How a bill becomes law … or not. We are approaching the 100th day of President Donald Trump’s presidency. Trump and Republican congressional leaders often claim his new administration has been the most productive in recent memory.
Except when it comes to passing laws.
Trump has signed fewer bills into law at this point in his presidency than any new president taking office for the last seven decades, according to government records.
Trump has signed just five bills into law so far: three Congressional Review Act resolutions overturning Biden-era regulations, the Laken Riley Act and a stopgap funding bill needed to avoid a government shutdown last month.
Congress actually passed the Laken Riley Act before Trump took office, but the GOP leadership held it so former President Joe Biden wouldn’t be able to sign it into law.
Trump’s 100-day mark is officially April 30. But Congress will be out until April 28. So this is as good a time as any to judge the legislative prowess of the Republican trifecta.
Consider this:
By this point in 2017, Trump had signed 24 bills into law.
By this point in Biden’s presidency, he’d signed seven bills into law.
In 2009, Barack Obama had signed 11 bills into law by now.
In 2001, George W. Bush had signed seven bills into law.
In 1993, Bill Clinton had signed 21 bills into law.
At this point in 1989, George H.W. Bush had signed 13 bills into law.
In 1981, Ronald Reagan had signed nine bills into law by now.
Jimmy Carter had signed 19 bills into law by now in 1977.
Richard Nixon had signed eight bills into law by this time in 1969.
John F. Kennedy signed 20 bills into law by the end of March 1961.
Dwight D. Eisenhower had also signed 20 bills into law by this time in 1953.
There are many reasons this Congress has been historically unproductive on the legislative front.
– Speaker Mike Johnson has a historically small majority. In 2017, for example, then Speaker Paul Ryan had 246 Republicans in the House GOP conference when Trump started his term. In 2009, Obama had 256 Democrats serving alongside then Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
– Trump has done a tremendous amount through executive orders. He has signed 124 executive orders since taking office. They cover issues ranging from energy policy, TikTok’s ownership, combating “unfair practices in the live entertainment market” and threatening to withdraw security clearances for lawyers at law firms that tangled with Trump.
In fact, with the Republican-run Congress doing almost nothing to push back, Trump has stretched his authority far more than any recent president, resulting in a wave of lawsuits that are working their way through federal courts.
– House Republicans employed a procedural tactic to prevent lawmakers from challenging Trump’s use of emergency powers to place new tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China. When some Republicans, including several GOP senators, threatened to get behind a bill that would reassert congressional authority over tariffs, the White House threatened a veto while Speaker Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune bashed the proposal.
– Trump has used DOGE and Elon Musk to launch his layoffs of tens of thousands of federal employees. Trump-appointed Cabinet officials – in some cases after bruising confirmation fights – have gone along with Trump’s efforts on this front.
– Republican congressional leaders have spent most of their time and energy on reconciliation. House and Senate Republicans have passed two slightly different budget proposals. Republicans expect to spend the next six weeks or so crafting a legislative vehicle that will carry the bulk of the president’s domestic agenda.
