What Trump has done since returning to the White House
The US President Donald Trump gestures on the day he signs the freedom of speech executive order during inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena on the inauguration day of his second presidential term, in Washington, US January 20, 2025. - REUTERS
U.S. President Donald Trump has signed a blizzard of executive orders and taken other actions since being sworn in on Monday on scores of issues that could have an impact on the lives of millions of Americans and non-citizens.
The orders aim to meet campaign promises on illegal immigration, the size of the federal workforce, energy and the environment, gender and diversity policies, and pardons for supporters jailed for the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Here are some of the actions that Trump has taken so far.
IMMIGRATION
Trump declared a national emergency on the U.S.-Mexico border and issued a broad ban on asylum for migrants "engaged in the invasion across the southern border."
He instructed the Defense Department to make it a priority to seal the border and to support border wall construction, detention space and migrant transportation. He also empowered the defense secretary to send troops to the border as needed.
Trump ordered the suspension of refugee admissions into the U.S. All refugee travel to the U.S. was canceled on Tuesday, including that of nearly 1,660 Afghans cleared to resettle in America.
He called for reviving the "Remain in Mexico" policy, which requires non-Mexican asylum seekers to wait in Mexico pending the resolution of their U.S. cases. Trump's administration said on Tuesday that it had been restarted.
He instructed the attorney general to seek capital punishment against immigrants without legal status who commit crimes such as murder that are potentially punishable by death.
He issued an order to end birthright citizenship to children born in the U.S. if neither their mother or father is a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident. People born on U.S. soil are granted citizenship under the U.S. Constitution and Democratic state attorneys general and advocates have already launched lawsuits over the issue.
Trump kicked off a process to designate criminal cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and to utilize a 1798 law known as the Alien Enemies Act against foreign gang members.
CUTTING THE SIZE OF THE FEDERAL WORKFORCE
Trump ordered federal workers back to the office fulltime and agencies to take steps to halt remote work arrangements.
He issued a freeze on federal hiring, except for military, immigration enforcement, national security and public safety jobs.
He reinstated his first-term Schedule F executive order, which would strip potentially tens of thousands of government workers of employment protections and make them easier to fire.
In a memo from the acting director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management on Monday, agency heads were asked to identify by Friday employees on probationary periods, or who have served less than two years. Such employees are easier to fire.
GOVERNMENT DIVERSITY PROGRAMS AND GENDER ISSUES
Trump signed an order calling for the elimination of government diversity programs. That includes the ending of all federal offices and jobs related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
In a memo released on Tuesday the Trump administration said that all federal DEI office staff would be placed on paid leave by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, because their offices were being closed down.
The order directs the administration to review which federal contractors have provided DEI training materials to government agencies and revokes the Equal Employment Opportunity order signed in 1965 by then-President Lyndon B. Johnson.
Trump rescinded an order from the administration of former Democratic President Joe Biden that allowed transgender people to serve in the military.
He signed an order to "recognize two sexes, male and female" on official documents. "These sexes are not changeable and grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality," the order stated.
Trump directed agencies to stop using gender identity or preferred pronouns.
EXPANDING ENERGY PRODUCTION
Trump declared a national energy emergency to expand energy production, scrap regulations, and end rules aimed at expediting a transition to electric vehicles.
He signed orders aimed at promoting oil and gas development in Alaska, reversing Biden's efforts to protect Arctic lands and U.S. coastal waters from drilling, suspending offshore wind lease sales, and lifting a freeze on liquid natural gas export permitting.
PARIS CLIMATE PACT
Trump ordered the U.S. to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, placing the world's top historic emitter of greenhouse gases outside the global pact aimed at pushing nations to tackle climate change. Trump took the same action in his first term, a move which Biden reversed.
WITHDRAWAL FROM WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
Trump ordered his administration to begin the process of withdrawing from the World Health Organization, saying the global health agency had mishandled the COVID-19 pandemic and other international health crises.
JAN. 6 PARDONS
Trump pardoned about 1,500 of his supporters who attacked the U.S. Capitol four years ago, the vast majority of those convicted in relation to the riot. Those pardoned included leaders of the far-right groups the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys.
TIKTOK AND DOGE
Trump signed an executive order seeking to delay by 75 days the enforcement of a ban of popular short-video app TikTok that was slated to be shuttered on Jan. 19.
He formally established an advisory group called the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), aimed at carrying out dramatic cuts to the U.S. government, attracting immediate lawsuits challenging its operations.
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