President Trump’s Executive Orders Since Taking Office

Elizabeth Denton

Staff Writer 

Since returning to office, President Trump has signed numerous executive orders regarding topics such as immigration, climate change, health, oil, medical research, and federal diversity programs, among many more.

Many of these executive orders have had immediate impacts, while others will be challenged in the courts, such as the order to remove birthright citizenship for people born in the United States whose parents do not have permanent legal status, NPR reports. Executive orders are tracked through the Federal Register, and while they cannot be easily overturned by Congress, they can be challenged and blocked.

Recently, Trump signed a series of orders to remove diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives from the military, which attempts to remove transgender troops from U.S. forces. According to Reuters, one of Trump’s executive orders stated that a person’s gender identity differing from their sex at birth does not meet military standards and banned the use of pronouns that do not align with a person’s biological sex. During his first term, Trump announced he would ban transgender troops but was unable to fully implement the policy. However, many expect him to attempt to remove transgender service members again.

President Trump also signed an executive order to mandate the development of the American Iron Dome, an air defense system built by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, an Israeli company that built the system with American support, Reuters reports. Originally built to intercept rockets in Gaza, the system determines where a rocket is set to land and estimates the number of casualties that would incur. Trump’s intent to implement the system in the U.S. will take years to complete.

Just hours after his return to office, Trump pardoned, commuted the prison sentences, and dismissed the cases of all people facing charges related to the January 6 U.S. Capitol riot, including those convicted of assaulting police officers. According to the Associated Press, a certain amount of clemency was expected; however, the scope and speed of the pardons were surprising. President Trump additionally ordered the attorney general to dismiss around 450 cases pending before judges related to the Capitol riot. Trump claims the rioters were treated unfairly by the Justice Department and believes the cases were politically motivated. This action has met a lot of pushback, with Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer disagreeing with the pardons in an emailed statement, and many of the police officers harmed in the riot expressing disappointment. 

In addition to executive orders, President Trump has imposed 25 percent tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports and a 10 percent duty on Chinese goods, justifying the measures as efforts to curb fentanyl trafficking and illegal immigration into the U.S., as well as an emergency sanctions law. Trade and legal experts expect Trump’s actions to face court challenges that could set important precedents for the future based on the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), reports Reuters. The law gives the president broad power to impose economic and financial sections in times of crisis. Historically, courts have upheld the president’s power to take emergency actions; however, now the courts will be considering the question of whether the IEEPA includes tariffs, as it has only ever been used for sanctions.

Trump is expected to sign a pair of executive orders, one of which targeting the International Criminal Court (ICC), the other addressing an anti-Christian bias. The ICC order imposes financial and visa sanctions on individuals who assist the ICC in investigating U.S. citizens and U.S. allies. According to CNN, many believe this to be an effort to punish the ICC for issuing arrest warrants for Israeli officials. The other order plans to appoint Attorney General Pam Bondi as the head of a new task force to remove anti-Christian biases.

Trump has also changed his previous position in support of the TikTok ban. The BBC reports he has now signed a directive postponing the implementation of the TikTok ban for 75 days unless a new American owner for the app is found. Additionally, he has pardoned over twenty people prosecuted under the Biden administration for blocking an abortion clinic in 2020 and has issued a full and unconditional pardon for Ross Ulbricht, who created a dark web marketplace known as Silk Road which sold illegal drugs.

Image courtesy of Getty Images.