47th President Signs Executive Orders that Will Impact New York, the Nation, and the World

By Mary Alice Miller
Hours after he was inaugurated for the second time, Donald Trump signed dozens of executive orders that will impact New York, the nation, and the world. Executive orders are generally public relations statements that promote the administration’s agenda.

Some of Trump’s executive orders conflict with the United States Constitution and are headed to the courts.

At the Capital One Arena, where he held a rally for supporters, Trump first targeted and rescinded 78 Biden-era executive orders and presidential memoranda. The revoked policies include: an executive order that required federal agencies to extend prohibitions on sex discrimination to include sexual orientation and gender identity, an order that required executive branch appointees to sign an ethics pledge, an order that allowed transgender people to serve in the US military and an order that banned the renewal of private prison contracts.

Trump also revoked Biden-era actions that withdrew Cuba’s designation as a state sponsor of terror, applied sanctions on Jewish settlers in the West Bank, and sought to reduce the risks of artificial intelligence.

Then he signed a regulatory freeze to prevent bureaucrats from issuing any more regulations until the new administration fully controls the government and administration. The next was a freeze on all federal hiring except military and certain other excluded categories until full control of the government is achieved and they understand the objectives of the government going forward.

In his speech, Trump announced that federal workers must return to full-time in-person work immediately. He signed an executive order that would reform the federal workforce, including the senior executive service, by reinstating Schedule F, making it easier to fire tens of thousands of professional civil servants deemed disloyal to the administration’s agenda. He instated a “loyalty pledge.” Trump signed an order to hold former government officials accountable for unlawfully disclosing sensitive information.

In addition, Trump ordered a reform to the federal hiring system to ensure merit in hiring decisions. He also issued a directive to every department and agency to address the cost-of-living crisis.

Trump signed an executive order withdrawing the United States from the Paris climate treaty. Trump said, “We are going to save over $1 trillion by withdrawing from that treaty.” The next step was to submit a letter explaining the withdrawal to the United Nations.

Next, he signed a directive to the federal government ordering the restoration of freedom of speech and preventing government censorship of free speech. The final executive order signed in the Capitol One Arena was a directive to the federal government to end the weaponization of government against the political adversaries of the previous administration.

In the Oval Office later that day, Trump pardoned approximately 1500 rioters who had been charged in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The leaders of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers were among fourteen of those convicted who had their sentences commuted to time served. It required the Bureau of Prisons to act immediately upon receipt of the order.

Trump issued a series of executive actions related to immigration, including a proclamation guaranteeing the state protection against invasion based on the crisis at the southern border, an executive order realigning the United States refugee program resettlements, protecting America from foreign terrorists and other national security and public safety threats and designating cartels and other organizations to be foreign terrorist organizations.

And he instated the “Remain in Mexico” policy, ending a program that released asylum seekers into the U.S. while their cases were considered.

One of Trump’s executive orders seeks to redefine birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment to not recognize babies as citizens if their parents were in the United States “unlawfully,” were not citizens, were temporary residents, and/or were not lawful permanent residents.

He declared a “national energy emergency,” thereby easing permitting processes and other regulatory systems that he says will produce energy efficiently and unleash Alaska’s potential as an energy reservoir for the nation. He also rescinded Biden-era protections around the state’s coastal areas.

Trump also paused issuing new or renewal offshore wind leasing in federal waters.
Regarding TikTok, Trump ordered his attorney general not to enforce the TikTok ban under the Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act for 75 days “to permit my Administration an opportunity to determine the appropriate course of action concerning TikTok.” Trump has proposed a deal in which the United States would obtain half ownership of the social media platform used by more than 100 million Americans.

One of Trump’s executive orders created and implemented the Department of Governmental Efficiency, in which he said he would staff 20 employees to assist Elon Musk in carrying out his agenda to reduce the federal workforce and federal spending.

Trump withdrew from the World Health Organization and ordered the immediate cessation of U.S. funding. Trump has claimed that the WHO was ineffective during the Covid-19 crisis and that the U.S. funds the organization disproportionately. U.S. employees in the WHO would be redeployed elsewhere.

One of the last executive orders that Trump signed that day related to protecting women from gender ideologies. This executive order requires federal agencies to treat biological men and women as separate sexes, halt promoting “gender ideology,” and require certain agencies to revert to recognizing only “male” and “female” on forms.