A widely shared Facebook post claims that President Joe Biden issued 56 executive orders in 40 days. The full post reads: “56 Executive Orders in under 40 days…..That, my friends, is an actual Dictator.”
This is a false claim.
According to the Federal Register, Biden has issued 37 executive orders since January 20 of this year. It’s worth mentioning that Biden has signed more than 50 executive actions, which includes executive orders, actions, and memorandums. While it’s true that the number of executive orders in Biden’s first three months of presidency is greater than that of both Donald Trump’s and Barack Obama, it’s still well below 56.
From January 20, 2017, until March 19, 2017, Trump issued 17 executive orders and from January 20, 2009 until March 19, 2009, Obama issued 18 executive orders, according to data from the American Presidency Project.
Of Biden’s 37 executive orders, 18 of them have revoked prior orders, many of them issued to undo Trump’s policies on health care and immigartion. On February 2, for example, Biden signed three executive orders reversing Trump’s immigration policies, which included creating a task force to help reunite separated families at the border, per CNN.
While signing these immigration orders Biden acknowledged the large number of executive orders he had signed, saying: “There’s a lot of talk, with good reason, about the number of executive orders that I’ve signed, I’m not making new law, I’m eliminating bad policy.”
If you have a claim you would like to see us fact check, please send us an email at factcheck@thedispatch.com. If you would like to suggest a correction to this piece or any other Dispatch article, please email corrections@thedispatch.com.
Please note that we at The Dispatch hold ourselves, our work, and our commenters to a higher standard than other places on the internet. We welcome comments that foster genuine debate or discussion—including comments critical of us or our work—but responses that include ad hominem attacks on fellow Dispatch members or are intended to stoke fear and anger may be moderated.
With your membership, you only have the ability to comment on The Morning Dispatch articles. Consider upgrading to join the conversation everywhere.