Presidents from George Washington on have issued many forms of directives, the most familiar being Executive Orders with the other two being Presidential Memoranda and Presidential Proclamations

All three types of presidential documents—executive orders, proclamations, and certain administrative orders—are published in the Federal Register, the daily journal of the federal government that is published to inform the public about federal regulations and actions.

An executive order is a written directive from the President that has much of the same power as federal law and several landmark moments in American history came about directly from the use of executive orders.

The constitutional basis for the executive order is the President’s broad power to issue executive directives. According to the Congressional Research Service, there is no direct “definition of executive orders, presidential memoranda, and proclamations in the U.S. Constitution, there is, likewise, no specific provision authorizing their issuance.”

While an executive order can have the same effect as federal law under certain circumstances, Congress can pass a new law to override an executive order, subject to a presidential veto.

Number Of Presidential Executive Orders By U.S. Presidents – Click For More Detail

• During His Eight Years In Office Barack Obama Issued 276 Executive Orders
• During His Four Years In Office Donald Trump Issued 220 Executive Orders
• During His First 7-Months in Office Joe Biden Issued 52 Executive Orders