Trump Returns to the White House

Keegan McLeod

Staff Writer

It has been roughly a month since Donald Trump was sworn in as President for the second time. In his inaugural address, he laid out extensive plans for his second term, including strengthening border security, taking control of the Panama Canal, erasing energy restrictions, and encouraging domestic industries by using heavy tariffs.

Former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris looked on, just a few feet away from Trump as he slammed the outgoing administration for their immigration and economic policies, as well as for aiding Ukraine in their war against Russia. Some notable attendees included former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama, former Vice Presidents Dan Quayle and Mike Pence, and billionaire tech moguls Jeff Bezos, Tim Cook, Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg.

With experience in office and staff in place, Trump’s executive orders were already written apart from their signatures. He wasted no time signing dozens of orders on his first full day in office on Jan. 21. So far, over 60 executive orders have been signed into law.

Among the most notable decisions related to foreign policy were withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement and the World Health Organization (WHO). Both moves reflect a distrust of the integrity of the other sovereign members. Trump also ordered a temporary freeze on all foreign aid to review where money is being spent. He has ordered tariffs of up to 25% on a wide range of products coming from Mexico, Canada, and China. These decisions reflect Trump’s goals of prioritizing American interests and spending more time and money solving domestic issues.

Increasing security on the southern border and cracking down on illegal immigration have always been hallmarks of Trump’s political agenda. So far, he has only added to the tough immigration policies he ordered during his first presidency. Certain drug cartels are now designated as foreign terrorist groups, increasing authorization for military action against them.

Another order of many in this category includes the refusal to recognize birthright citizenship, which has resulted in 22 states suing the administration. Many of the orders are intended to halt the influx of illegal drugs like fentanyl that have been entering the U.S. mixed in with both legal and illegal immigrants and have been plaguing American inner cities and rural areas.

Perhaps the most controversial set of actions from the new Trump administration is the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and the authorizations it has been granted. The department, headed by Musk, is not an official executive agency, but has received authorization to audit the Treasury Department, the Pentagon, and the IRS, which has seen many questioning its constitutionality. If the department’s work is well-intended, then DOGE will likely be consistent with Trump’s goals of reducing federal spending and taxes.

Other executive orders include ending diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices in the federal government, declaring that only biological sex will be used to define gender, renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, and renaming Denali to Mount McKinley.

Trump continues to stay on course with his aggressive brand of politics by asserting conservative social values within the federal government and signaling national strength abroad. He has been calling for drastic changes since entering the political arena in 2015, and this may be the most aggressive version of him we have seen yet.