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What are Trump’s most and least popular executive actions? Here’s what a poll found

Which of President Donald Trump’s executive orders are the most — and least — popular? Here’s what a new Morning Consult poll found.
Which of President Donald Trump’s executive orders are the most — and least — popular? Here’s what a new Morning Consult poll found. Photo from Tabrez Syed, UnSplash

President Donald Trump is implementing his agenda at a breakneck pace, having issued dozens of executive orders in just a matter of days.

Among the actions he took were declaring an emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border, withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement and pardoning Jan. 6 rioters.

What do Americans think of these policies? They’re a mixed bag, according to new polling.

The latest Morning Consult poll found that, when asked about nine executive orders, a majority of respondents approved of three of them.

Fifty-seven percent of respondents said they supported Trump’s emergency declaration at the southern border, making it the most popular policy. Following that, 55% said they approved of the president’s return-to-office mandate for federal employees and his order recognizing sex by assignment at birth.

Of the remaining six orders, four received neither a majority in favor or opposition.

Conducted between Jan. 24 and 26, the poll sampled 2,303 registered voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

Forty-five percent said they supported Trump’s order “ending affirmative action for federal hiring,” while 35% were opposed. Forty-five percent also favored “instructing (the) DOJ to investigate companies’ DEI policies,” while 39% were opposed.

The most contentious actions were Trump’s bid to end birthright citizenship, which has been temporarily blocked by a federal judge — with 43% in favor and 45% opposed — and his withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement — with 42% in favor and 40% opposed.


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Meanwhile, the last two executive orders included in the poll were disapproved by a slim majority of respondents.

Fifty-one percent said they opposed Trump’s pardoning of about 1,500 Jan. 6 rioters, while 41% were in favor. And 52% said they were against Trump’s reversal of former President Joe Biden’s drug pricing order, while just 30% were in favor.

Additionally, this was the sole order that failed to receive a majority approval among Republican respondents — with 49% expressing favor and 27% saying they were opposed.

Every other order was approved by at least two-thirds of Republicans, with the border emergency declaration being the most popular, with 84% in favor.

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This story was originally published January 31, 2025 at 9:35 AM with the headline "What are Trump’s most and least popular executive actions? Here’s what a poll found."

BR
Brendan Rascius
McClatchy DC
Brendan Rascius is a McClatchy national real-time reporter covering politics and international news. He has a master’s in journalism from Columbia University and a bachelor’s in political science from Southern Connecticut State University.
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