Last week, on Jan. 20th, Donald Trump was sworn into office as the 47th president of the United States. The inauguration was full of memorable moments, some of which turned into viral sensations that were shared and laughed at by many. The inauguration was good fun, but Donald Trump and his team cannot simply revel in their victory forever and they seem to be aware of this. Trump has gotten straight to work and is already shaking things up in D.C. A lot has happened in his first week of presidency, and there is no way to cover and discuss it all, but here is a quick look at some of the more significant decisions being made in the nation’s capital.
Donald Trump started his term off with a bang by pardoning almost 1,600 individuals who were involved with the January 6th riots in 2021. The fact that those involved with the riot were pardoned is not exactly a surprise to those who have been following the election, since Trump has been pretty open about the fact that he would grant these individuals pardons. What is a bit surprising is the scope of the pardon; violent and non-violent participants were included in the pardon despite the fact that Vice President JD Vance had previously stated that violent offenders would not be getting a full pardon. Another significant pardon was that of 23 pro-life activists who had been imprisoned for violation of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act which punishes individuals for obstructing the entrances of women’s health clinics. Many conservatives have claimed that this law has been unfairly utilized to prosecute peaceful pro-life protestors. Among the 23 pardoned, several were elderly individuals, one of which was a 89 year old pro-life activist and survivor of a communist concentration camp. Both of these groups of pardons have been quite controversial.
Donald Trump has not only been making new decisions, but he is also reversing many from the previous administration. So far, Trump has reversed at least 78 of former President Joe Biden’s executive orders. Trump withdrew the U.S. from the World Health Organization, an entity that relies on the U.S. for nearly 20% of their budget. He also withdrew the United States from the Paris agreement, a treaty that has to do with efforts to address climate change. Trump also lifted restrictions on offshore oil drilling that had been put in place by the previous administration. There obviously many more policies that got the axe from the Trump administration, but that could be its own series of articles.
After throwing out many of Biden’s executive orders, Trump got to work on issuing some of his own. One of his most significant actions was that he declared a national emergency at the U.S. and Mexico border and promised to send troops down to the southern border. Along with declaring an emergency, he also designated several drug cartels operating along the border as terrorist organizations. And in keeping with his past policies, he also passed an executive order that would physically secure the border with a wall. This immediate action surrounding the U.S. border and immigration is not surprising from Trump, he has continuously focused his campaign on border security and border security.
One of his most controversial immigration related moves was his proposal to end birthright citizenship. Birthright citizenship is a legal principle found in the constitution that grants individuals U.S. citizenship simply being born within U.S. borders. This means that if two people are in the U.S. illegally and have a child, that child will automatically be a citizen. Currently, the U.S. is one of only 33 countries with unrestricted birthright citizenship according to the World Population Review, and while there are valid arguments both for and against the practice, it is very unlikely that it will be going anywhere as that would require a constitutional amendment.
Trump also declared a national energy emergency. This executive order emphasized the importance of utilizing the U.S.’s natural resources. The order states that the expansion of energy infrastructure would improve national and economic security. Along with this, he signed an order to open the state of Alaska up to increased oil and gas drilling in order to access more resources.
Many of Donald Trump’s first actions in office have been controversial, but one of his recent executive orders has been appreciated by many Americans. Trump signed an executive order that has delayed the ban of the popular social media app TikTok from taking place. This delay will allow for the Trump administration to have additional time to determine the correct course of action concerning TikTok. It was a dark few hours while the app was banned, but thanks to presidential action, Americans can resume their scrolling, for a short while at least.
While this article is by no means a comprehensive description of Donald Trump’s first week of office, it should provide a small glimpse into what is happening in the Oval Office. It is easy for North Dakotans to forget about what is happening in D.C. or even intentionally ignore what politicians are doing, but it is important to remember that the decisions made so far away by a bunch of strangers can and will have impacts on all Americans.
All of Trump’s executive orders are available online at the official White House website for anyone who wants to take a deeper look into the details of what the Trump administration is up to. Regardless of how one might view Trump and his team, it is always a good idea to keep an eye on Washington.