His reelection loss to Biden came amidst a series of crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic and its resulting aftermath, along with numerous protests and riots. In the aftermath of the election, Trump repeatedly made false claims that widespread electoral fraud had occurred and that he had legitimately won the election. Although most resulting lawsuits were either dismissed or ruled against by numerous courts,[3][4][5] Trump nonetheless conspired with his campaign team to submit documents in several states (all of which had been won by Biden) that falsely claimed to be legitimate electoral certificates for President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.[6] After the submission of these documents, the Trump campaign intended that the presiding officer of the United States Senate, either President of the Senate Pence or President pro temporeChuck Grassley, would claim to have the unilateral power to reject electors during the January 6, 2021 vote counting session; the presiding officer would reject all electors from the several states in which the Trump campaign had submitted false documents, leaving 232 votes for Trump and 222 votes for Biden, thereby overturning the election results in favor of Trump.[7][8][9] The plans for January 6 failed to come to fruition after Pence refused to follow the campaign's proposals.[10][11] Trump nevertheless urged his supporters on January 6, 2021, to march to the Capitol while the joint session of Congress was assembled there to count electoral votes and formalize Biden's victory, leading to hundreds storming the building and interrupting the electoral vote count; as a result, the House impeached Trump for incitement of insurrection on January 13, 2021, making him the only federal officeholder in American history to be impeached more than once (the Senate would later acquit him for the second time on February 13, 2021, after he had already left office).
Between presidencies and 2024 presidential election
The presidential transition period began following Trump's victory in the 2024 U.S. presidential election, though Trump had chosen Linda McMahon and Howard Lutnick to begin planning for the transition in August 2024. According to The New York Times, Trump is "superstitious" and prefers to avoid discussing the presidential transition process until after Election Day. His transition team is expected to rely on the work of the America First Policy Institute, rather than The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank that garnered controversy during the election for Project 2025, a set of initiatives that would reshape the federal government.[29] By October, he had not participated in the federal presidential transition process,[30] and he had not signed a required ethics pledge, as of November.[31] During the transition period, Trump announced nominations for his cabinet and administration.
Upon taking office, Trump quickly signed a series of executive orders described as a "shock and awe" campaign that tested the limits of executive authority, which drew immediate legal challenges.[36][37] He issued more executive orders on his first day than any other president in history.[38] Four days into Trump's second term, analysis conducted by Time found that nearly two-thirds of his executive actions "mirror or partially mirror" proposals from Project 2025,[39] which was seconded with analysis from Bloomberg Government.[40] Trump's executive orders withdrew the U.S. from the World Health Organization and Paris Agreement,[41]rolled back recognition of "gender ideology",[42] froze new regulations from bureaucracy, froze hiring for federal workers, founded the Department of Government Efficiency, barred federal government involvement in criminal investigations of political adversaries, prevented government censorship of free speech, reversed the withdrawal of Cuba's designation as a state sponsor of terror, reversed sanctions on Israeli settlers, reversed an executive order on artificial intelligence, reversed the Family Reunification Task Force,[43] issued a mass pardon of approximately 1,500 January 6 rioters,[44][45] designated Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, attempted to end birthright citizenship, and declared a national emergency on the southern border that would trigger the deployment of armed forces.[46][47] In the days following his inauguration, Trump signed another executive order to dismantle federal DEI initiatives and programs.[48]
Trump's cabinet choices were described by news media as valuing personal loyalty over relevant experience,[49][50] and for having a range of conflicting ideologies and "eclectic personalities".[51][52] It was also described as the wealthiest administration in modern history, with over 13 billionaires chosen to take government posts.[53][54] Trump officials and Elon Musk threatened to fund primary challengers in upcoming elections against Republican Senators who did not vote for Trump's nominees.[55][56]
Trump frequently promised to exact retribution and revenge against perceived political enemies through his 2024 campaign,[57][58] and has said he has "every right" to go after political opponents.[59] By 2024, Trump repeatedly voiced support for outlawing political dissent and criticism,[60] and that media companies should be prosecuted for treason for displaying "bad stories" about him and possibly lose their broadcast licenses if they refuse to name confidential sources.[61]The New York Times described Trump as using "grievance as a political tool, portraying himself as the victim of what he claims is a powerful and amorphous 'deep state.'"[62]
Trump was described as seeking revenge after making a series of retaliatory actions against perceived opponents upon taking office and intimidating those who would cross him in the future.[63][64]
Revocation of security clearances and details
Within 24 hours of being elected, Trump revoked the security clearances of 50 officials who signed onto a letter about the Hunter Biden laptop controversy as well as John Bolton, ex-DNI Director James Clapper and ex-CIA Directors John Brennan and Leon Panetta.[65] Trump revoked the security protection for Mike Pompeo, his aide, Brian Hook, and John Bolton, who all had faced assassination threats from Iran. The revocation of security protection was described as part of Trump's vow to target those he perceives as adversaries.[66] He also revoked protection for Anthony Fauci who had received several death threats, and said to reporters that he would not feel any responsibility if harm befell the former government officials he revoked security details from.[67]
Actions against former Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Milley
Hours after Trump was inaugurated the official portrait of the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley was removed from a Pentagon hallway where the portraits of all former chairmen are displayed.[68][69] On the next day workers patched the holes and painted the wall.[70][68][69] A U.S. official told the New York Times that the White House had ordered the removal.[69] On January 29, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth suspended Milley's security clearance, withdrew the authorization for his security detail, and ordered a review of his actions as Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff with a view to demote him in rank.[71][72]
Justice Department investigations
Trump ordered the attorney general to investigate the Biden administration for "weaponization of the federal government" and "government censorship of speech". The Guardian described the investigations as "politically charged reviews into his personal grievances".[73] The orders made misleading[74] accusations against the Biden administration and asserted they had committed criminal conduct against him and his supporters and demanded evidence be found to "correct past misconduct".[62] On January 27, the Justice Department fired more than a dozen officials who worked on criminal cases against Donald Trump alleging a lack of trust in faithfully executing Trump's agenda. It also announced a "special project" to investigate prosecutors who had previously brought charges against January 6 rioters.[75]
By the end of January 2025, the Justice Department reorganized lawyers in civil rights, extraditions, counterterrorism and cybercrime into a new office for immigration enforcement. It also reassigned environmental protection officials. It froze new cases and settlements.[76]
Actions against the media
On January 22, Trump FCC chair Brendan Carr revived three investigations into claims of bias from CBS, ABC, and NBC, but not Fox News, and Carr previously promised to punish news broadcasters he saw as unfair to Trump or Republicans in general.[77]
On January 29, Carr ordered an investigation into underwriting announcements on NPR and PBS stations, and recommended that Congress stop funding these organizations (which aligns with the section of Project 2025 that Carr had authored).[78] In his first-term budgets, Trump had previously proposed eliminating funding for public broadcasting, art, libraries, and museums.[78] Carr sent a letter to the heads of NPR and PBS with his complaints, but ignored requests for a copy from a Democratic FCC commissioner.[78]
Trump signing executive orders on January 20, 2025, his first day in office, at Capital One Arena
Prospective policies for Trump's second presidency were proposed in Agenda 47, a collection of his formal policy plans.[79][80]
Abortion
Trump declared that abortion should be delegated to states in April 2024.[81] To that extent, he stated that in a Time interview he would allow states to monitor pregnancies and criminally charge abortion patients.[82] Trump criticized the Arizona Supreme Court's ruling in Planned Parenthood Arizona v. Mayes (2024), in which the court upheld an 1864 law criminalizing abortions except to save the life of the mother, stating that he would not sign a federal abortion ban[83] and reaffirmed his position in October.[84]
At a private dinner at Mar-a-Lago in April 2024, Trump encouraged fossil fuel companies to donate to his campaign, saying that he would roll back environmental regulations if elected.[87]
Trump's transition team for climate and the environment is led by David Bernhardt, a former oil lobbyist who served as interior secretary, and Andrew R. Wheeler, a former coal lobbyist who led the EPA under Trump. The team is preparing to withdraw from the Paris Agreement for a second time, expand drilling and mining on public land, and dismantle offices working to end pollution, while other officials have discussed moving the Environmental Protection Agency from Washington, D.C. Trump will redraw the boundaries of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase–Escalante National Monuments as he did in his first presidency, end a pause on new natural gas export terminals that began under President Joe Biden, and prevent states from setting their own pollution standards.[88]
Upon taking office, Trump appointed oil, gas, and chemical lobbyists to the Environmental Protection Agency to roll back climate rules and pollution controls.[89] Trump ordered the pause on disbursement of climate-related funds issued by the IRA and BIL, and falsely conflated the funds with the "Green New Deal".[90]
Criminal justice
Trump entered office following 2024's 50-year record-low level of violent crime.[91][92]The Associated Press reported that despite historic drops in crime, many voters felt unsafe due to "misleading campaign rhetoric".[93]
Upon taking office, Trump issued an executive order to resume and pursue executions for criminal cases,[94] and the Justice Department put a freeze on civil rights cases and signaled it would roll back consent agreements with police departments.[95] A New York Times analysis described Trump's conflicting policies and pardons towards criminal justice as sending a message of "backing the blue" as long as they backed him.[96]
Trump is expected to end the Department of Justice's prosecutions against him in Washington, D.C., and Florida. According to The Washington Post, Special Counsel Jack Smith considered ending his prosecutions early and submitting a final report to Attorney General Merrick Garland before Trump was inaugurated.[97] The final report was submitted on January 7, 2025, with no charges being brought to trial against Trump.[98]
Trump has said multiple times that if he were reelected in 2024, he would pardon rioters of the January 6 Capitol attack.[99][100][101]As of March 2024[update],[needs update?] 500 people had been sentenced to prison terms and 1,358 had been criminally charged.[102] Upon assuming the presidency again on January 20, 2025, Trump followed through on his promise and issued a mass pardon for those charged with the attack.[103]
In May 2024 at the Libertarian National Convention, Trump said that he would commute Ross Ulbricht's sentence on his first day in office.[104] Since 2015, Ulbricht had been serving a life sentence for charges related to creating and operating the darknet market website Silk Road, which operated as a hidden service on the Tor network and facilitated the sale of narcotics and other illegal products and services.[105][106] On January 21, 2025, Trump issued a full and unconditional pardon to Ross Ulbricht.[105][107]
On January 23, 2025, Trump granted pardons to 23 anti-abortion protestors. Among the 23 pardoned were Lauren Handy and 9 of her co-defendants, who were involved in the October 2020 blockade of a Washington, DC abortion clinic, and later convicted in violation of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act.[108][109]
Following Trump's grant of clemency to all January 6 rioters, on January 22, House Speaker Mike Johnson announced a formation of a panel to investigate the January 6 committee in what The Associated Press described as "an effort to defend Trump's actions that day and dispute the work of a bipartisan committee that investigated the siege two years ago".[111]
Diversity, equity and inclusion
In January 2025, Trump signed two executive orders aimed at terminating DEI practices and one targeting transgender issues.[112] In February 2025 it was reported that the Foreign Service Institute of the U.S. State Department "suspended access to thousands of pages of training materials" related to DEI, and the Internal Revenue Service "deleted any mention of the words 'diversity', 'equity' and 'inclusion' from its procedural handbook, including from anodyne passages on taxes and finance." It was also reported that career civil servants in the United States Department of Agriculture who had previously worked to implement policies intended to reduce racial, sexual-orientation, and gender-identity discrimination were "placed on leave and faced potential firing." It was also reported that the acting director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) told the heads of agencies that any staff members working on DEI programs before November 5, 2024 (election day) should be targeted for termination, and the OPM encouraged workers to "report colleagues who were continuing to do DEIA-related work."[113] At a press conference held in January 2025, the day after a mid-air collision between an airplane and helicopter that killed 67 people, the worst aviation accident in the U.S. since 2001, Trump read from a January 2024 New York Post article that said "the FAA is actively recruiting workers who suffer severe intellectual disabilities, psychiatric problems and other mental and physical conditions under a diversity and inclusion hiring initiative spelled out on the agency's website."[114]
Trump inherited a strong economy from the Biden administration, with solid economic growth, low unemployment, and declining inflation.[115][116][117][118][119]The New York Times and Economic Policy Institute described the economy as "in better shape than that bequeathed to any newly elected president since George W. Bush came into office in 2001".[120][121] Despite this, many Americans still felt the impacts of the 2021–2023 inflation surge, which partly contributed to Trump's reelection win.[119]
During his 2024 campaign, Trump promised to impose higher tariffs on imports from all countries, particularly China.[122] On November 25, 2024, following his election victory, Trump said he would sign an executive order placing 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, and impose an additional 10% tariff to China.[123] On November 30, 2024, Trump threatened to impose a 100% tariff to BRICS nations if they tried to create a new BRICS currency or promote another currency to replace the U.S. dollar as the global reserve currency.[124]
On February 1, 2025, after taking office the month prior, Trump followed through on his intentions and signed three executive orders imposing a 25% tariff on all goods from Mexico and Canada and a 10% tariff on China.[125] A lower 10% tariff was announced for all energy exports from Canada, including electricity, natural gas, and oil. Trump's trade advisor, Peter Navarro, stated that the lower rate for energy was intended to "minimize any disruptive effects".[126] The tariffs are due to come into effect on February 4. In response, representatives from Mexico and Canada announced intentions to impose retaliatory tariffs on the United States. The orders signed by Trump reportedly include a clause allowing for an increase in tariff rates if such retaliatory tariffs are implemented.[127][128]
During his first term, Trump cut funding to the Department of Education, while continuing to criticize it. During his 2024 campaign, Trump actively promoted the idea of abolishing the Department of Education and proposed handing over control of education to individual state governments.[130] On January 22, 2025, (DHS) announced the administration would no longer refrain from arresting illegal immigrants in schools. [131]
Federal government and executive power
The second Trump administration has pursued a maximalist interpretation of the unitary executive theory.[132][133] It has been noted for making sweeping assertions of executive authority, and challenging several Congressional laws and parts of the Constitution restraining presidential power.[134][135][136]
DOGE
The Trump administration established the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a temporary organization with Elon Musk as its administrator, and renamed the US digital service to the United States DOGE Service to function as a parent agency. DOGE is a unit tasked with recommending cost-cutting measures, and according to the executive order that established it, its formal purpose is to "modernize federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity".[137][138][139]
In late January 2025, Wired reported that the top ranks of the human resources-focused United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM) had been filled by new hires who had formerly worked for either Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Republican politicians or right-wing media outlets, while Musk's allies were installed into the technology-focused General Services Administration and planned massive spending cuts.[140][141] On January 28, the OPM offered a "deferred resignation" scheme to federal government employees to announce their resignation by February 6, while stating that employees who resigned would still receive salary and benefits until September 30, 2025.[142] The offer made was similar to Elon Musk's notice to employees after he took control of Twitter.[143][144] On January 31, Trump added that he would nullify federal employee union contracts, specifically including one with the Education Department, that had been agreed to late in Biden's term.[145] Musk also gained access to the Treasury's payment system.[146] Two OPM officials told Reuters that Musk's allies locked some OPM officials from accessing OPM data systems, with one official saying this enabled Musk's allies to use the systems without oversight. [147] It was reported that this gave DOGE "full access" to the major U.S. Treasury database controlling the expenditure of 6 trillion dollars, as well as "the sensitive personal data of millions of Americans as well as details of public contractors who compete directly with Musk’s own businesses." It was reported that the previous top civil servant who was associated with the database was placed on leave and then resigned after objecting to DOGE's access. It was reported that this access could allow Musk to block payments by the U.S. government to many federal programs. Senator Ron Wyden stated that this access was a "national security risk."[148]
In February 2025 it was reported that the USAid director of security and a deputy were put on administrative leave after they "blocked efforts by DOGE members to physically access restricted areas" in order to obtain sensitive information. The DOGE members did eventually gain access to the information, which reportedly included classified information as well as emails, and they obtained the ability to lock USAid staff out. They reportedly did not have security clearance to access the information. Elon Musk had earlier tweeted "USAID is a criminal organization" and it is "Time for it to die." [149]
On January 27, 2025, the Trump administration's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released memo M-25-13, which ordered the federal government to take action the next day to "temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all federal financial assistance, and other relevant agency activities that may be implicated by [Trump's] executive orders, including, but not limited to, financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the Green New Deal".[150] The memo continued that this would allow the Trump administration to "determine the best uses of the funding for those programs consistent with the law and [Trump's] priorities", while "Medicare or Social Security benefits" were exempted from being affected.[151] 2,600 federal programs were selected for review.[152] The memo sparked considerable uncertainty among government employees, lawmakers and nonprofit organizations.[153]
On January 28, 2025, the Medicaid payment portal shut down across the United States before returning online later that day; the Trump administration said that the shutdown was not related to the funding freeze.[154] Nonprofit organizations reported being unable to enter federal government systems to receive federal funds.[153] The OMB released an additional statement declaring several schemes (Medicaid, SNAP, "funds for small businesses, farmers, Pell grants, Head Start, rental assistance", student loans, and "any program that provides direct benefits to Americans") to be exempt from the federal funding freeze.[155][156] After several organizations sued, the OMB memo was blocked by United States District Judge Loren AliKhan before the freeze began, with the block to expire on February 3.[157]
On January 29, the OMB withdrew memo M-25-13, but White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that this did not nullify the federal funding freeze.[150] On February 1, after 22 states and the District of Columbia sued, District Judge John J. McConnell Jr. ordered the Trump administration to temporarily stop the federal funding freeze in those states, as "no federal law would authorize the executive's unilateral action here".[158][159] McConnell took action after concluding that the withdrawal of the "wide-ranging, all-encompassing, and ambiguous" OMB memo was "in name-only and may have been issued simply to defeat the jurisdiction of the courts".[160][161]
Loyalty tests
Once the second Trump presidency began, White House screening teams fanned out to federal agencies to screen job applicants for their loyalty to the president's agenda. On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order asserting to restore merit-based federal hiring practices and "dedication to our Constitution".[162][163]
Mass firings
Trump oversaw mass firings of federal workers at various agencies, many of them described as breaking with precedent or federal law and with the intent to replace them with workers more aligned with Trump's agenda.[164][64][133][165]
On January 24, 2025, less than a week into Trump's second presidency, he fired 17 independent inspectors general at federal agencies, which appeared to violate federal law that requires advance notice of dismissals to both chambers of congress with reasons given 30 days in advance.[166] Trump also fired all Democratic but not Republican members of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, which would prevent the board from meeting quorum and functioning.[132] Trump also fired members of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, National Labor Relations Board, over 160 members of the National Security Council for not aligning with Trump's agenda, and 56 senior officials at USAID for allegedly attempting to thwart Trump's priorities.[164]
The New York Times reported in January 2025 that the White House might be hoping the firings would be challenged in court, ultimately the Supreme Court, as test cases to invoke the unitary executive theory to give the president exclusive control of the executive branch. The Republican-appointed supermajority on the Court had in recent years indicated support for unitary executive, which had also been promoted by Project 2025.[167][168]
Healthcare
On November 14 at a speech at Mar-a-Lago, Florida, Trump announced that he would nominate Robert F Kennedy Jr for the position of health secretary. This appointment caused controversy, due to Kennedy's repeated endorsement of anti-vaccine conspiracy theories, with the director of the American Public Health Association stating that Kennedy "already caused great damage in health in the country" and that he is also "a person without a health background".[169] In December, Trump revealed he was discussing ending childhood vaccination programs with RFK Jr and promoted the scientifically disproven claim of a link between vaccines and autism.[170]
Upon election, the Trump administration ordered a freeze on all communications and reports from HHS and sub-agencies unless approved by a political appointee.[171] On January 22 DHS announced that ICE would start arresting illegal immigrants in hospitals if necessary.[131]
In January 2025 it was reported that a CDC official had ordered all CDC staff to stop working with the World Health Organization.[172] Around January 31, 2025, several CDC websites, pages, and datasets related to HIV and STI prevention, LGBT and youth health became unavailable for viewing after the agency was ordered to comply with Donald Trump's executive order to remove all material of "diversity, equity, and inclusion" and "gender identity".[173][174] Shortly thereafter, the CDC ordered its scientists to retract or pause the publication of all research which had been submitted or accepted for publication, but not yet published, which included any of the following banned terms: "Gender, transgender, pregnant person, pregnant people, LGBT, transsexual, non-binary, nonbinary, assigned male at birth, assigned female at birth, biologically male, biologically female”.[175]
In January 2025, due to a pause in communications imposed by the second Trump administration at federal health agencies, publication of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) was halted, the first time that had happened since its inception in 1960. The president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) called the pause in publication a "disaster." Attempts to halt publication had been made by the first Trump administration after MMWR published information about COVID-19 that "conflicted with messaging from the White House." The pause in communications also caused the cancellation of a meeting between the CDC and IDSA about threats to public health regarding the H5N1 influenza virus.[176]
Trump announced on November 10, 2024, that Tom Homan will be joining the incoming administration as the "border czar",[179] writing that "Homan will be in charge of all deportation of illegal aliens back to their country of origin."[180]
Average daily border crossings were at the lowest level since summer 2020 shortly before Trump took office partly attributed to an executive order restricting asylum Biden passed the prior year.[181]
Shortly after he became president on January 20, the Trump administration ended services for the app of CBP One and declared a national emergency at the southern border, ordered the armed forces to draft plans for deployment,[182][183] and declared actions to move towards labeling Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organizations.[184] Trump increased deportation authorities for the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, and the US Marshals Service.[185] He gave ICE the power to deport immigrants who came to the United States legally under Biden administration programs,[186] and established daily deportation quotas to ICE offices.[187]
Trump revoked guidance from 2011 prohibiting immigration arrests in sensitive areas such as courthouses, schools, churches, and hospitals, or during funerals and weddings.[188]
On January 29, 2025, Trump signed the Laken Riley Act into law, the first legislation of Trump’s second term.[190][191]
NPR reported that a "growing number" of Democratic and Republican officials in cities, states, police departments, school districts and other local governments stated they would not assist in migrant raids citing public safety, civil rights, and administrative capability concerns.[192]
In his 2024 campaign, Trump detailed a range of proposals aimed at reversing recent LGBTQ-related policies and reshaping federal guidelines on gender identity and transgender rights. He stated that on "day one", he would reverse the Biden administration's Title IX expansion, which protects transgender students' rights to use bathrooms, locker rooms, and pronouns that align with their gender identity. He also pledged to cut federal funding to schools promoting "critical race theory, transgender insanity, and other inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content".[193]
His proposed policies would significantly limit gender-affirming care, including calling for a federal ban on such care for minors and blocking Medicare and Medicaid funding for doctors providing gender-affirming services. Trump has also proposed forbidding federal agencies from "promoting" gender transitions and plans to task the Justice Department with investigating potential long-term effects of gender-affirming treatments.[194]
In his inauguration speech, he stated "it will be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female".[195] Later that day, he issued an executive order:
On January 20, "Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government" defines sex as binary. It does not include any exceptions for intersex people for whom a sex may not be clearly assigned at birth immediately.[196][197][198]
On January 23, the State Department froze all applications for US passports with the non-binary 'X' marker and announced that passports would only reflect a person's sex assigned at birth, prohibiting Americans from choosing the 'X' marker or changing their sex designation on US passports.[199]
In his second week, he signed three more orders.
On January 27, "Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness" rescinded inclusion of transgender members of the US military.[200][201][202]
On January 28, "Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation" threatened the federal funding of any medical institution that provides gender-affirming care for a person under 19. [203]
On January 29, "Ending Radical Indoctrination in K–12 Schooling" threatened the federal funding of any school that recognizes a child's gender transition, including name or pronoun changes.[204]
Trump ordered all DEI programs shut down by January 22, placed all employees of such programs on immediate leave, and demanded federal employees report on their colleagues attempting to "disguise these programs by using coded or imprecise language".[205] Trump rescinded Executive Order 11246 signed by former President Lyndon Johnson forbidding employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion and national origin, and establishing affirmative action.[206]
Military
In November 2024, Trump's transition team was reportedly compiling a list of military officials involved in the withdrawal from Afghanistan, and investigating whether they could be court-martialed. They were also considering creating a commission to investigate the withdrawal, including whether some officials could be eligible for treason.[207] During his campaign, Trump promised to use the military on American soil to fight "the enemy from within" which he described as "radical left lunatics" and Democratic politicians such as Adam Schiff.[208][209]
Upon taking office, Trump was described as politicizing the military and introducing culture war topics.[210]
Religion
Trump's campaign took on the symbols, rhetoric and agenda of Christian nationalism.[211] He wove Christian religious imagery into his ideology, characterizing it as a "righteous crusade" against "atheists, globalists and the Marxists".[212]
Science
In response to executive orders, there were freezes in scientific funding and purges of data related to LGBTQ issues, gender, climate change, and racial diversity.[213][214] The National Science Foundation ceased paying out its grants to researchers leaving many without a salary.[215] The Federal Drug Administration began purging material on clinical trial diversity, which test the effects of medical treatments on different populations.[216] The CDC's social vulnerability index and environmental justice index, which measure disparities in health risks, were removed from the website, and on January 31 the data portal was taken completely offline in response to Executive Order 14168.[213] AtlasPlus, an interactive CDC tool for tracking diseases like HIV, hepatitis, sexually transmitted infections, and tuberculosis, was taken down.[217] Census web pages about sexual identity and orientation were taken offline, and CDC pages about HIV and LGBTQ+ youth also disappeared.[218] According to The Atlantic, the Trump administration intended to "target and replace" keywords in CDC content including "pregnant people, transgender, binary, non-binary, gender, assigned at birth, binary [sic], non-binary [sic], cisgender, queer, gender identity, gender minority, anything with pronouns".[217]
Trump has said he will establish External Revenue Service to collect tariffs.[225]In February 2025, Trump announced tariffs on goods from Mexico, Canada and China, and acknowledged that U.S. consumers may feel "short-term" pain as a result.[226]
Just before Trump's second inauguration, Vice President Vance and ally Elon Musk each held separate meetings with China's vice president Han Zheng, who was in Washington attending the event as China's president Xi Jinping's special representative.[230] Han's presence at the event was seen by commentators as representative of Xi's interest in strengthening China–United States relations under Trump's tenure.[231][232]
During his election campaign, Trump said that European allies "treat us actually worse than our so-called enemies". He added, "We protect them and then they screw us on trade. We're not going to let it happen anymore". He vowed to impose tariffs on trade partners including those in Europe, which economists said could spark trade wars.[233]
Trump said he would not defend NATO allies in Europe if they did not meet the alliance's target of spending 2% of GDP on defense, and instead he would "encourage" Russia to "do whatever the hell they want".[234][235][236]
A month after the election, Trump traveled to Paris to attend the reopening of Notre-Dame de Paris on December 7, five years after it was severely damaged by a fire. It was his first foreign trip as president-elect since his second electoral victory. He met with a number of world leaders ahead of the ceremony, including French president Emmanuel Macron, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Prince William of the United Kingdom.[237]
On the Russo-Ukrainian War, Trump vowed that even before he is inaugurated, he will negotiate an end to the war in a day,[238] stop the "endless flow of American treasure to Ukraine", and make Europeans reimburse the U.S. the cost of rebuilding its old stockpiles.[239] However, it was pointed out that most of the money set aside for Ukraine actually goes to American companies, factories and workers who make weapons and military equipment.[240][241][242]
Following his victory, Trump called Russian president Vladimir Putin to warn him not to escalate the Russian invasion of Ukraine, expressing an interest in resolving the war at a later date.[243] Trump met with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy during the campaign and on the reinauguration of the Notre Dame Cathedral.[244]
Retired Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg and Frederick H. Fleitz, who both served in Trump's National Security Council staff, presented Trump with a detailed peace plan to end Russia's war in Ukraine. The plan aims to force the two sides into peace talks and a ceasefire based on the current frontlines. If Ukraine refused to enter peace talks, weapons supplies would be stopped; if Russia refused peace talks, weapons supplies to Ukraine would be increased.[245]
On November 14, 2024, Argentine president Javier Milei headed to Florida to meet with Trump at Mar-a-Lago.[246] He was the first foreign head of state to travel to the United States after Trump's victory and to meet the president-elect.[247] A right-wing libertarian economist, Milei had previously shown his fervent support for Donald Trump and his politics, wanting to strengthen diplomatic and economic ties between Argentina and the Western world. In a call following the election results, Trump called Milei his "favorite president" in response according to reports.[247] The president of Argentina gave a speech at a CPAC summit in Miami.[248] Milei also met with Department of Government Efficiency planned-directors Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to advise them on their goal to "dismantle bureaucracy", cut government spending and reorganize the federal personnel.[247][249]
Former president Jair Bolsonaro was invited to the inauguration, however the Judicial System of Brazil denied him the permission to attend. He appealed.[250]
During Donald Trump's second administration, U.S. foreign policy in Latin America is focused on countering China's influence in the region, particularly in the context of strategic trade infrastructure. A notable example is the emphasis placed on strengthening ties with Chile, specifically through potential investments in the modernization of the Port of San Antonio in Valparaíso. This initiative was framed as a strategic counterbalance to the Chinese-financed megaproject at the Port of Chancay in Peru.[251] U.S. investors, facilitated by the Development Finance Corporation, were set to visit Chile to assess opportunities for technological and infrastructural development. Meanwhile, reports suggested that the Trump administration considered imposing tariffs of up to 60% on goods exported from the Chancay port, reflecting its broader strategy to support allies like Chile in the face of China's expanding footprint in Latin America. These developments occurred amidst high-level diplomatic engagements between Chilean and U.S. officials, underscoring shared interests in enhancing Pacific trade networks.[252]
In January 2025, a dispute arose between Colombia and the United States after Colombian President Gustavo Petro refused to allow two U.S. military aircraft carrying deported Colombian nationals to land. Each flight was carrying approximately 80 Colombian deportees. In response, President Trump imposed emergency 25% tariffs on all Colombian imports, implemented travel bans and visa revocations for Colombian government officials, and implemented enhanced customs and border protection inspections for all Colombian nationals and cargo from Colombia. According to CNN, this was the first instance of "Trump using economic pressure to force other nations to fall in line with his mass deportation plans since he took office."[258][259] Trump said he would double the tariffs to 50% in one week if Petro did not reverse his decision.[260] The government did not go ahead with these plans after Colombia agreed to accept deported migrants without restrictions.[261] Diplomats from both countries reached a deal which has seen Colombia send its own air force planes to collect the migrants, a process that Petro said ensured they were treated "with dignity" and without being handcuffed.[262][263] The U.S. government did make concessions to Colombia by agreeing not to handcuff and photograph the deportees, and dispatching Homeland Security staffers, instead of military officers, as flight escorts.[264]
In his first term, Trump was considered one of the most pro-Israel presidents of the United States.[268][269] During his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump urged Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to end the war in Gaza within two months and opened the door to attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities.[270] Trump warned Hamas that they would have "all hell to pay" if the war did not end before he took office in January.[271] Following the election, Trump spoke with Palestinian presidentMahmoud Abbas for the first time since 2017.[272] During their phone call, Trump expressed his desire to quickly end the war in Gaza.[273]
Trump's son-in-law and former White House senior advisor Jared Kushner is expected to play a key role in the future United States' Middle East policy as an outside presidential adviser. Being pro-Israel and having ties with several Arab leaders, Kushner previously helped to broker the Abraham Accords during Trump's first presidency.[274] Most of Trump's advisors and appointees are considered staunch supporters of the Jewish state,[275][276] including Hegseth, Huckabee, Ratcliffe, Rubio, Stefanik, and Waltz.[277] Lebanese-American businessman Massad Boulos, who was appointed as a senior advisor on Arab and Middle Eastern Affairs and has ties with Lebanese politicians, is viewed as an intermediary between Trump and Arab leaders.[278] While Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff is expected to deal with Israel, Boulos will help in negotiations with the Arab world.[279]
Days before the inauguration of the administration, a ceasefire agreement was reached between Israel and Hamas.[280] Trump and Biden both claimed credit for the ceasefire deal, with the former describing it as "EPIC".[281] Several media sources, including Haaretz and The Times of Israel, credited Trump and Witkoff as responsible.[282][283]
In the Syrian civil war, the Syrian oppositionlaunched an offensive against the pro-government Syrian Armed Forces in late November 2024, capturing the large cities of Aleppo and Hama. As opposition forces continued to close in on Damascus, President-elect Trump stated on December 7 that the U.S. should stay out of the conflict, stating "THIS IS NOT OUR FIGHT" in a social media post.[284] Rebel groups captured Damascus the next day, December 8, as government forces surrendered and president Bashar al-Assad reportedly fled the country.[285]
Trump has repeatedly stated that he, as the president, would not commit to defending NATO member states that are not spending at least 2% of their GDP on defense. Additionally, Vice President-elect JD Vance has stated that in his view NATO is a "welfare client" and that it should be "a real alliance".[287]
Trump has said he will impose a 25% tariff on all goods from Canada in an effort for the Canadian government to stop what in his view is an illegal migration crisis and drug crisis on the Canada-United States border.[289] Canadian officials have responded by threatening the United States with retaliatory tariffs, and have even proposed cutting off the supply of Canadian energy into the Northern United States.[290] This has led to Trump taunting Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau with joke offers for Canada to join the Union, and Trump has referred to Trudeau as the 'Governor of the Great State of Canada'.[291]
In December 2024, Trump stated a further proposal for the United States to purchase Greenland from Denmark, describing ownership and control of the island as "an absolute necessity" for national security purposes. This builds upon a prior offer from Trump to buy Greenland during his first term, which the Danish Realm refused, causing him to cancel his August 2019 visit to Denmark.[292] On January 7, 2025, Trump's son Donald Trump Jr. visited Greenland's capital city Nuuk alongside Charlie Kirk to hand out MAGA hats.[293] At a press conference the following day, Trump refused to rule out military or economic force to take over Greenland or the Panama Canal.[294] However, he did rule out military force in taking over Canada.[294] On January 14, the Trump-affiliated Nelk Boys also visited Nuuk, handing out dollar bills to locals.[295] On January 16, the CEOs of major Danish companies Novo Nordisk, Vestas and Carlsberg among others were assembled for a crisis meeting in the Ministry of State to discuss the situation.[296][297] On the subsequent day, former chief executive Friis Arne Petersen in the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the situation as "historically unheard of", while Noa Redington, special adviser to former prime minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, compared the international pressure on Denmark that during the 2005 Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy.[298]
Trump's second presidency was described by political commentators as having fewer prohibitions on business activity and guardrails against potential conflicts of interest than his first, and for having more opportunities to directly influence Trump.[302][303]
Potential conflicts of interest
Trump's second presidency included multiple potential conflicts of interest that did not exist during his first term in office, including a publicly traded company in Truth Social, a cryptocurrency venture, new overseas real estate deals involving state-affiliated entities, and several branding and licencing deals selling Trump-branded merchandice.[302]
His 2024 campaign was noted for an "unprecedented" mixing of personal business and political fundraising.[304] Trump promoted $59.99 bibles, $399 sneakers, $99 "Victory47" cologne, and $99 Trump-branded NFT digital trading cards for his personal, non-campaign accounts.[305][306] Trump's campaign was noted for spending large sums of campaign money at Trump-owned businesses, in particular his Mar-a-Lago resort and the Trump National Doral Miami.[307]
After winning the election, Trump mirrored his first term's ethics commitments and did not divest from his interests in branding and real estate. He also did not place his assets in a trust managed by an independent trustee.[308] Trump did not adopt his own formal ethics guidelines.[309] Trump transferred his shares of Truth Social into a trust in which he is the sole beneficiary, of which his oldest son is the trustee. Ethics experts described it as falling "well short of the blind trusts and divestitures from private business interests that other presidents have used to avoid ethical conflicts with their job". Trump's son, Eric Trump, said the Trump Organization would continue to pursue business deals overseas, dropping a self-imposed prohibition during Trump's first presidency.[303] Trump profited from holding events at his hotels and golf courses.[308] Trump's conflicts of interest were described as having national-security risks, with particular emphasis placed on relationships with the Saudi and Dubai governments through the Trump Organization and his son Jared Kushner's investment fund backed by the Saudis.[310]
Trump repealed ethics rules prohibiting executive branch employees accepting major gifts from lobbyists and two year bans on lobbyists seeking executive jobs and vice versa. Critics described the repeal as the opposite of his pledge to "drain the swamp".[311] Trump's wife, Melania, entered into a deal with Amazon to create a documentary about herself, which raised ethics concerns as it was made while in office and was described by former ethics lawyer Norm Eisen as Jeff Bezos currying favor with Donald Trump.[308]
Trump's cabinet were noted to have a large number of potential conflicts of interest, with the Campaign Legal Center finding over 467 that would require recusal, with the most, 106, belonging to Howard Lutnick.[309] Trump Media gifted 25,946 shares of stock of DJT to each of his picks for FBI Director, Kash Patel, and Education secretary nominee, Linda McMahon, totaling $779,400 each as of January 31, 2025. He also gifted thousands of shares to his son.[312]
Cryptocurrency memecoin
On January 17, Trump launched, promoted, and personally benefited[311] from a cryptocurrency memecoin, $Trump, that soared to a market valuation of over $5 billion within a few hours—a total $27 billion diluted value—through a Trump-owned company called CIC Digital LLC, which owned 80 percent of the coin's supply.[313] Within two days, the $Trump coin became the 19th most valuable form of cryptocurrency in the world, with a total trading value of nearly $13 billion, and a total of $29 billion worth of trades based on a $64 value of each of the 200 million tokens issued by the afternoon of January 19. The New York Times reported that Trump affiliates controlled an additional 800 million tokens that, hypothetically, could be worth over $51 billion, potentially making Trump one of the richest people in the world. Trump also launched a new memecoin named after his wife, $Melania, and promoted it on Truth Social shortly before attending an inauguration rally. The crypto venture was criticized by ethics experts and government watchdogs.[314] The venture and the possibility of foreign governments buying the coin was highlighted as possibly violating the Constitution's foreign emoluments clause.[315]
↑ 17 days of the 119th Congress (January 3, 2025 – January 19, 2025) took place under President Biden.
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↑ Peterson, Matt (January 21, 2025). "Trump's New Executive Orders Show His Power—and His Limits". Barron's. Retrieved January 23, 2025. President Donald Trump's first day back on the job began with what has been dubbed a shock and awe campaign, a burst of dozens of executive orders meant to jump-start his political and economic strategies.
↑ "The Trump administration revoked a Biden executive order that created a task force to reunify families separated at the southern border. In the time the task force was in place, it reunified nearly 800 children with their parents, according to a report it released last year." "Live Updates"The New York Times, January 20, 2025.
↑ Tau, Byron (January 22, 2025). "Trump's perceived enemies worry about losing pensions, getting audited and paying steep legal bills". The Associated Press. Archived from the original on January 23, 2025. Retrieved January 23, 2025. Revenge played a central role in many of Trump's remarks after he left the presidency in 2021. He said at a 2023 rally, "For those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution." ... But hours after being sworn in, he issued executive orders aimed at settling scores, including the one stripping clearances from 50 former intelligence officers. He also rescinded Secret Service protection for Bolton, whose life has been threatened by Iran.
1 2 Schmidt, Michael S.; Mazzetti, Mark (January 21, 2025). "A Trump Executive Order Sets Out What Could Be a Road Map for Retribution". The New York Times. ISSN0362-4331. Retrieved January 24, 2025. The order is titled "Ending the Weaponization of the Federal Government", but it asserts that the Biden administration might have acted illegally and directs agencies to seek evidence.
↑ Mazaetti, Mark; Swan, Jonathan; Haberman, Maggie; Schmidt, Michael S. (January 28, 2025). "In Exacting Retribution, Trump Aims at the Future as Well as the Past". The New York Times. ISSN0362-4331. Retrieved January 28, 2025. In his first week in office, President Trump made clear that his promises to exact revenge on his perceived enemies were not empty campaign pledges — and that his retribution is intended not just to impose punishment for the past but also to intimidate anyone who might cross him in the future.
1 2 Collinson, Stephen (January 28, 2025). "Trump sets about his retribution agenda with relish". CNN. Retrieved January 28, 2025. The president is wasting no time in following through on his frequent campaign trail vows for retribution – with a torrent of purges and pardons.
↑ Tucker, Eric (January 21, 2025). "Trump moves to revoke clearances of ex-intel officials who signed letter on Hunter Biden laptop". The Associated Press. Archived from the original on January 23, 2025. Retrieved January 23, 2025. The action is an early indication of the president's determination to exact retribution on perceived adversaries and is the latest point of tension between Trump and an intelligence community of which he has been openly disdainful.
1 2 3 Anne Branigin (January 31, 2025). "Trump's FCC chief orders investigation into NPR and PBS sponsorships". The Washington Post.
↑ Mary Walrath-Holdridge (July 17, 2024). "As Trump creates distance from Project 2025, conservative Agenda47 comes into focus". USA Today. Retrieved January 18, 2025. Starting in 2022, Trump's official campaign began uploading a series of policy plans to its website, detailing how the Republican candidate plans to tackle some of the country's most pressing issues. Called Agenda47, the campaign materials paint a big picture of what Americans may expect under another Trump presidency.
↑ Frazen, Rachael; Budryk, Zack (January 22, 2025). "White House narrows executive order restricting IRA funds". The Hill. Retrieved January 26, 2025. Trump has frequently falsely conflated Biden-era climate policies with the "Green New Deal," an ambitious suite of energy and environmental legislation supported by lawmakers including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.).
↑ Horsley, Scott; Simon, Scott (January 25, 2025). "Trump inherits a strong economy by the numbers. What's his plan to lower prices?". National Public Radio. Mark Zandi: The numbers speak for themselves. Growth is strong. Lots of jobs. Unemployment is low. If you take the economy on the whole, it really is about as good as it gets. So President Trump is inheriting a fantastic economy.
1 2 Savage, Charlie (January 22, 2025). "Trump Seeks to Paralyze Independent Privacy and Civil Liberties Watchdog". The New York Times. ISSN0362-4331. Retrieved January 25, 2025. Advisers to Mr. Trump subscribe to a strong view of presidential power called the unitary executive theory, under which the Constitution should be interpreted as giving presidents exclusive control of the executive branch and independent agencies are considered illegitimate. During the campaign, Trump allies vowed to stomp out pockets of independence in the executive branch if he won the election.
1 2 Savage, Charlie (January 27, 2025). "Fired Inspectors General Raise Alarms as Trump Administration Moves to Finalize Purge". The New York Times. ISSN0362-4331. Retrieved January 28, 2025. Some advisers to Mr. Trump have been interested in advancing the so-called unitary executive theory, an expansive view of presidential power. According to the theory, the president must have complete control of the executive branch, so Congress may not give other officials independent decision-making authority or restrict the president's ability to fire them.
↑ Barrow, Bill (January 22, 2025). "Everything Trump did in the first executive orders and actions of his presidency". Retrieved January 28, 2025. In total, the Republican president's sweeping actions reflect many of his campaign promises and determination to concentrate executive branch power in the West Wing, while moving the country sharply rightward.
↑ Colvin, Jill; Gillies, Rob (January 9, 2025). "Trump, the 'America First' candidate, has a new preoccupation: Imperialism". The Associated Press. Retrieved January 28, 2025. But since winning a second term, the president-elect has been embracing a new imperialist agenda, threatening to seize the Panama Canal and Greenland — perhaps by military force — and saying he will use economic coercion to pressure Canada to become the nation's 51st state.
↑ Stephen, Collinson (January 8, 2025). "Trump's threats to Greenland, Canada and Panama explain everything about America First". CNN. Retrieved January 28, 2025. Donald Trump's imperialist designs on Greenland, Canada and Panama often sound like the ramblings of a real estate shark who equates foreign and trade policy to a hunt for new deals. But there's method in his expansionist mindset.
↑ Smolar, Piotr (January 8, 2025). "Donald Trump's rhetoric of a new American imperialism". Le Monde. Retrieved January 28, 2025. At a press conference in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Tuesday, January 7, Trump reiterated the idea of American expansion, which he believes would validate the promise of a "golden age" made to voters.
↑ "Iranian official met with Musk in a possible step to ease tensions with Trump". Associated Press. November 16, 2024. Archived from the original on November 27, 2024. Retrieved November 16, 2024. Iran's U.N. Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani met with Musk — a Trump ally named this week to advise his administration on ways to cut the federal government — on Monday in New York, according to a U.S. official briefed on the meeting by a foreign colleague.
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