What Trump's executive orders in his first 100 days were actually about

Though he used to criticize President Barack Obama for overusing his power when he was in office, President Donald Trump issued nearly as many executive orders in his first 100 days as Obama used to average in a year.

Many Trump supporters defend the president's use of power by saying he was simply getting rid of Obama's egregious actions.

While nearly all of Trump's presidential actions have reversed Obama's policies, very few of them actually canceled orders his predecessor signed.

Of the 13 executive orders or memoranda that Trump signed explicitly rescinding, revoking, or superseding previous presidential orders or memos, three of them he canceled were his own.

The first was writing an order in March to replace his controversial travel ban from January, the second was issuing an order in March to reorganize the order of succession in the Department of Justice after he changed it in February, and the third was penning a memo in April to remove chief strategist Steve Bannon from the National Security Council after public outrage when Trump added him in January.

Though they're often all mistakenly called "executive orders," there are technically three types of presidential actions — orders, memoranda, and proclamations. Each has different authority and effects, with executive orders holding the most prestige.

Here's what the other 90 presidential actions Trump issued in his first 100 days were about:

32 executive orders

Executive orders are assigned numbers and published in the federal register, similar to laws passed by Congress, and typically direct members of the executive branch to follow a new policy or directive. Trump issued 32 orders.

See the full text of Trump's orders from the White House here »

28 presidential memoranda

Presidential memoranda do not have to be published or numbered (though they can be) and usually delegate tasks that Congress has already assigned the president to members of the executive branch. Trump issued 28 memoranda.

See the full text of Trump's memos from the White House here »

30 proclamations

While some proclamations — like President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation — have carried enormous weight, most are ceremonial observances of federal holidays or awareness months. Trump issued 30 proclamations.

See the full text of Trump's proclamations from the White House here »

Many more than his predecessors

Scholars have typically used the number of executive orders per term to measure how much presidents have exercised their power. George Washington signed eight his entire time in office, according to the American Presidency Project, while FDR signed more than 3,700.

In his two terms, Obama issued 277 executive orders, a total number on par with his modern predecessors, but the lowest per-year average (35) in 120 years. Trump signed 32 executive orders in 100 days.

As major legislation supporting his agenda slowly moves through Congress, Trump has continued to use the presidential pen to advance his campaign promises.

What Trump's executive orders in his first 100 days were actually about

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