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Here are all the changes Donald Trump signed during his first day as US president
It was anticipated Mr Trump would sign up to 100 orders on his first day back in the White House.
In the end, the figure was just shy of 50.
Mr Trump has spoken openly about his plans to grow domestic energy production, crack down on the Mexican border and end diversity, equity and inclusion programs within the federal government.
Here’s what we know.
What is an executive order?
They are essentially statements about how the president wants the federal government to be managed, which can mean instructions to federal agencies or requests for reports.
Executive orders can also play an important role in laying out major policy agendas.
While these orders are legally binding, they are not legislation as they don’t require approval from Congress.
It doesn’t necessarily mean the president can enact orders without challenge, as Congress could still block an order from being fulfilled by removing funding or creating other hurdles.
Only a sitting US president can overturn an existing executive order.
New presidents will often issue orders to cancel the orders of their predecessors.
Other presidential documents — such as proclamations and political memorandums — can also be similar to executive orders, but have different purposes.
However, all three are used by presidents to pursue actions they can’t get through Congress.
What are the limitations to executive orders?
There have been several thousand executive orders signed throughout US history, according to data collected by the American Presidency Project at the University of California.
During his first term, Mr Trump signed 220 orders and Joe Biden had signed 160, as of December 20.
But there are limitations to executive orders, as both Congress and the courts can potentially block orders.
In 1992, Congress revoked an executive order by then-president George HW Bush that would establish a human foetal tissue bank for scientific research.
Congress did this by passing a measure that meant the order would “not have any legal effect”.
And, Congress can also deny funding to agencies and those behind the enforcement of an order.
These orders could also be legally challenged based on the argument that a president went beyond their legal authority.
This was seen when the US Supreme Court said then-president Harry Truman lacked the authority to take private property without authorisation from Congress, when he tried to seize steel mills during the Korean War.
What executive orders has Donald Trump signed so far?
Mr Trump has signed a wide-ranging number of executive orders, with some aimed at walking back from climate action and others focused on “restoring free speech” in the US.
National ‘border emergency’
Mr Trump’s rhetoric around migration continued with the signing of an executive order that declared a “national emergency” at the US and Mexico border.
“America’s sovereignty is under attack,” the order said.
“Our southern border is overrun by cartels, criminal gangs, known terrorists, human traffickers, smugglers, unvetted military-age males from foreign adversaries, and illicit narcotics that harm Americans, including America.
“To protect the security and safety of United States citizens, to protect each of the states against invasion, and to uphold my duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, it is my responsibility as president to ensure that the illegal entry of aliens into the United States via the southern border be immediately and entirely stopped.”
Mr Trump rolled back a number of immigration policies announced by the Biden administration, and ordered the shut down of the CBP One app.
The app allowed migrants to schedule appointments to gain entry into the US and was previously credited by officials as streamlining the border crossing process.
Mr Trump also ordered an end to releasing migrants in the US while they await immigration court hearings — part of his Remain in Mexico policy — and an end to asylum.
It is expected his border policies could result in mass deportations, and Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum has previously signalled her desire to help those impacted by the changes.
He also moved to consider designating cartels as “foreign terrorist organisations”, and called them an international security threat.
Mr Trump said securing the southern border was a part of his plan to bring them under control.
‘Only’ two genders
Mr Trump has declared the federal government would recognise only two genders — male and female — and would roll back previous legislation that enshrines the protection of transgender people.
The order would also remove the word “gender” from federal documents, and replace it with “sex”.
While the federal government has no control over how people identify, it can enforce the declaration on documents such as passports and visas.
American civil rights organisation focused on LGBTQI+ activism Lambda Legal said it would look to sue over the order.
“While much of what is called for by the executive orders signed today will take time to implement, we will vigilantly monitor and be ready to challenge when they take effect,” a spokesperson said.
“We are exploring every legal avenue to challenge these unlawful and unconstitutional actions. This is not only about politics and ideology — but also about real people’s lives.”
End to automatic citizenship
Mr Trump has ordered the overturning of birthright citizenship.
Birthright citizenship is enshrined in the 14th amendment of the US Constitution, and dictates:
“All persons born or naturalised in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.”
It was adopted in 1868 to ensure citizenship for Black people.
Mr Trump said automatic citizenship was “just ridiculous” and said he was on “good legal ground” to change it.
However he has already been challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union and other advocates.
They have initiated a lawsuit over the order, arguing Mr Trump would be wrongly denying a right enshrined in the constitution.
The lawsuit was filed by the ACLU, Asian Law Caucus, State Democracy Defenders Fund and Legal Defense Fund on behalf of organisations with members whose children were born on US soil and would be denied citizenship.
“Birthright citizenship embodies America’s most fundamental promise: that all children born on our soil begin life as full and equal members of our national community, regardless of their parents’ origins, status, or circumstances,” according to the complaint filed in Concord, New Hampshire.
“This principle has enabled generations of children to pursue their dreams and build a stronger America.”
Pardoned January 6 convictions
Mr Trump will pardon or commute the sentences of 1,500 people in connection with the Capitol riots on January 6, 2021.
Hundreds of Trump’s supporters stormed the US Capitol after he made baseless claims that an election victory had been “stolen” from him.
The Capitol riots were widely condemned by those on both sides of politics, and people were arrested in connection with the attack.
Mr Trump has commuted the sentences of 14 people so far — including those of far-right activists — making them eligible to be freed straight away.
He called the arrests and convictions a “grave national injustice”.
The order has already been condemned by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer.
“The people who invaded the Capitol on January 6th, whether they committed violence or not, should not have been pardoned,” he said.
“Donald Trump is ushering in a Golden Age for people that break the law and attempt to overthrow the government.”
Republican Senator Mike Rounds said while January 6 was a “bad day for America”, he respected Mr Trump’s right to issue pardons.
Withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement
The Paris Climate Agreement is an international treaty which legally binds its signatories to fight climate change.
It is the second time Mr Trump has withdrawn the US from the agreement.
“The United States will not sabotage our own industries while China pollutes with impunity,” Mr Trump said.
Amnesty International has already condemned the order as “reckless” and “short-sighted” while the World Resources Institute said the Paris Agreement remained essential to combating climate change.
“It simply makes no sense for the United States to voluntarily give up political influence and pass up opportunities to shape the exploding green energy market,” an institute spokesperson said.
“Sitting on the sidelines also means the United States will have fewer levers to hold other major economies accountable for living up to their commitments.”
The ‘restoration of free speech’
Mr Trump has been supported throughout his campaign and inauguration events by social media giants like Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk.
Mr Trump said the administration over the last four years had restricted free speech, particularly online.
“[The administration] trampled free speech rights by censoring Americans’ speech on online platforms, often by exerting substantial coercive pressure on third parties, such as social media companies, to moderate, deplatform, or otherwise suppress speech that the federal government did not approve,” the order said.
The order highlighted particular concerns over the government censoring information ‘under the guise’ of misinformation.
Mr Trump’s order comes just weeks after Meta announced it would no longer continue with its fact-checking service, with chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg claiming he had been inspired by Elon Musk’s work at X — formerly known as Twitter.
Mr Musk will head up a role in Mr Trump’s government, responsible for the Department of Government Efficiency.
The order also called for an investigation into the Biden administration’s impact on freedom of speech.
Keep TikTok online
Despite previously proposing a law to shut down social media app TikTok, Mr Trump has now extended it a lifeline.
TikTok went dark earlier this week in the US after continued discussions about its Chinese ownership.
Under a law passed last year, the platform was ordered to cut ties with ByteDance or shut down its US operation to resolve concerns it posed a threat to US national security.
When it failed to do so, the app went dark on Sunday with a message about working with Donald Trump to ensure a possible solution.
It quickly came back online on Monday, with the app again posting a message thanking the incoming president for his support.
Mr Trump said the app had a short reprieve, and had 75 days to find a US-based buyer.
Mr Trump previously suggested that an American buyer should purchase half of the company and run it as a 50-50 joint venture with its current owners, on his Truth Social account.
However US outlets said it would remain unclear if this ownership arrangement could satisfy those in Congress who have ongoing national security concerns.
Renaming the Gulf of Mexico
Mr Trump said it was appropriate to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, because “we do most of the work there”.
The Gulf is an ocean basin bounded by the US, Cuba and Mexico, and is an important centre of economic activity including maritime transport and oil and gas production.
The name would be changed on US-used maps and in federal references, but other nations would not have an obligation to follow suit.
Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has previously signalled her support for the move, saying her staff would be working on the legislation.
“Mexican cartels currently use the Gulf of Mexico to traffic humans, drugs, weapons, and God knows what else while the Mexican government allows them to do it,” she said.
The Mexican government has previously taken action against drug cartels in the Gulf region.
“The American people are footing the bill to protect and secure the maritime waterways for commerce to be conducted,” Ms Taylor Greene said.
No more work-from-home
Mr Trump ordered all federal employees return to work “as soon as practicable”.
The order is despite a report by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, which found a majority of federal employees already work in their offices full-time.
The report found about 10 per cent of federal employees work remotely.
American Federation of Government Employees president Everett Kelley said the move would not be helpful in attracting new employees.
“To justify this backward action, lawmakers and members of President Trump’s transition team have spent months exaggerating the number of federal employees who telework and accusing those who do of failing to perform the duties of their jobs,” he said.
“The truth is that less than half of all federal jobs are eligible for telework, and the workers who are eligible to telework still spend most of their work hours at their regular duty stations.
“Rather than undoing decades of progress in workplace policies that have benefited both employees and their employers, I encourage the Trump administration to rethink its approach and focus on what it can do to make government programs work better for the American people.”
Mr Trump also announced the termination of a number of diversity, inclusion and accessibility programs in workplaces.
Other executive orders signed by Mr Trump in his first day include:
- Withdrawing the US from the World Health Organization.
- Ensuring states carrying out the death penalty have a “sufficient supply” of lethal injection drugs.
- Rescinding 78 Biden-era orders, including a ban on off-shore drilling.
ABC News
The mother of a black woman whose body was found hanging from a tree in Jackson, Mississippi, has told the BBC she is still waiting for answers from officials more than a month later.
Her demands have been echoed by a community in the southern US state that has been left shocked and angry.
After weeks of silence, police on Tuesday confirmed for the first time that they were investigating the death of Tasia Fortune, 29, as a potential homicide – while clarifying that her official cause of death has yet to be confirmed.
Authorities discovered Fortune’s body on 3 August, hanging from a tree in the lot of an abandoned home.
Local concern over her death has been heightened by the fact that the state has a dark history of racial violence and lynchings.
The majority-black city has been left on edge. As the question lingers as to how Fortune died, petitions online signed by tens of thousands of people have called for more transparency, and members of US Congress have asked for federal intervention.
“It’s making me angry,” Fortune’s mother, Christy Spivey, said. “What is the hold up?”
Spivey described desperate attempts to understand the status of the investigation and how multiple enquiries to police had gone unanswered.
The first update she had received from authorities in weeks came in a public city meeting on Tuesday evening as Jackson Police Chief RaShall Brackney discussed the case and said the department “has been investigating this case from day one as a homicide”.
Brackney, in a statement to the BBC, elaborated and said the department always treats any pending death case as a “potential homicide” so that crucial evidence is not lost as police wait on autopsy results.
The department, though, had only previously described the case as a death investigation.
Tuesday’s statement from Brackney said “we are conducting the investigation at the highest appropriate level while we await the medical examiner’s findings”, which would include an official cause and manner of death.
The medical examiner’s office said it would not comment on the pending case.
Christy Spivey Tasia Fortune holds a finger to her lips and smiles in a family handout photoChristy Spivey
Spivey last saw her daughter alive on 26 July, when Fortune had travelled from Mississippi, where she had lived for roughly the last decade, to Kentucky, where Spivey lives, for a family reunion.
The next time she saw her daughter – in a funeral home, days before her burial – she could barely look at her body.
“I didn’t look straight at her. Her daddy did,” she said. “I kind of looked from the side.”
Spivey remembered their last conversation. “She was talking about, you know, maybe even coming home,” she explained.
Fortune’s death has left the community concerned that racial violence in Mississippi could be on the rise again. And in the absence of concrete details about the case, their suspicions are left to fester.
Fortune’s death was the third incident in Mississippi in less than a year where police found someone dead and hanged from a tree.
The other two bodies – one black male, one white – were discovered in September 2025, on the exact same day.
Both were ruled a suicide, though the mother of one of the deceased – Trey Reed – contests those findings.
Fed-up residents have launched an online petition, which has gathered more than 50,000 signatures, for an independent investigation into the state’s chief medical examiner, Dr Staci Turner, over the handling of a recent spate of cases involving people of colour. Another petition asks for the FBI to launch an investigation into Fortune’s death
The BBC has asked Turner for comment.
Jackson City Councilman Kenneth Stokes has also expressed concerns about the police investigation, saying he’d been outside the home where Fortune was thought to have lived multiple times and has never seen officers.
“All cases are important, but this one – a hanging in Mississippi – should rise to the top of the food chain,” Stokes said.
He told the BBC he sent letters to both federal prosecutors at the Mississippi US attorney’s office and the FBI weeks ago, urging that the investigation was “in dire need of assistance”. He has yet to hear back from either.
“Nothing from nobody,” Stokes said. “It’s like nobody cares.”
The BBC has reached out to the Mississippi US attorney’s office and the local FBI office for comment.
US Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett has similarly requested federal intervention. In a letter to the US Department of Justice, she asked for an investigation into recent deaths in Mississippi – including that of Tasia Fortune – calling them “possible cases of modern-day lynchings”. She cited the state’s “appalling historical reputation of violent terrorism against black Americans”.
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In addition to Mississippi, there have been multiple other cases nationally of black Americans found hanged from trees, including four in North Carolina this year alone. Three were ruled a suicide. An autopsy is pending for the fourth death.
The BBC has reached out to the justice department for comment.
Stokes is clear that he does not know whether Fortune’s death was a lynching, or whether race played a part at all. Nor does he care. He just wants answers.
Brandon King, president of the student National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) chapter at nearby Jackson State University, said the mystery of Fortune’s death, combined with minimal updates from police, has led him and others to be “extra cautious” around campus.
The feeling, King said, was that “hey, you could be next. This is in Jackson. This is in your backyard”.
The thought is extra worrying, he continued, because “this is supposed to be the capital. This is where I’m supposed to feel the most safe”.
As for Spivey, she cried before heading to a funeral home for her daughter, dreading having to fill out a death certificate and decide whether to cremate or bury her firstborn child.
She wanted to cremate her daughter but decided, in the end, for a burial. She said she was holding out hope there would be updates in the investigation, which might mean needing to exhume her corpse. BBC
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Rescue teams with search dogs continued to look through mud, rocks and debris on the Nepal -China border Tuesday for thousands of people missing a week after the catastrophic flash floods that tore through Himalayan communities and left more than 1,000 dead.
As police in Kathmandu buried dozens of bodies in multiple trenches, Nepal’s disaster agency said 1,003 deaths had been counted there, with 3,916 people missing, including 583 foreign nationals. China reported 16 deaths and 546 missing, including 261 foreigners, as of Sunday.
The scale of the Aug. 26 disaster is hampering rescue efforts, with landslides, destroyed roads and widespread damage cutting off remote areas.
Crews faced challenging conditions as they searched unstable terrain and piles of debris, raising fears the death toll could rise as rescuers reach isolated communities.
Race to reach missing hydropower workers
Rescuers are racing to reach hundreds of workers believed to be trapped inside tunnels at hydropower projects in Nepal damaged by the floods. About 900 workers are missing from 12 projects, with roughly 500 believed to be trapped in tunnels, according to local authorities.
Brig. Gen. Raja Ram Basnet, Nepal’s army spokesperson, said teams assisted by foreign experts were working at several hydropower projects. Images released by the army showed rescue teams entering debris-filled tunnels and wading through mud and water in the search for signs of life.
On the Chinese side, rescue crews scoured areas hit by mudslides, particularly around the Gyirong Port border crossing, which was destroyed.
Some rescuers, aided by search dogs, searched gaps among rocks and debris for signs of life. Other teams used heavy machinery to clear a major highway leading to Gyirong Port, hoping to clear the way for equipment, personnel and supplies to reach the disaster zone, according to China’s state-run Global Times newspaper.
Mass burials of unidentified bodies in Kathmandu
In Kathmandu, police worked in heavy rain on Tuesday to bury dozens of bodies in multiple trenches next to a forested area.
Barbed wire was erected around the site, while blue numbered markers identified the graves of people whose names were not yet known.
Authorities in Nepal have been burying bodies in temporary graves until they can be identified. They are preserving DNA samples, photographing distinguishing facial features and recording other identifying details.
Each body is assigned a reference number to help families identify and claim the remains later.
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Relief operations expanded to stranded communities
At least 11,814 people have been rescued so far, according to Nepalese authorities. Emergency crews used helicopters and other aircraft to reach stranded communities in areas where roads and bridges have been destroyed by the flooding and landslides.
Efforts are being stepped up to provide assistance to survivors in areas where roads and other transportation routes had been damaged or cut off.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Guo Jiakun, said a second batch of relief supplies was being sent to Nepal, including drones, DNA testing and water purification equipment. Chinese DNA testing experts will also help Nepal identify bodies, he said.
Bimal Sharma, a helicopter pilot who has been flying rescue and relief missions, said he was shocked to see the devastation in Timure, a border town close to Tibet that he has known for years.
“It felt like I was flying over an entirely different landscape,” said Sharma, adding that he has had little opportunity to speak with the people he rescued. “I can see the pain in their eyes. It’s heartbreaking,” he said.
Glacial collapse in the Himalayas
The disaster began in the Himalayas when a glacial collapse sent large amounts of rock, ice and meltwater into valleys below, triggering powerful floods downstream.
Scientists studying satellite imagery said the collapse appears to have involved the failure of bedrock beneath a glacier in the Himalayan region. The rockfall was powerful enough to register as a magnitude 5.2 seismic event.
The resulting surge of water and debris entered rivers that flow through valleys in Tibet and Nepal, causing them to rise rapidly. Floodwaters swept away homes, buildings, roads and bridges and carried mud and rocks downstream.
Nepal’s Prime Minister Balendra Shah said that the disaster highlighted the need for action to combat climate change.
“This incident has indicated that the risks we face in the Himalayan region are increasing with climate change,” Shah said in a social media post Monday night. “Therefore, this region must be alert, and at the same time, it is time for us to strongly raise the issue of disasters caused by climate change before the international community.”
Saaliq reported from New Delhi. Associated Press journalists Victoria Milko in Kathmandu, Nepal, E. Eduardo Castillo in Beijing, Kanis Leung in Hong Kong and Aijaz Hussain in New Delhi contributed to this report.
Canada has invited 1,000 candidates through its Express Entry system to apply for permanent residence under the Canadian Experience Class.
The invitation round was conducted on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, according to the latest ministerial instructions published by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
The department said candidates required a minimum Comprehensive Ranking System score of 523 to receive an invitation.
“Number of invitations issued: 1,000,” the notice stated.
It added that candidates ranked among the first 1,000 eligible foreign nationals in the group were eligible to receive invitations.
The round was conducted at 10:13:44 UTC on August 18, with a tie-breaking rule of August 17, 2026, at 22:09:00 UTC.
The tie-breaking rule means that “If more than one candidate has the lowest score, the cut-off is based on the date and time they submitted their Express Entry profiles.”
The invitations were issued under the Canadian Experience Class, one of the classes managed through Canada’s Express Entry system.
The ministerial instructions, signed by Canada’s Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Lena Metlege Diab, in Ottawa on August 18, stated that invitations could be issued between August 18 and August 19, 2026.
“Invitations may be issued to eligible foreign nationals who rank among the first 1,000 eligible foreign nationals in the group ranking,” the instructions stated.
Express Entry is Canada’s primary online system for managing permanent residence applications from skilled workers.
It covers three federal economic immigration programs: the Canadian Experience Class, the Federal Skilled Worker Program, and the Federal Skilled Trades Program.
Candidates create profiles that are ranked using the Comprehensive Ranking System, which awards points for factors including age, education, language ability, work experience, and other human capital attributes.
The highest-ranked candidates are invited to apply in periodic rounds.
The Canadian Experience Class is designed for skilled workers who already have Canadian work experience and wish to become permanent residents. Eligibility generally requires at least one year (1,560 hours) of skilled work experience in Canada within the past three years in occupations under National Occupational Classification TEER categories 0, 1, 2, or 3, along with minimum language proficiency (Canadian Language Benchmark 7 for TEER 0 or 1 jobs, and CLB 5 for TEER 2 or 3).
There is no education requirement and no need to show settlement funds.
Applicants must plan to live outside Quebec.
The August 18 draw followed a pattern of frequent CEC-focused rounds in 2026. A previous Canadian Experience Class draw on August 5 issued 3,000 invitations with a lower CRS cut-off of 516.
The latest round’s reduced volume and higher cut-off of 523 mark one of the more selective CEC invitations so far this year.
As of mid-August 2026, IRCC had already issued well over 113,000 invitations through Express Entry, with a substantial share going to Canadian Experience Class candidates.
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