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Executive order

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See also:Presidential memorandum andPresidential proclamation

Anexecutive order is a formal command handed down from the head of the executive branch of government to the administrative agencies within the executive branch.

In the context of the federal government, the president issues executive orders to direct federal agency actions.[1] While executive orders are legally binding, they are not laws; they are instructions on how the executive branch ought to enforce the law. These instructions must line up with existing U.S. laws and theU.S. Constitution.[2]

Executive orders differ from other types of executive action, namelypresidential proclamations andpresidential memorandums. Unlike executive orders, presidential memorandums are not numbered or cataloged, and they do not require the president to cite any authority for their issuance. Proclamations direct the actions of individuals rather than government agencies and are often ceremonial.[3]

Background

The first presidential executive order was issued by George Washington in 1789. It instructed the heads of federal departments to "impress me with a full, precise, and distinct general idea of the affairs of the United States."[4] Every president has issued at least one executive order with the exception of William Henry Harrison, who served as president for 32 days.[5][6]

The constitutional basis for executive orders can be found in Article II of the Constitution, which reads, "The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America."[2][7]

The language and cataloging practices surrounding executive orders have changed throughout history. The presidential documents pertaining to the administration of the executive branch were not officially called executive orders until the Lincoln administration; orders were not assigned numbers until 1907; and not until the Federal Register Act became law in 1936 were orders cataloged for publication by the Office of the Federal Register.[5] Beginning in 2014, Congress required the White House Office of Management and Budget to report the cost of executive orders.[3][1]

Some examples of executive orders throughout American history:

  • The suspension of habeas corpus during the Civil War – Abraham Lincoln, 1861
  • The internment of Japanese Americans during World War II – Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1942
  • The desegregation of the American military – Harry Truman, 1948
  • The Little Rock Nine and the mobilization of troops to integrate an Arkansas high school – Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1957

Other executive actions

Executive orders are not the only way the president can manage the federal government. The president may also issue a presidential memorandum or proclamation.

Like executive orders,presidential memorandums carry the weight of law, but they are not numbered or required by law to be published by the Office of the Federal Register. Under an executive order issued by President John F. Kennedy, the president must cite the constitutional or legal authority that justifies an executive order's issuance; this justification is not required for presidential memorandums.[3]

Aproclamation, according to the House Government Operations Committee, is directed at the actions of private individuals and is therefore not legally binding unless the president bases his proclamation on some authority granted to him. Presidential proclamations, therefore, are often honorary or ceremonial. One example of a ceremonial proclamation is the ordering of American flags to be flown at half-staff after the death of aSupreme Court justice or other government figure.[8][1]

Gubernatorial executive orders

The president only has executive authority over the federal government. State executive action is left to each state's governor. According to the National Governors Association, the governors of the states find authority to issue executive orders in a number of places, including state constitutions, case law, statutes, or authority inferred from the general powers granted to state executives. Governors use executive orders in a variety of ways, from creating commissions to managing administrative agencies.[9]

The National Governors Association provides a table outlining the authorization, provisions, and procedures associated with each state's gubernatorial executive orders. That table can be foundhere.

Executive orders by president

The table below shows the number of executive orders issued by each president from George Washington through Joe Biden.[10]

Executive orders by president, Washington-Biden
PresidentTotal executive ordersNumber of terms in office
George Washington82
John Adams11
Thomas Jefferson42
James Madison12
James Monroe12
John Quincy Adams31
Andrew Jackson122
Martin van Buren101
William Henry Harrison0Less than 1
John Tyler17Less than 1
James K. Polk181
Zachary Taylor51+
Millard Fillmore121+
Franklin Pierce351
James Buchanan161
Abraham Lincoln481+
Andrew Johnson79Less than 1
Ulysses S. Grant2172
Rutherford B. Hayes921
James Garfield6Less than 1
Chester Arthur96Less than 1
Grover Cleveland (1st term)1131
Benjamin Harrison1431
Grover Cleveland (2nd term)1401
William McKinley1851+
Theodore Roosevelt1,0811+
William Howard Taft7241
Woodrow Wilson1,8032
Warren G. Harding522Less than 1
Calvin Coolidge1,2031+
Herbert Hoover9681
Franklin D. Roosevelt3,7213+
Harry S. Truman9071+
Dwight D. Eisenhower4842
John F. Kennedy214Less than 1
Lyndon B. Johnson3251+
Richard Nixon3461+
Gerald R. Ford169Less than 1
Jimmy Carter3201
Ronald Reagan3812
George Bush1661
William J. Clinton3642
George W. Bush2912
Barack Obama2762
Donald Trump2201
Joe Biden131 (as of February 2024)[11]Incumbent
Executive orders related to the administrative state
See also:Administrative state

Below is a list of presidential executive orders covered on Ballotpedia that are related to theadministrative state:

Noteworthy events

Michigan legislators reject governor's executive order for first time in 42 years (2019)

Michigan GovernorGretchen Whitmer (D) issued a revised executive order on February 20, 2019, that renames and restructures the state’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). The Republican-majorityMichigan State Legislature voted to reject Whitmer’s original version of the executive order on February 14—the first time state legislators had rejected a governor’s executive order in 42 years. The Michigan Constitution grants the state legislature the right to review and vote to reject an executive order.[12][13]

Whitmer’s executive order aims to create "a principal department focused on improving the quality of Michigan’s air, land, and water, protecting public health, and encouraging the use of clean energy.” The order renames and restructures the DEQ into the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy. The order also establishes an Interagency Environmental Justice Response Team, an Office of Climate and Energy and Office, and a Clean Water Public Advocate, among other organization modifications.[14][15]

Michigan legislators rejected the original version of the executive order because it eliminated three environmental oversight commissions that legislators had established in 2018. Legislators claimed that the commissions serve to guard citizens against potentially harmful environmental regulations. Whitmer argued that the commissions are dominated by industry leaders and slow down the regulatory process. The new version of the executive order eliminates one of the three commissions.[12][15]

The executive order took effect on April 22. Senate Majority LeaderMike Shirkey (R) announced on February 22 that members of the legislature would not challenge the order.[15][16]

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑1.01.11.2PBS, "Your cheat sheet for executive orders, memorandums and proclamations," accessed May 1, 2017
  2. ↑2.02.1Washington Post, "What is an executive order? And how do President Trump's stack up?" accessed May 1, 2017
  3. ↑3.03.13.2USA Today, "Presidential memoranda vs. executive orders. What's the difference?" accessed May 1, 2017
  4. ↑Washington Post, "What Trump could learn from George Washington's first executive order," accessed May 1, 2017
  5. ↑5.05.1The American Presidency Project, "Executive Orders," accessed May 1, 2017
  6. ↑The White House, "William Henry Harrison," accessed May 1, 2017
  7. ↑TeachingAmericanHistory.org, "U.S. Constitution," accessed May 1, 2017
  8. ↑Law Librarians' Society of Washington, D.C., "CRS Report for Congress: Executive Orders and Proclamations," accessed May 2, 2017
  9. ↑National Governors Association, "Governors: Power and Authority," accessed February 26, 2023
  10. ↑The American Presidency Project, "Executive Orders, Washington-Trump," accessed February 21, 2024
  11. ↑Federal Register, "Executive Orders Index," accessed February 21, 2024
  12. ↑12.012.1The Detroit News, "Whitmer revamps environmental order after GOP rejection," February 21, 2019
  13. ↑The Alpena News, "Protecting the Constitution protects Michigan," February 24, 2019
  14. ↑Governor of Michigan, "Executive Order No. 2019-06," February 20, 2019
  15. ↑15.015.115.2M Live, "Gov. Whitmer signs new environmental order after legislature spikes her first," February 20, 2019
  16. ↑WKZO, "Senate leaders pleased with Whitmer's 2nd executive order," February 22, 2019
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