President Donald Trump announced Friday that he is cancelling executive orders signed by President Joe Biden using an autopen.
An autopen is a device used by presidents to sign official documents when they are unavailable to sign in person. Trump and past presidents, including Barack Obama, have used autopens for official business. However, Trump claimed Biden’s use of the device was improper and said it should invalidate many of his executive orders.
“Any document signed by Sleepy Joe Biden with the Autopen, which was approximately 92% of them, is hereby terminated, and of no further force or effect,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I am hereby cancelling all Executive Orders, and anything else that was not directly signed by Crooked Joe Biden, because the people who operated the Autopen did so illegally.”
Biden’s team has not immediately responded to the announcement. The former president has previously defended his use of the autopen, stating in June: “I made the decisions about the pardons, executive orders, legislation, and proclamations. Any suggestion that I didn’t is ridiculous and false.”
There is no public record showing exactly how many documents Biden signed via autopen. Past presidents, including Obama, have used the device to sign important documents while traveling. Biden, for instance, reportedly used the autopen to approve a federal aviation funding extension while on the West Coast in 2024, according to CNN.
Last month, House Republicans claimed executive actions signed via Biden’s autopen “without proper, corresponding, contemporaneous, written approval traceable to the president’s own consent” were invalid. They also called on the Department of Justice to investigate the matter.
Trump continued in his Truth Social post, stating that Biden was not personally involved in the autopen process. “If he says he was, he will be brought up on charges of perjury,” Trump wrote. Perjury involves lying under oath, though Biden has not testified publicly under oath regarding the autopen.
Experts note that autopens are a common administrative tool used by multiple administrations to maintain the flow of government business. While Trump’s cancellation statement is politically significant, its legal authority remains unclear, as presidential powers to nullify the actions of a predecessor are limited by law.
The announcement adds to ongoing disputes between Trump and Biden over executive authority and the handling of presidential records. It also raises questions about how executive actions signed via autopen will be treated legally, especially those affecting federal programs, funding, and policy decisions.
Trump’s move is part of a broader pattern of reviewing and reversing policies enacted during Biden’s presidency. Legal scholars and government officials are likely to monitor the situation closely to determine whether any of the cancelled orders can be challenged in court or reinstated.
