President Trump assumed the presidency on January 20, and since then, has been at the center of attention for numerous controversial actions.
Since his inauguration as the 47th president of the United States, Donald Trump has been highly proactive.
During his time in office, he has signed a large number of executive orders, instructed Elon Musk to retrieve two NASA astronauts stranded at the International Space Station, and reinstated a ‘global gag rule’ concerning abortions.
The first week has been tumultuous for many Americans, as some of his executive orders could have significant future implications, leading to widespread disapproval.
In just the past few days, eight of his policy changes have sparked considerable debate.
Within hours of being sworn in, Trump declared his intention to dismiss over a thousand government employees and ‘presidential appointees.’
He made this announcement on his social media platform, Truth Social, writing: “My Presidential Personnel Office is actively in the process of identifying and removing over a thousand Presidential Appointees from the previous Administration, who are not aligned with our vision to Make America Great Again.”
According to NBC News, Acting FBI Director Brian Driscoll on January 31 declined a Justice Department order to dismiss agents involved in the January 6 insurrection investigations.
Trump also announced plans to impose new tariffs of 25 percent on goods from Mexico and Canada and 10 percent on imports from China, citing the International Emergency Economic Powers Act as justification.
The White House stated that these tariffs aim to curb illegal immigration and address the flow of chemicals used in fentanyl production. However, the response from Canada and Mexico has been combative.
The tariffs have had a significant effect on the cryptocurrency market, and Mexico’s president has provided a major update regarding the US-Mexico tariff situation.
This development could lead to increased costs for American consumers on basic goods such as food and gas.
One of Trump’s major foreign policy commitments was to broker a peace deal for the Ukraine-Russian conflict on his first day in office, a feat he claimed could be achieved in ’24 hours’ back in 2023, as reported by Newsweek.
He even threatened Russia with tariffs and severe sanctions if they did not end the war in Ukraine, according to the BBC.
However, Trump has since moderated his position, acknowledging that achieving a peace deal could take months rather than days.
On January 31, Trump envoy Keith Kellogg expressed a different perspective, stating: “I would like to say it’s months, and it’s not years. I would like to think that we could have something in the short term…I’d like to see it count down from 100 days back…this is all in the realm of the doable.”
Trump issued an executive order directing federal agents to ‘immediately take actions to override existing activities that unduly burden efforts to maximize water deliveries’ in response to the LA wildfires in California. He accused Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom and other officials of refusing to utilize water from the state’s northern region, according to The Guardian.
On January 31, the water flow from two dams significantly increased, a change The LA Times reported followed Trump’s social media claim that the US military had ‘entered’ California and ‘turned on the water,’ with federal reports confirming the increase from Terminus Dam and Lake Success.
Concerns have arisen that this could potentially flood farms while leaving them without adequate water during dry periods, as Politico reports.
On Truth Social, the President commented: “Today, 1.6 billion gallons and, in 3 days, it will be 5.2 billion gallons. Everybody should be happy about this long fought Victory! I only wish they listened to me six years ago — There would have been no fire!”
The Federal Communications Commission requested a ‘full, unedited transcript and camera feeds’ from an October interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris regarding her presidential candidacy from CBS News.
“We are working to comply with that inquiry as we are legally compelled to do,” CBS News stated (via CNN).
This development follows Trump’s October 2024 lawsuit against CBS News in a Texas federal court, accusing the channel of editing the Harris interview to intentionally mislead the public and place him at a disadvantage.
After his victory, Trump instructed agencies to terminate all ‘programs that use taxpayer money to promote gender ideology’ and to remove related information from websites by January 31.
References to LGBTQ+ health data and information on some vaccines have been removed from federal websites, including top public health agencies.
A senior health official informed CNN that employees were warned of severe consequences for non-compliance, resulting in the removal of the sites and information for an ‘undetermined time.’
Trump has awarded more than $800,000 worth of stock to Kash Patel, his nominee for the FBI, and Linda McMahon, his choice for the Education Department, for services rendered to Truth Social, his social media startup, as disclosed in regulatory filings.
CNBC reports the stock was given as ‘consideration for services provided’ from March, when the company went public, to December.
The outlet also notes that after his victory, Trump transferred his ownership in Trump Media to his revocable trust, of which he is the sole beneficiary.