Executive Order Watch

Federal policies shape the environments that determine whether people and communities can live healthy lives. Since Donald Trump took office for his second term as president on January 20, 2025, he has signed a series of Executive Orders (EOs), many of which impact public health. Public health has been described as "the science of protecting and improving the health of people and their communities." Public health practitioners do this through programs that monitor and prevent disease, promote wellness, and protect communities from environmental hazards, among other actions. The core functions of public health, as described by the 10 Essential Public Health Services framework, are assessment, policy development, and assurance, with equity at the heart of each of these functions. Public health is a vital social practice, and, to effectively serve its purpose, it must be supported at every level of government. The EOs listed below target prescription drugs, gender identity, environmental conditions, COVID-19 safety measures, reproductive health, and more. These EOs often undermine evidence-based approaches and decades of hard-earned progress, and many are anticipated to be detrimental to the public's health, particularly for historically marginalized communities and initiatives. Actions by the Trump administration, including those related to these EOs, have prompted a multitude of legal challenges.

The Network has compiled the list below to identify the 2025 EOs most relevant to the public health space through a lens of Health in All Policies (HiAP). HiAP is defined as "a collaborative approach to improving the health of all people by incorporating health considerations into decision-making across sectors and policy areas." This approach acknowledges that many policies that impact the conditions in which we work, play, educate, worship, and live (also known as the social determinants of health) are implemented outside of public health agencies. HiAP makes clear that to advance the health of our communities and our nation, public health consequences must inform the development and implementation of all laws and policies, not just those that center on health. The list below summarizes each EO included and provides some information on how each may impact public health.

While the Network recognizes that all of the EOs will have effects across numerous, intersecting areas, for ease of reference, each EO has been assigned one or more topics that capture its primary focus. An index at the end of this resource groups the EOs by topic and lists page numbers so that readers can easily find summaries of interest. The topics aim not to diminish the EOs' import and reach but rather to support readers looking to learn more about the EOs targeting a given area. EOs are listed as "Multi-Topic" if they target a wide range of themes (e.g., by rescinding dozens of previous executive actions across a plethora of topics).

The list of 2025 Federal EOs below is not exhaustive.