Page 1 of 3
West Virginia Attorney General’s Office Analysis
of the Biden Administration First 100 Days:
Executive Orders and Suits by States
In his inaugural address, President Biden declared that “[h]istory, faith, and reason
show the way, the way of unity” and that “without unity, there is no peace, only bitterness
and fury.” However, in the first 100 days of his administration, President Biden issued an
unprecedented flurry of executive orders. In response, States have filed an equally
unprecedented number of lawsuits against him. This analysis details the unusual extent of
Biden’s executive orders and suits against him filed by States during the first 100 days.
According to West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, the analysis shows
“Biden’s actions represent the opposite of unity and a failure to deliver on his promise of
bipartisanship.” He added: “As we said when he took office in the letter to President
Biden from State Attorneys General led by West Virginia, ‘we will not hesitate to step up
to the plate when our States are harmed.’ While President Biden has not lived up to his
promise of moderation, we lived up to our promise that we will defend our States against
presidential malfeasance.”
In the first 100 days, no recent President came close to the number and volume of
executive orders issued by President Biden.
Executive Orders in the First 100 Days
Clinton 13 Executive Orders 25 pages
Bush 12 Executive Orders 27 pages
Obama 19 Executive Orders 68 pages
Trump 33 Executive Orders 103 pages
Biden 42 Executive Orders 163 pages
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
110
120
130
140
150
160
170
Clinton Bush Obama Trump Biden
Executive Orders in the First 100 Days
Number of Orders Total Pages
Page 2 of 3
Using executive orders to make major policy changes without Congress or the bare
minimum notice and comment procedures for reasoned executive rulemaking is a recipe
for divisive mistakes, not unity. Unsurprisingly, as a direct result of the President Biden’s
hasty and divisive unilateralism, States have already, in just the first 100 days, filed an
extensive array of lawsuits against the administration for violations of federal laws and
arbitrary and capricious executive actions, such as killing the Keystone XL pipeline and
halting all fossil fuel leasing on federal lands.
By comparison, President Trump was sued by States during his first 100 days only
twice, both relating to the same policy regarding restrictions on immigration from certain
countries into the United States. See Washington v. Trump, W. D. Wash., No. 17-141
(Jan. 30, 2017); Hawai’i v. Trump, D. Hawaii, No. 17-50 (Feb. 3, 2017).
President Biden was sued by States in his first 100 days at least 18 times over 13
different divisive policies:
Violation of Immigration Enforcement Agreement
Census Data Release Delay
100 Day Removal Pause
Social Cost of Carbon Order (2 lawsuits)
Keystone XL Pipeline Revocation
Federal Fossil Fuel Leasing Moratorium
Tax Cut Ban (4 lawsuits)
Criminal Alien Custody Refusal (2 lawsuits)
Termination of Border Wall and Remain in Mexico Policy
Migrant Protection Protocols Revocation
Indefinite Cruise Ship Ban
Disregard of COVID-19 Immigration Restrictions
Mount Rushmore July 4th Restrictions
In addition, after President Biden issued a sweeping and radical commitment under
the Paris Agreement that the United States will cut greenhouse gas emissions in half in
just a few short years by 2030, 19 States led by West Virginia responded swiftly by filing a
petition for writ of certiorari in the United States Supreme Court on a key legal issue that
could cut off at the pass any attempt to impose Biden’s climate agenda by executive fiat.
The States urge the Supreme Court to take up and reverse a lower court decision that
would give EPA virtually unlimited authority to “decarbonize” the American economy.
The first 100 days of Biden’s administration has shown that the country cannot afford to
give such expansive powers to the President.
Page 3 of 3
The unprecedented reliance on executive orders and the number of lawsuits filed by
States and other key legal actions in the first 100 days stands in stark contrast to
promises of “unity” made by President Biden in his inaugural address and during his
campaign. Over use of executive orders to make policy instead of working with Congress
is an indication of a divisive agenda, and failure to even engage in notice and comment
rulemaking before taking significant executive action reflects undue haste and an
unfortunate closed-minded disregard for public input.
Under the Constitution, States harmed by executive unilateralism can seek redress in
federal court. As their State’s chief legal officers, Attorneys General will play a key role in
providing a “check” on the Biden Administration going forward, just as they have already
in the first 100 days.
