President Donald Trump signed 32 executive orders in his first 100 days.

Presidential usage of executive orders has varied wildly throughout history. George Washington issued eight. Wartime presidents have issued the most, like Franklin Delano Roosevelt (with nearly 4,000) and Woodrow Wilson (nearly 2,000). Modern presidents since John F. Kennedy have issued nearly 300 on average, with Barack Obama issuing the fewest on average for a two-term president since Grover Cleveland.

In a political system designed to separate powers across three branches of government in order to block any one of them from gaining too much authority, the president uses the executive order at his own peril. Because executive orders provide presidents with the ability to advance policy unilaterally, leaders who use them risk appearing too dictatorial or, at least, end up being forced to accept blame if a policy becomes unpopular.

Here's where President Donald Trump stands on the issuing of executive orders in relation to his predecessors. We’ll track them here throughout his first 100 days in office.

Published: Monday, May 1, 2017 10:00 AM EST