President Trump Takes Sweeping Actions on His First Day in Office

What Happened?

After taking office for his second term, President Trump immediately issues several executive orders effecting a broad range of policies.

Key actions dealt with immigration, energy, the federal workforce, the TikTok ban, and future tariffs on Mexico and Canada.

While many of those executive orders will take effect quickly, others may face legal or administrative challenges to implementation.

Below is a list of some of the key actions President Trump undertook yesterday and their potential impact on domestic and foreign policy.

Why it Matters

According to Chris Cameron who was reporting from Washington D.C.:

‘A series of orders Mr. Trump signed set off a policy barrage aimed at sealing the nation’s borders to migrants and cracking down on immigrants already in the country. Those orders included a declaration of a national emergency to deploy the military to the border and a bid to cut off birthright citizenship for the children of noncitizens.’

So far, the Department of Defense has not given any specifics as to when or where the U.S. military might be deployed along the U.S. — Mexico border.

The bid to end birthright citizenship will likely face legal challenges which could hinge on how the term is defined. According to the Constitution anyone born in the United States is a U.S. citizen.

Mr. Trump also declared an energy emergency designed to open up new areas and options for oil drilling in Alaska and other resource rich locations.

According to Reuters:

‘President Donald Trump on Monday laid out a sweeping plan to maximize oil and gas production, including by declaring a national energy emergency to speed permitting, rolling back environmental protections, and withdrawing the U.S. from an international pact to fight climate change.’

President Trump also took aim at the federal workforce by ordering a hiring freeze which would remain in effect until larger plans to reduce the federal workforce have been finalized.

Whether that is contingent on recommendations from the Department of Government Efficiency or DOGE remains to be seen, but it seems a likely source for input.

Also announced yesterday by President Trump was a plan to impose new 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada starting February 1^st. Specifics of those proposed tariffs are not yet publicly known.

In addition Mr. Trump granted popular app TikTok a seventy-five day extension to avoid the ban imposed by federal law.

How it Affects You

The actions taken by President Trump on the first day of his new administration are in line with the promises he made during the election.

Implementation of the new executive orders will depend on which ones face legal challenges or push-back from Congress. It’s likely that some of the new initiatives will face political or legal resistance.