Executive Orders on Day One of Trump’s Presidency

Here is a selection of the orders Trump signed on the first day of his presidency as the 47th president.

Immigration and Border

• A proclamation asserting that “an invasion is ongoing at the southern border,” ensuring state protection against such invasion and invoking executive authority over the increase in illegal immigration.
• An executive order titled “Protecting the American People Against Invasion” in reaction to “the unprecedented admission of illegal aliens” at the southern border.
• Ordering the securing of the southern border using various methods, including constructing a border wall and discontinuing the CBP One app.
• A declaration of a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border.
• A realignment of the U.S. Refugee Admission Program “to better align with American principles and interests.”
• An executive order terminating birthright citizenship.
• Restoration of the death penalty for the murders of federal agents or law enforcement personnel.
• Designating cartels as terrorist organizations.
• Safeguards against foreign terrorists and other risks to national security and public safety linked to the southern border.

Federal Workers

• An order to restructure hiring practices within the federal government based on merit.
• A policy change to simplify the process of terminating ineffective performers within the federal workforce.
• An order holding past officials accountable for election interference and unauthorized disclosures, referring specifically to national security officials who co-signed a letter indicating Hunter Biden’s laptop was Russian disinformation.
• A memorandum mandating that career senior executive officials within the federal government must implement the president’s agenda or face removal.
• A regulatory freeze to prohibit bureaucrats from issuing further regulations until the administration gains full control over the government.
• A federal hiring freeze, with exceptions for military and other specified categories, until the new administration can assess the government’s goals.
• A directive for all federal employees to immediately return to full-time in-person work.

Gender and DEI

• A federal policy defining male and female as the sole two genders.
• An executive order abolishing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives within the federal government.

Energy and the Environment

• An executive order aimed at maximizing the exploration and production of natural resources in Alaska to transform the state into a national resource hub for fossil fuel extraction.
• The announcement of a national energy crisis.
• An order to facilitate energy production, streamlining permitting processes and regulations to bolster efficient energy generation.
• A memorandum aimed at improving water access in Southern California by rerouting “more water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to other areas for wildfire mitigation.”
• A temporary moratorium on offshore wind leasing and an examination of federal leasing and permitting protocols for wind energy developments.
• An official exit from the Paris Climate Accord, which Trump’s administration claimed would save the U.S. $1 trillion.
• A formal notification to be sent to the United Nations stating that the U.S. will prioritize “America First” in global environmental agreements, including the Paris Climate Accord, and instructing federal agencies to follow suit.

Military and National Security

• An order to examine and realign U.S. foreign aid.
• An order directing the Department of Defense to devise strategies for safeguarding the United States’ territorial integrity and sovereignty by targeting drug trafficking, human trafficking, illegal immigration, and other criminal enterprises.
• A memorandum facilitating the provision of 6-month interim security clearances for selected personnel appointed by the Trump administration so they can access the White House amid clearance delays left by the Biden administration.
• An “America-First Policy Directive to the Secretary of State” to promote interests centered on America in its foreign policy.
• An order clarifying the “Organization of the National Security Council and its Subcommittees.”

Taxes and Tariffs

• Establishing an “America First Trade Policy” that emphasizes American workers and businesses while creating an “External Revenue Service (ERS)” to gather tariffs, duties, and related foreign trade revenue.
• A memorandum declaring that the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) Global Tax Deal will have no effect in the United States.

Federal Government Changes

• Establishment of a presidential advisory commission known as the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
• The reversal of 78 executive actions, executive orders, and presidential memoranda from former President Joe Biden.
• A directive requiring each federal department and agency to tackle the cost of living crisis.
• A government-wide directive aimed at stopping government censorship of free speech.
• A directive for the federal government to cease the “weaponization of government” against “political opponents of the last administration.”

Other Executive Actions

• Mandating social media platform TikTok to secure a U.S.-based buyer within 75 days or face a federal ban.
• A sweeping pardon for approximately 1,500 individuals charged in connection with the Jan. 6 events, along with 14 commutations granted to prisoners.
• The pulling out of the World Health Organization (WHO), a decision first made in 2020.
• A proclamation for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
• A memorandum promoting “Beautiful Federal Civic Architecture.”
• An executive order reinstating the name Mt. McKinley after President Barack Obama renamed it Mt. Denali in 2015, as well as renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.