Executive orders
President George Washington EO 1
The very first presidential directive that fits the modern definition of an executive order was issued by George Washington on June 8, 1789.
George Washington did order dinnerware (imported French and Chinese porcelain, which he chose and paid for using normal government funds) but not as executive directives. The tradition of a president ordering a custom, official "State China Service" didn't even begin until James Monroe ordered the first official set in 1817.
Officially numbered from Civil War
In 1907, the Department of State decided to bring order to a chaotic century of paperwork by retroactively numbering presidential documents. They chose to start their numbering system with a Civil War-era order.
So, the official first Executive Order 1 was retroactively assigned to a directive signed by Abraham Lincoln on October 20, 1862. It was used to establish a provisional court system in Louisiana during the Union occupation of the state following the outbreak of the Civil War.
President Harry S Truman
President Harry S. Truman in 1945. Truman issued an executive order to standardize the Presidential Seal. He ordered that the eagle's head face toward the olive branches (representing peace) rather than the arrows (representing war).
When the Trumans ordered 1,572 pieces of Lenox china for the White House in 1951, the new design from that executive order was engraved in gold on the plates.
President John F Kennedy
The primary block of original National Emergency Preparedness Orders issued by President John F. Kennedy on February 16, 1962, consists of ten sequential executive orders numbered 10995 through 11005.
National Emergency Preparedness Orders
• EO 10995: Telecommunications management • EO 10996: Continuity of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) • EO 10997: Emergency preparedness for electric power, petroleum, gas, and solid fuels (Department of the Interior) • EO 10998: Emergency food resources and farm equipment management (Department of Agriculture) • EO 10999: Emergency transportation and industrial production controls (Department of Commerce) • EO 11000: Civilian manpower mobilization and emergency labor management (Department of Labor) • EO 11001: Civilian health, welfare services, and educational programs (Department of Health, Education, and Welfare) • EO 11002: The national emergency registration system (Postmaster General) • EO 11003: Emergency civil aviation and airport management (Federal Aviation Agency) • EO 11004: Housing and community facilities (Housing and Home Finance Agency) • EO 11005: Emergency interstate commerce and rail/highway transport (Interstate Commerce Commission
Executive Order 11490 . 12656
President Richard Nixon consolidated them all on October 28, 1969, into a single document: Executive Order 11490. Later, President Ronald Reagan updated this master blueprint into Executive Order 12656, which remains the foundational rule for agency continuity today.
President Clinton EO 13083
- President Clinton's new Executive Orders [13083 May 14, 1998][1], from the office of the Press Secretary in Birmingham, England, entitled Federalism, is a major step towards rendering state legislatures to a mostly ceremonial status, with most major laws ("policies") enacted or controlled and run by federal agencies. (See https://preparingyou.com/wiki/Ekklesia_10#President_Clinton Clinton's E.O.13083
Trump concerned about election interference
During Donald Trump's first term (2017–2021) he did not directly amend or repeal the primary national emergency preparedness frameworks until the very end of his time in the White House.
Governance and Integration of Federal Mission Resilience
The E.O. "Governance and Integration of Federal Mission Resilience," is a national security directive signed by President Donald Trump on December 7, 2020.
- Proactive Resilience vs. Relocation
- Addressing Diverse Threat Conditions:
- Centralized Leadership
- Interagency Coordination
On December 7, 2020, when he felt compelled to sign the Executive Order on Governance and Integration of Federal Mission Resilience(13961).[2]
This new order supposedly modernized the exact continuity-of-government (COG) frameworks that Kennedy's early orders had originated. Trump extensively used the National Emergencies Act of 1976 to declare his own targeted national emergencies.
Executive Order 13961 of 2020
Normally a declarations of a "National Emergency" would automatically expire after one year under the National Emergencies Act of 1976 unless the president explicitly extends them. Some suggest that organizational and policy executive orders remain active permanently until a president chooses to change or revoke them despite there were at least 8 provisions in EO 13961.
Executive Order 13961 seems to have remained quietly active in the background for nearly Biden's entire time in the White House. The confusion may stem from two major events at the tail end of the administration or was simply beyond anyone's awareness and overlooked until Sunday, January 19, 2025, when Joe Biden signed a new Executive Order 14146 at the last minute.
Executive Order 13848 of 2018
Before EO 13961 was signed EO 13848 was signed on September 12, 2018, that declares a national emergency to deal with the threat of foreign interference in United States elections.
- Some Key Provisions
- National Emergency: Declared under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to target foreign threats aimed at undermining public confidence in or interfering with U.S. elections.
- Intelligence Assessments:
- Requires the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) to conduct an assessment of any foreign interference within 45 days after a U.S. election.
- Infrastructure Reports: Directs the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security to evaluate and report on any material effects on election infrastructure within 45 days of receiving the DNI's assessment.
- Sanctions & Blocking: Empowers the Treasury Department—in consultation with the State Department, Justice Department, and Department of Homeland Security—to freeze assets, block property, and restrict financial transactions or entry into the U.S. for foreign persons determined to be complicit in or supportive of election interference.
- Recommendations: Calls for joint recommendations from cabinet agencies regarding additional targeted or sector-specific sanctions against major foreign entities involved in interference.
Executive Order 14146 last minute Partial Revocation
In the "Partial Revocation of Executive Order 13961"[2] (EO 14146) Biden supposedly explicitly revoked, on the 19th of January using Executive Order 14146, titled "Partial Revocation of Executive Order 13961," Sections 1, 3, 4, 5, and 7 of the original 8-section Trump order (EO 13961).[2]
These sections originally dictated how the executive branch structured its top-down federal continuity and emergency preparedness planning.
He kept the remaining 3 provisions (Sections 2, 6, and 8), renumbering them as Sections 1, 2, and 3.
He altered the remaining text to align national security infrastructure with a newly established Restricted Principals Committee under a National Security Memorandum issued that same weekend.
President Trump, rather than just revoking Biden’s last-minute partial order (Executive Order 14146), Trump ordered a comprehensive review ...
Trump introduced his own comprehensive National Resilience Strategy and established a National Risk Register.
Under the National Emergencies Act[3], presidential declarations of a national emergency expire automatically after one year unless renewed.
President Biden appears to have continued to extend Executive Order 13848.
There was an extension by Trump enacted on August 31, 2026 (extending the emergency through September 12, 2027).
The original enforcement mechanisms, report requirements, and sanctions framework established in 2018 remain exactly the same.
Biden's notices accompanying the extensions maintain that foreign entities continue to exploit digital and internet communications to threaten U.S. election infrastructure, making the continuation necessary.
Flurry of final directives
Supposedly, Biden issued a flurry of unrelated final directives regarding cybersecurity standards and artificial intelligence in his final days, EO 13848 remained completely untouched by his office.
President Biden is recorded as signing a final-weekend directive that explicitly revoked exactly 5 of 8 provisions from a previous executive order 13961.
While the official document was finalized on the morning of January 19, 2025 (part of his final batch of weekend actions before leaving office), it perfectly matches your description. Through Executive Order 14146, titled "Partial Revocation of Executive Order 13961", Biden targeted a Trump-era directive from 2020 regarding "Federal Mission Resilience" and national continuity governance. What the Order Did:
- The 5 Revoked Provisions: Biden explicitly revoked Sections 1, 3, 4, 5, and 7 of the original 8-section Trump's order (EO 13961). These sections originally dictated how the executive branch structured its top-down federal continuity and emergency preparedness planning.
- The 3 Retained Provisions: He kept the remaining 3 provisions (Sections 2, 6, and 8), renumbering them as Sections 1, 2, and 3.
- someone altered the remaining text to align national security infrastructure with a newly established Restricted Principals Committee under a National Security Memorandum issued that same weekend.
This action did not impact the election-related EO 13848, but it altered how the government structures its classified national security survival and continuity operations right before the administration changed hands.
Misinformation about "Continuity of Government" (COG) circulated in online communities widely with posts citing EO 13848.
Executive Order 14152
President Trump signed a new directive, Executive Order 14152, on January 20, 2025 targeting former officials over past election statements. Would you like details on that new order instead?
President Trump did address these exact continuity changes shortly after returning to office, initiating a complete overhaul of how national resilience and emergency preparedness are handled.
Rather than just revoking Biden’s last-minute partial order (Executive Order 14146), Trump ordered a comprehensive review of all previous continuity structures and replaced them with his own strategic vision.
Revokes in one day
Trump revoked nearly 80 of Biden's executive actions on Day One Executive Order 14148 "Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions," is a sweeping directive signed by President Donald Trump on January 20, 2025
Actions on Federal Mission Resilience
Trump's Actions on Federal Mission Resilience:
- The Policy Review: Trump signed a directive ordering the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (APNSA) to review all national continuity policies. This explicitly included Biden's final National Security Memorandum 32 and the leftover components of the "Governance and Integration of Federal Mission Resilience" order.
- The New Framework:
- Following the review, Trump introduced his own comprehensive National Resilience Strategy and established a National Risk Register.
The Strategic Shift:
- Trump’s framework decentralized the top-down Washington structure Biden tried to preserve.
- Trump’s new policy explicitly shifts the heavy reliance for infrastructure defense and emergency continuity onto state and local governments rather than keeping it strictly centralized under federal committees.
Order 14152 extention
President Trump signed a new directive, Executive Order 14152, on January 20, 2025 targeting former officials over past election statements.
The most recent extension enacted on August 31, 2026 (extending the emergency through September 12, 2027).
Executive Order 14239
Executive Order 14239 ("Achieving Efficiency Through State and Local Preparedness"),
Originally signed by President Donald J. Trump on March 18, 2025. The order fundamentally shifts the primary responsibility for disaster preparedness, risk management, and critical infrastructure protection away from broad federal frameworks toward state, local, and individual levels.
Purpose & Strategy Shift
Local-First Preparedness
- The order explicitly states that emergency preparedness is most effectively managed locally rather than via generalized federal mandates.
• Risk-Informed vs. All-Hazards: It shifts federal doctrine away from broad "all-hazards" planning toward highly localized, risk-informed approaches.
Federal only Supporting Role
- The role of the federal government is restructured to be a supporting, accessible coordinator rather than the primary director.
Speech Policy Restrictions
- The order explicitly dictates that the federal government's planning for resilience and infrastructure will exclude any tracking or policing of what the prior administration termed "misinformation" or cognitive infrastructure.
Executive Order 14239 introduces
Executive Order 14239 introduces several operational and structural shifts for critical sectors like energy and cybersecurity. By transitioning national infrastructure policy from a broad federal "all-hazards" framework to a decentralized, local risk-informed approach, the order changes how these sectors plan for and react to emergencies.
Local Response Ownership
Systemically Important Entity (SIE) Designations:
- Revisions to infrastructure policies are changing who is designated as an SIE or part of the National Critical Functions (NCF),
National Risk Register
Creation of the National Risk Register recognizes Energy systems will be categorized as a tool to measure risks specific to local energy regions—such as extreme weather, physical grid attacks, and space weather (geomagnetic storms)—to dictate planning rather than using a "one-size-fits-all".
Unfunded Mandate grid resilience planning to state and locals
The "Unfunded Mandate" Risk: Organizations like the National League of Cities (NLC) are tracking the order closely. Because the EO moves the primary burden of grid resilience planning to state and local levels without fundamentally overhauling federal funding mechanisms, local utility providers face the risk of operational strain trying to meet these planning requirements independently.[4]
Footnotes
- ↑ President Bill Clinton's Executive Orders 13083] signed May 14, 1998, from the office of the Press Secretary in Birmingham, England, entitled Federalism declares the "Federal law," has the supreme power, "to define the moral, political, and legal character of their lives." Sec. 2. (d) "The people of the States are at liberty, subject only to the limitations in the Constitution itself or in Federal law, to define the moral, political, and legal character of their lives."
Federal Government claiming it self as having the supreme powers unless prohibited by the constitution as we see in subsection "(b) The Constitution created a Federal Government of supreme, but limited, powers. The sovereign powers not granted to the Federal Government are reserved to the people or to the States, unless prohibited to the States by the Constitution." seem to contradict the 10 Amendment which limited powers to those delegated to the Federal government by that original Constitution. While it does recognize the "sovereign powers ... reserved to the people" it does mention "unless prohibited to the States by the Constitution". Many fear that the Federal government may deny or disparage rights and powers retained by the people according to the limitations of the 9th amendment. But the question must arise have the people truly retained those rights and responsibilities.
While it went on to say in the same section, "(g) Policies of the Federal Government should recognize the responsibility of--and should encourage opportunities for--States, local governments, private associations, neighborhoods, families, and individuals to achieve personal, social, environmental, and economic objectives through cooperative effort." - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Executive Order 13961 of December 7, 2020 Governance and Integration of Federal Mission Resilience By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the National Security Act of 1947, as amended, I hereby order the following: (EO 13961 With citations)
- ↑ The National Emergencies Act (NEA) of 1976 is a federal law that establishes the framework for how the U.S. President can declare a national emergency and exercise special statutory powers.
provides a formalized system for a president to activate existing statutory emergency powers delegated by other laws (such as the Stafford Act or Defense Production Act) - ↑ Note: While EO 14239 dictates the emergency response and resilience framework for energy systems, it works alongside subsequent 2025 energy mandates—such as separate executive orders restricting foreign-made bulk power components and expanding Federal Power Act emergency powers to secure grid reliability.