A heavy "paperwork" burden has fallen on the new US president! Shortly after his inauguration, Donald Trump was faced with nearly 200 executive orders to sign.

First, Trump rescinded 78 "harmful" executive orders signed by former President Joe Biden and pardoned around 1,500 people convicted for the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Then the Republican president declared a state of emergency at the US borders due to a surge in illegal immigration from Mexico.

Upon taking office, Donald Trump signed roughly 200 executive actions, memorandums, and proclamations.

The first to be addressed were several appointments within the White House administration. Nine more orders were signed during the inauguration parade held at Washington's Capital One Arena. No time wasted!

Of the 78 Joe Biden executive orders that Trump deemed "harmful," 17 were signed in January 2025. Most notably, Biden removed Cuba from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism, a designation it had held since 2021.

At the Capital One Arena stage, Trump signed an order freezing the hiring of federal civilian employees. He also pushed back on former President Joe Biden's move to allow federal employees to work remotely, a practice widely adopted by the previous administration during the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, Trump formally directed the federal government to restore freedom of speech in the United States and end censorship.

After the inauguration parade, Trump arrived at the White House and resumed work in the Oval Office. The first order he signed pardoned nearly 1,500 people convicted of crimes related to the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. The new president also declared a national emergency at the US borders because of increasing illegal immigration from Mexico.

What is more, Trump ordered US military forces to curb illegal immigration at the southern border and ended the so-called "catch-and-release" practice. The rule required law enforcement to release detained illegal immigrants while their cases were pending in immigration court. Trump also reinstated his "Remain in Mexico" program that requires migrants seeking asylum to remain in Mexico until their US immigration court date. Besides, the 47th president ordered the construction of a new section of the border wall with Mexico.

In the Oval Office, Trump also documented an executive order to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO). Furthermore, he halted all foreign assistance programs for 90 days for review.

Amid this flurry of paperwork, financial markets were particularly jittery. However, their concerns proved unfounded: despite his threats, Trump has not yet imposed tariffs on foreign imports. However, he did announce the possibility of raising tariff rates to 25% for Canada and Mexico. Chinese markets also received some relief, as Trump held off on imposing his promised tariffs on China.