before they joined the administration, leaving a loophole for non-lobbyists, ethics experts said.

National Security Presidential Memorandum 2: Organization of the National Security Council and the Homeland Security Council

Every modern president signs an order early in his term reorganizing the National Security Council. Trump's order most notably added his chief political strategist, Stephen Bannon, to sit on the influential Principals Committee.

National Security Presidential Memorandum 3: Plan to Defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria

This memorandum calls for the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with other national security officials, to develop a plan within 30 days to defeat the Islamic State. The plan should include "recommended changes to any United States rules of engagement" as well as any diplomatic, financial or cyber measures that the Trump administration can take.

Monday, January 30

Executive Order:  Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs

Trump's so-called "one in, two out" executive order would require agencies to rescind two existing regulations for every one new regulation — and that the regulatory costs of those new regulations balance out. The order would also tighten the president's grip on the regulatory process by giving each agency an annual quota of regulations through the federal budgeting process.

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