President Trump’s new administration is off to a busy start

Donald Trump was officially inaugurated as America’s 47th President yesterday afternoon, in a ceremony at the US Capitol that featured a 30-minute inaugural address.

Several hours after taking office, Trump began signing a series of 50+ planned executive orders aimed at quickly implementing his agenda across the country and rolling back many of the Biden administration’s policies.

A quick breakdown:

Immigration: Among other things, Trump declared a national emergency at the US-Mexico border, allowed the US military to deploy troops there, reinstated the “Remain in Mexico policy” forcing asylum seekers to stay in Mexico, and declared an end to birthright citizenship. (We’ll be taking a closer look at the immigration-focused orders in tomorrow’s Dose of Discussion.)

Energy and the environment: Trump declared a national energy emergency enabling the federal government to loosen curbs on fossil-fuel exports, remove energy project permits, fast-track power-plant construction, and roll back many of the Biden admin’s policies promoting electric vehicles. He also began withdrawing the US from the 2015 Paris climate agreement for a second time.

Tariffs and trade: Trump directed federal agencies to study trade policies and evaluate America’s current trade relationships with China, Canada, and Mexico – but stopped short of imposing new tariffs on his first day in office.

Gender and DEI initiatives: Trump rolled back federal protections for transgender people, declaring the government only recognizes two immutable sexes: male and female. He also terminated all diversity, equity, and inclusion programs within the federal government.

“America First”: ​​Trump renamed the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. He also reverted the name of North America’s highest mountain from Mount Denali back to Mount McKinley.

👀 Looking ahead…While many of the executive orders take immediate effect, others are directions that Trump’s federal agencies will carry out in the coming weeks and months. Some executive orders are expected to face legal challenges in the near future.