Sweeping Executive Actions Signify Trump’s Priorities in Second Term.
As President Donald Trump took office for his second term, he wasted no time in setting the tone for his administration’s agenda. Within hours of being sworn in, the newly minted president signed a series of executive orders that targeted a wide range of policy areas, from immigration and energy to national security and the federal workforce.
One of Trump’s first moves was to halt 78 executive actions implemented during the previous Biden administration, signaling a clear departure from the policies of his predecessor.
This was followed by a regulatory freeze, preventing bureaucrats from issuing new regulations until the Trump administration had full control of the government.
Trump also signed orders that would require federal workers to return to full-time, in-person work, effectively ending work-from-home policies. Additionally, he imposed a hiring freeze on federal employees, with the exception of the military and a few other essential sectors.
On the immigration front, Trump declared a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border, ordering the deployment of troops to address what he described as a “disastrous invasion.”
He also signed an order to end automatic birthright citizenship for children of non-permanent residents, although this order faces legal challenges as birthright citizenship is enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.
Fulfilling a campaign promise, Trump ordered the U.S. to begin the process of withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement. He also invoked emergency powers to expand domestic energy production by reversing climate-related policies and facilitating oil, gas, and mining activities.
One of the most controversial moves made by Trump on his first day in office was the full pardon of approximately 1,500 individuals charged in connection with the January 6th, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. This executive order, signed in the Oval Office, also commuted the sentences of 14 people.
Trump’s flurry of executive actions touched on a wide range of other areas, including a directive to address the cost of living crisis, a restoration of “freedom of speech” and an end to the “weaponization of government,” as well as orders related to TikTok, tariffs, asylum and refugees, the death penalty, and the World Health Organization.
