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It’s become abundantly clear that Donald Trump has been mulling over how to maximize the effects of his new era of tyranny given that he wasted absolutely no time in getting dozens of presidential decrees signed to reverse many of the things his predecessor had set out to do.
Trump’s aides took his folder of executive orders with him into the inaugural parade at Capital One Arena, where the president began signing a series of decrees that withdrew the United States from the Paris Agreement, overturned the recognition of any genders by the federal government outside of male and female, froze the hiring of any new federal workers, froze any new regulations, founded his bestie Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency aka DOGE, reversed the sanction on Israeli settlers, and issued a mass pardon for January 6 rioters, to name a few.
Trump’s numerous executive orders are all aimed at undermining the Democrats’ work and pushing the country towards his peculiar vision of the MAGA movement, so here’s an extensive overview of everything he’s signed so far.
What executive orders has Trump already signed and what do they entail?
Going through every single order might be a bit of an overkill since many of them overlap in nature, so here’s a general rundown of every sweeping change awaiting the federal government and the country at large.
- Immigration orders: Trump has promised the mass deportation of the undocumented, even if he has yet to detail the exact method. This includes a declaration of national emergency at the Mexico-U.S. border, and the deployment of the National Guard. There are also supposed to be additional border barriers beside the wall, with Trump designating cartels like Tren de Aragua and MS-13 as foreign terrorist organizations.
The “Remain in Mexico” policy, first implemented by Trump in 2019 and then halted by the Biden administration, is once again in effect.
Trump is suspending the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, until Homeland Security confirms that the planned refugee entries are in the best interests of the United States. He has also revoked plans for thousands of cleared Afghans to resettle in the U.S., many of whom are family members of military personnel.
The refugees fleeing countries like Nicaragua, Haiti, Cuba, and Venezuela via the federal parole programs are to be terminated per instructions outlined in the executive orders. - Energy executive orders: The president made good on his repeated promise of “drill, baby, drill” by issuing orders permitting the unregulated drilling of oil. Trump is also suspending offshore wind leasing. (Which only goes to show how petty he can be.)
- Climate orders: Just like he did during his first administration, Trump signed an order withdrawing the United States from the Paris Agreement. (You’ll remember that Joe Biden rejoined the agreement via an executive order on his first day, so I can’t help but wonder how this will further tarnish the country’s reputation in the eyes of the other nations around the world.)
Trump revoked the 2021 executive order by Joe Biden that designated 50% of vehicle sales to be electric by 2030. He has directed his Energy secretary, Chris Wright, to relaunch the country’s liquefied natural gas exports. - Birthright citizenship revoked: Trump has issued an executive order ending birthright citizenship for the children of undocumented immigrants.
- Orders affecting federal workers: Trump has demanded in-office, full-time work for all federal employees, and further froze any hiring across federal agencies.
Trump also effectively put a Project 2025 motion on the table by reinstating Schedule F, making it easier to fire civil servants whom he deems “disloyal.” - DOGE: Trump formally founded Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, with the aim of cutting government spending.
- TikTok ban: Trump suspended TikTok’s ban for 75 days until a new deal is reached between the company and the administration.
- WHO executive order: The president has withdrawn the United States from the World Health Organization.
- Prescription drug prices: One of Trump’s more concerning decrees was to rescind a 2022 executive order by Biden to lower the price of prescription drugs.
- Revoking security clearances: Trump has revoked the security clearance of his former national security advisor John Bolton, calling him a “warmonger.” He also did the same to several former intelligence officials who discredited the controversy around Hunter Biden’s laptop.
- Renaming landmarks: Trump has renamed Denali to Mount McKinley and the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, though the legality of this is still under dispute.
- January 6 pardons: Just as he promised, the 47th president has issued the mass pardon of around 1,500 individuals detained for taking part in the Jan. 6 riot.
- Free speech order: Trump has ordered federal agencies to avoid censorship and any abridgement of freedom of speech.
- DEI and transgender decrees: One of the most talked-about executive orders by Trump declared that the federal government will henceforth only recognize two genders, male and female. Trump is rescinding a Biden order to allow transgender people into military (further baring his bigotry for all to see) not to mention that he is now dismantling every initiative involving DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) across the government agencies. This doesn’t only affect different sexes, but even anti-discrimination rules dating back to the Equal Employment Opportunity signed in 1965.
If you think these are the very stuff nightmares are made of, then I would like to remind you that Trump is only getting started, and we have at least another 4 more years of this to bear through. It’s also worth noting that not all of these executive orders or the many more that are to come will take immediate effect, nor is it possible for Trump to put them in motion promptly, as some will require legislative review. Though with the GOP party winning across the board, the idea of any discernible resistance is a far-flung hope.