This week marks the 100th day of President Trump's second term, a benchmark that's widely considered the first impression of any administration.
The milestone has its roots in the presidency of Franklin Roosevelt. Within months of taking office in 1933, he signed dozens of bills and executive orders that helped alleviate the nation's financial crisis and set the New Deal in motion.
Roosevelt's first 100 days were so productive that presidents have been evaluated at that point ever since, for their early accomplishments as well as missteps. But there's only so much the first 100 days can tell us.
"Look at Abraham Lincoln … the union literally collapsed during that period and he is today considered one of our greatest presidents," Julian Zelizer, professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University, told NPR's in 2021.
While the first 100 days don't necessarily determine the rest of a president's term, they may foreshadow priorities, achievements and problems to come. And it can be a useful check-in point to see how a president's early actions compare to his predecessors' — and to his own campaign promises.
Trump has hit multiple records for his first 100 days in office, but the rapidity of his actions also highlights the fragility of relying on presidential action to cement core policies.
One hundred days in, here's a look at where the second Trump administration stands on 10 key benchmarks.
Executive orders: 142
President Trump has signed 142 executive orders since Jan. 20, according to the and .
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Trump hit the ground running, signing 37 executive orders in his in office alone (not including other like memorandum and proclamations). He issued his in late March, surpassing Roosevelt's record of 99 in 100 days.
Most of Trump's orders fall into several main categories, according to the : shrinking the federal government, foreign policy and defense, immigration and border security, energy and natural resources, and tariffs.
Several of Trump's executive orders — including those and from military service — are temporarily blocked by courts as lawsuits play out. The Supreme Court will in May about his order seeking to .
Biden orders reversed: over 100
Executive orders can be overturned or modified by future presidents. Many of Trump's early executive actions focused on undoing those of his predecessor, former President Joe Biden.
Within hours of his inauguration, Trump had of Biden's executive actions, largely related to climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic and diversity, equity and inclusion. He has since revoked additional Biden orders on and , among others.
According to the American Presidency Project, as of mid-April, Trump had ordered 111 prior presidential orders revoked, all but five of those from the Biden years.
That's notable because Biden was prolific in overturning orders from the first Trump administration — the project said at Biden's 100-day mark in 2021 that "no recent president has reversed a predecessor's orders as often as Biden has reversed Trump," counting .
"Biden's record-setting has been easily surpassed by Trump 2.0," it writes, adding that the pattern of reversals points to the "fragility of relying on Presidential directives to institutionalize core policy objectives."
Bills signed into law: 5
It's harder for a future president to overturn legislation as opposed to executive orders, meaning it's one way to measure a president's longer-term impact on the country.
Trump has signed just into law, starting with the , which Congress passed just before he took office. The others were a stopgap funding bill and three overturning Biden-era rules.
He broke George W. Bush's record low of seven in 2001, according to .
In contrast, Trump in the first 100 days of his first term in 2017. Biden signed 11 bills into law within , most notably his $1.9 trillion coronavirus .
Lawsuits: Over 200
Many of the Trump administration's actions — not just executive orders — have been challenged in court, particularly those related to its crackdown on immigration and efforts to shrink the federal workforce.
Many are in limbo as rulings and appeals play out, making it difficult to supply a definitive case count.
A litigation tracker from counts 210 legal challenges, including four that are closed, while a lists at least 258.
Approval rating: 42%
Trump's approval rating sits at 42%, down from 45% in March, according to a NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist .
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During his first term, Trump's approval rating never rose higher than 44%. He left office in 2021 with an of 38%, according to a NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist survey. Nearly half of respondents — 47% — said Trump would be remembered as one of the worst presidents in history.
Biden, in contrast, capped off his first 100 days with an his highest since taking office.
But that support was entirely along partisan lines — 93% of Democrats approved of his performance, compared to just 12% of Republicans — and dwindled throughout his presidency. Biden left office with an approval rating of 42%, according to a NPR/PBS News/Marist poll.
Pardons: 39, plus hundreds of Jan. 6 defendants
Trump has issued pardons for 39 named individuals and entities since taking office, according to the .
One of Trump's very first acts as president was to issue a "full, complete and unconditional pardon" to anyone convicted of offenses related to the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
The move pardoned , dozens of whom had .
That proclamation also commuted the sentences of in connection with Jan. 6 — all of whom were linked to the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, extremist groups that planned elements of the attack.
That pardon came hours into Trump's second term. In his first term, Trump did not issue a pardon until , about half a year after taking office. Biden issued his first pardon more than a year into his presidency, in .
Federal layoffs: Tens of thousands
One hallmark of Trump's second term has been his focus on streamlining the federal workforce by creating the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The Elon Musk-led White House office has effectively dismantled multiple agencies, granted itself access to multiple and of tens of thousands of federal workers.
White House press secretary Karoline in February that 75,000 federal workers took the first of two "Fork in the Road" buyout offers.
But it's hard to pinpoint just how many federal workers have left their jobs, either through layoffs or by choice.
Mass layoffs were conducted so haphazardly that some employees were , or had their terminations reversed through various . And, 100 days in, there's little evidence to support officials' claims that DOGE is saving agencies significant money, as .
Immigration: 7,180 March border crossings
Trump's crackdown on immigration has been another defining feature of his term so far, as he ramps up and .
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the recorded just 7,180 southwest border crossings, the lowest number in history and a dramatic drop compared to the monthly average of the previous four years, 155,000.
Southwest border crossings were already on a when Trump took office in January, having after a .
Immigration was a major focus of Trump's campaign, in which he vowed to carry out the largest deportation program in U.S. history. His administration has since arrested, detained and with and without legal status — though not , including from the .
Tariffs: average effective rate of 28%
Trump has also threatened, enacted and delayed a on goods from countries worldwide, with the ensuing uncertainty jolting and sparking fears of a .
The Trump administration enacted a baseline 10% tariff on all imported goods, and 25% tariffs on steel, aluminum, cars and car parts. It also put country-specific tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico, and has until early July to with dozens of other countries.
As of mid-April, the says, U.S. consumers face an average effective tariff rate of 28% — the highest it's been since 1901.
Inflation: 2.4% in March
On the campaign trail, to "end inflation" starting on Day 1. It had been an issue throughout the Biden administration, reaching a of 9% in June 2022, exacerbated by supply chain issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.
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One hundred days in, however, inflation remains an issue. The annual dropped to 2.4% in March, hitting a six-month low. But economists warn that relief could be short-lived, as fallout from Trump's trade war is expected to drive prices up in the coming months.
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