What laws has trump implemented
Executive summary
The recent Trump administration has relied heavily on executive orders, memoranda and regulatory directives to enact its agenda, signing hundreds of presidential actions in 2025–26 while translating roughly half of Project 2025’s recommendations into policy; many of these actions have been challenged in court or implemented through agency rulemaking rather than new Acts of Congress [1] [2] [3]. Concrete statutes signed by the president in this period are less prominent in the reporting than the avalanche of executive actions, judicial confirmations, and deregulatory measures the administration has executed [4] [5] [6].
1. The legal difference: laws versus executive actions
Presidents cannot unilaterally “implement laws” in the sense of creating statutes—that power belongs to Congress—so much of what the Trump presidency has “implemented” consists of executive orders, proclamations, and agency rule changes rather than newly enacted federal statutes; official totals show 225 executive orders in 2025 alone and hundreds of other presidential documents catalogued in the Federal Register [1] [4].
2. The scale: an unprecedented sprint of orders and directives
Reporting and government records document an unusually high volume of presidential actions—Ballotpedia and the Federal Register track hundreds of orders, memoranda and proclamations in the administration’s second term, including dozens issued on day one and scores in the first 100 days [4] [1] [3]. Law firms and trackers maintain live charts and summaries because the volume requires continuous legal monitoring [7].
3. Where the changes landed: immigration, personnel, and regulatory rollback
The administration prioritized sweeping immigration directives—orders seeking expansive limits on asylum, expedited removal implementation, mass deportation planning, and rules limiting entry of foreign nationals—while also issuing orders to restructure the federal workforce (Schedule F/DOGE initiatives) and to rescind diversity, equity and inclusion programs across agencies [8] [9] [10] [11]. Project 2025’s blueprint has been a clear influence, with outlets reporting that about half of its recommendations have become official policy or directives [2].
4. Regulatory work and deregulatory strategy
Beyond one-off orders, agencies have pursued deregulatory and rule changes affecting energy, health, labor and trade; Brookings and other trackers catalog delayed, repealed, and new rules as part of a coordinated deregulatory drive that the administration frames as “government efficiency” and cost savings [6] [1] [12]. The White House and agency sites list initiatives from semiconductor import controls to cost-transparency in health care as presidential actions [12] [1].
5. Legislative victories and judicial appointments
Although executive actions dominate the recent record, the administration also highlights prior legislative achievements and personnel outcomes—most notably the First Step Act earlier attributed to the Trump presidency and the confirmation of hundreds of federal judges and three Supreme Court justices during his earlier term, which continue to shape legal outcomes for current actions [5] [13]. The reporting does not catalogue major new statutes passed by Congress in the 2025–26 window as central to the administration’s changes [13].
6. Implementation limits: lawsuits, injunctions and practical obstacles
Multiple sources emphasize that many executive actions have faced legal challenges or have been preliminarily enjoined; civil‑rights groups and legal organizations note rollbacks in civil‑rights enforcement and immigrant protections but also stress that implementation status varies and courts have blocked or narrowed some measures, including at least one high-profile executive order on birthright citizenship that federal litigation has restrained [8] [11]. Coverage warns that intent and issuance do not equal durable law without surviving litigation or regulatory rulemaking [8] [3].
7. Bottom line: heavy use of executive power, mixed permanence
The administration’s record shows a deliberate strategy of converting programmatic goals—many drawn from Project 2025—into executive orders, agency directives and deregulatory actions, producing rapid policy change in immigration, workforce management, civil‑rights enforcement, higher education oversight, and trade, while leaving many of those actions subject to legal challenge or administrative reversal depending on court rulings and future rulemaking [2] [7] [6]. Sources make clear that what has been “implemented” is a dense mosaic of presidential instruments rather than a set of newly enacted federal statutes [1] [4].