Nationally, state governors issued 47 executive orders from July 31-Aug. 13. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) led the field with 15, followed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) with 11. Governors in 32 states issued the fewest orders with zero.
Governors use executive orders to manage executive branch operations. The last two weeks’ executive orders account for 5% of the year-to-date total of 1,007. Again, Kemp leads with 323 orders issued since Jan. 1, followed by DeSantis with 158 and New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) with 116.
Governors have been issuing an average of 31 executive orders per week so far this year. This figure is more than the 2022 weekly average of 30.
Georgia and Florida lead in the number of executive orders issued for two reasons: unlike most states, in Georgia, the governor uses executive orders to appoint and reappoint members of state boards and judges. In Florida, also unlike most states, the governor uses executive orders for state attorney executive assignments.
Governors in 20 states have issued fewer than five orders since the start of the year, and those in Alaska, Mississippi, and Texas have yet to issue any orders so far. In states with a Republican trifecta, governors issued 632 orders, while governors in states with a Democratic trifecta issued 275. A trifecta is when one political party holds the governorship and majorities in both chambers of the state legislature. In states where neither party holds trifecta control, governors issued 100 orders.
