President Trump on Monday signed an executive order classifying fentanyl as a “weapon of mass destruction.”
“Today I’m taking one more step to protect Americans from the scourge of deadly fentanyl flooding into our country with this historic executive order,” Trump stated during remarks in the Oval Office.
“No bomb does what this is doing,” he added, noting that 200,000 to 300,000 people die annually from the drug’s effects. The executive order highlights fentanyl’s lethality and its role as a funding mechanism for transnational criminal groups designated by the administration as foreign terrorist organizations.
Speaking in the Oval Office as he signed the order, Trump emphasized that drug flows entering the U.S. by sea have decreased by 94 percent—a decline largely attributed to border security measures. He characterized drug trafficking as “a direct military threat to the United States of America.”
White House Border Czar Tom Homan stated that strict immigration limits and border security initiatives have led to a drop in domestic fentanyl consumption, noting: “With a secure border, lives are being saved every day, sex trafficking has plummeted, fentanyl has plummeted.” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt added: “This is yet another action in President Trump’s crackdown on fentanyl — on behalf of every American who has lost a loved one to this deadly poison.”
The order directs Attorney General Pam Bondi to immediately pursue investigations and prosecutions related to fentanyl trafficking. It mandates the State and Treasury departments to target assets and financial institutions involved in drug trafficking, while requiring Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Bondi to assess whether fentanyl poses threats warranting defense department resources. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is tasked with identifying smuggling networks to support counter-fentanyl operations.
The order states: “Illicit fentanyl is closer to a chemical weapon than a narcotic. Two milligrams, an almost undetectable trace amount equivalent to 10 to 15 grains of table salt, constitutes a lethal dose. Hundreds of thousands of Americans have died from fentanyl overdoses.”