President Trump signed an executive order Monday classifying fentanyl as a “weapon of mass destruction,” declaring it a historic step to protect Americans from the drug’s deadly impact.

In the Oval Office, Trump stated, “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.” He added, “No bomb does what this is doing.” The president noted 200,000 to 300,000 Americans die annually from fentanyl overdoses.

The executive order highlights the drug’s lethality and its role in funding transnational criminal groups designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the Trump administration. Speaking during the signing, Trump reported a 94 percent decline in drugs entering the U.S. by sea—though most illicit substances, including fentanyl, cross the border through land ports of entry—and characterized drug flows as “a direct military threat to the United States of America.”

The administration has allocated significant resources to combat fentanyl as part of border security efforts with Mexico. White House Border Czar Tom Homan stated: “With a secure border, lives are being saved every day, sex trafficking has plummeted, fentanyl has plummeted.” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt added the order 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 executive order directs Attorney General Pam Bondi to immediately investigate and prosecute fentanyl trafficking. It mandates the State Department and Treasury to target assets of drug traffickers and requires Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Bondi to assess whether fentanyl poses threats warranting defense resources. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is tasked with identifying smuggling networks.

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.”

The Department of Homeland Security defines weapons of mass destruction as “radiological, chemical, biological, or other devices that are intended to harm a large number of people.”