ACTING FAST

A survey of some of Trump's first actions in office

- MIRANDA JEYARETNAM AND CHAD DE GUZMAN

CONSTITUTIONALLY, THE president can't create laws, but he does have broad authority to direct how the federal agencies enforce them. And within hours of his Inauguration, President Trump set out to fulfill a number of his campaign promises by using that authority, issuing a spate of presidential actions on everything from the border to federal building architecture. The White House's website lists 46 presidential actions on Jan. 20. The first four were Administration staffing announcements; of the rest, 26 were Executive Orders, 12 were memorandums, and four were proclamations.

What these different types of presidential actions mean and how much authority they each carry isn't always clear. Many are also likely to face swift challenges in court. Here are some of the day-one executive actions to watch.

PROCLAMATION ON FLYING FLAGS AT HALF-STAFF

After former President Jimmy Carter died Dec. 29, President Biden issued a proclamation for flags to be flown at half-staff for 30 days at all public buildings. Trump, however, expressed his displeasure at the idea of flags being flown at half-staff on the day of his Inauguration, prompting Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and a number of Republican governors to order flags to be flown at full-staff on Jan. 20 at the Capitol and state buildings. As his first move back in office, Trump issued a proclamation that ordered flags to be flown at full-staff on all Inauguration Days, including the current one.

EXECUTIVE ORDER RESCINDING PREVIOUS EXECUTIVE ORDERS