presidential memorandum

noun

A legally binding directive issued by the President of the United States, typically requiring one or more government agencies to carry out specified actions or to commence a regulatory process.

Meanings

presidential memorandum1

nounpresidential memorandum (plural presidential memoranda)

plural presidential memoranda · alternative Presidential Memorandum

  1. USgovernmentA legally binding directive issued by the President of the United States, typically requiring one or more government agencies to carry out specified actions or to commence a regulatory process.

    14, edited by L. Galambos and D. van Ee, Part II, Chapter 5, Document #373, p. 461 (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996). © 1996 The Johns Hopkins University Press, used by permission. This presidential memorandum ...

    2013, Daniel M. Shea, Brian M. Harward, Presidential Campaigns: Documents Decoded, ABC-CLIO, →ISBN, page 14
    4 more examples

    17 The Council on Economic Policy, established in February 1973 by Richard Nixon, was formally created by presidential memorandum, generally considered less prestigious than an executive order. The September 19 Haig memorandum to ...

    1982, Roger B. Porter, Presidential Decision Making: The Economic Policy Board, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 41

    Not surprisingly, agencies faced with massive hiring have concerns about making the process both faster and more user-friendly, and the presidential memorandum responds to those concerns quite concretely. As we saw earlier, currently, ...

    2015, Norma M. Riccucci, Public Personnel Management, Routledge, →ISBN, page 143

    ... US assistance to refugees, presidential memorandum (4/21/99), 9510-1.375 Kosovo, conflict between Serbia authorities and ethnic Albanians, US emergency refugee admissions, presidential memorandum (4/30/99), 9510-1.394 Kosovo, ...

    1999, American Foreign Policy and Treaty Index

    year unknown, Obama Administation’s Open Government Initiative: Issues for Congress, DIANE Publishing →ISBN The presidential memorandum included a series of staggered deadlines for implementing each part of the directive. Both the Administration and private organizations have examined federal agency efforts to meet the OGD's requirements.

    Synonyms: presidential letter

Presidential Memorandum2

nounPresidential Memorandum (plural Presidential Memoranda)

plural Presidential Memoranda

  1. Alternative letter-case form of presidential memorandum.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA legally binding directive issued by the President of the United States, typically requiring one or more government agencies to carry out specified actions or to commence a regulatory process.

Cite this entry
APA

presidential memorandum. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/presidential%20memorandum

MLA

“presidential memorandum.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/presidential%20memorandum. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “presidential memorandum,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/presidential%20memorandum.

Source: presidential memorandum on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.