An executive order is a written directive signed by the president that tells the executive branches of the federal government how to carry out certain operations or policies. George Washington issued what is widely considered the first executive order just two months after taking office. On June 8, 1789, Washington asked executive leaders to provide “a full precise, and distinct general idea of the affairs of the United States” that were under their authority.
Since then, over 13,000 executive orders have been signed, with every president issuing at least one. While the term “executive order” does not appear in the United States Constitution, Article II states that “executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.”
Executive orders, which are numbered consecutively, are not a form of legislation, meaning they do not require congressional approval. As such, Congress cannot overturn them – but the legislative branch can pass bills that make carrying out executive orders difficult, the American Bar Association explains. A president can revoke an executive order at any time by issuing a new executive order that cancels it.
The way in which executive orders are formatted has evolved over time, but modern executive orders “follow a format and strict documentation system.” Usually, the White House issues the order before the Federal Register publishes it. In 1907, the State Department started numbering executive orders and even went back and numbered all recorded orders dating to 1862.
Franklin D. Roosevelt, a Democrat, issued over 3,000 executive orders.
