President revokes executive actions he claims were signed by former President Biden via autopen, calling them invalid
President
Donald Trump announced on Friday that he is revoking all executive orders and directives issued under former President
Joe Biden that were signed using an autopen — a mechanical signature device that reproduces a handwritten signature.
In a post on his social-media platform, he declared such documents “terminated and of no further force or effect,” asserting that they were signed illegally.
Trump accused Biden of failing to personally approve or sign those orders, labelling him a “fraud” and declaring that the majority of his documents — “around ninety-two percent” by Trump’s estimate — were autopen-signed.
He threatened that if Biden insists he authorized the signature use, he would face perjury charges.
The president did not specify which orders or directives would be rescinded.
The move revives long-standing debate over the legality of autopen use in the presidency.
The autopen has been used by American presidents for decades — including for correspondence, proclamations and sometimes legislation — and a 2005 Department of Justice opinion affirmed that bills signed by autopen are legally valid so long as the president directed the signature.
Legal observers note that while a president may rescind prior executive orders, not all types of presidential documents are revocable — especially those with legally binding effects, such as congressional legislation or pardons.
Moreover, courts have previously accepted autopen-signed documents as valid.
As such, the sweeping cancellation raises immediate questions about how the new administration will treat past policies, pardons or directives previously issued under Biden.
The announcement escalates a broader political offensive in which the current administration seeks to roll back many of its predecessor’s actions.
Whether the cancellations will stand — or be challenged in court — remains uncertain, and the implications for governance, administrative continuity and legal precedent could be profound.