Average executive orders published per year of each presidency since Clinton, from Federal Register records. Rates ran from 35 to 55 per year for five of these six terms; see the table for exact figures. The second Trump term is ongoing and annualized.
Historical context outside this window: before Clinton, usage ran higher, Carter ~80/yr, and the all-time modern record belongs to FDR (~3,726 orders, ~307/yr) governing through the Depression and WWII, with Truman at ~117/yr. Usage then declined for six decades as policymaking shifted into agency rulemaking, memoranda, and guidance. Trump II is the first reversal of that trend, and the highest rate since Franklin Roosevelt.
What this does and doesn't measure: executive orders are one instrument among several, memoranda, proclamations, and agency rules do similar work without appearing here (Obama's DACA was a memo). Orders also vary enormously in weight: a ceremonial renaming and a global tariff regime each count as one. Volume alone cannot distinguish energetic administration from overreach; pairing with court-block rates is required for that question. Trump II's first-year total (about 230) was the most in a president's first year since the Franklin Roosevelt era, and its rate is annualized from a partial term, early-term bursts are normal, so the full-term figure will likely settle lower. Notably, this reliance on unilateral action has occurred while the president's party controlled both chambers of Congress.
Sources: Federal Register, Executive Orders disposition tables (retrieved Aug 2026); the American Presidency Project's executive orders table for pre-Clinton rates; Ballotpedia; States United Democracy Center (Jan 2026). Trump II updated Oct 2026 (289 orders through Oct 5, 2026); Truman comparison corrected Oct 2026.