Trump: The First Week

Here is a list of some of the executive orders Trump signed this week. Please note that an EO does not mean it will happen, that it’s legal, or that the President has the authority to do so. But it does mean the Trump Administration will sure as hell try.

Trump signed orders to:

• END BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP. (More below)
• SUSPEND US REFUGEE PROGRAMS. (More below)
• PARDON JANUARY 6 OFENDERS: Trump pardoned nearly all 1,500 people convicted or charged for offenses related to the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol—including violent offenders and leaders of far-right groups like the Proud Boys.
• PAUSE THE TIK-TOK BAN for 75 days while seeking a U.S. buyer, and said he’s open to selling it to Elon Musk.
• FLY FLAGS AT FULL STAFF on every Inauguration Day. Despite President Biden’s order to fly flags at half-mast for 30 days in honor of President Carter’s passing, Trump ordered them raised to full staff, claiming Democrats were "giddy" that flags would be lowered on his inauguration day.
• CHANGE THE NAME OF GULF OF MEXICO to Gulf of America. While major outlets, such as Google and Apple Maps, continue using the original name, the U.S. Coast Guard has begun using the new one. (But maybe not for long?) 
• CHANGE NAME OF ALASKA’S MOUNT DENALI (the name given by native Alaskan tribes) to its original name — Mt McKinley. News organizations, including the Associated Press, are expected to adopt the change.
• DECLARE A NATIONAL EMERGENCY at the US-Mexico border due to an influx of immigrants, deploying 1,500 troops to secure the area.
• WITHDRAW U.S. FROM the Paris Climate Agreement again (he did it in the first term; Biden reverted the decision). The U.S. is the second-largest greenhouse gas emitter. (More below)
• WITHDRAW U.S. FROM the World Health Organization. (Trump resents them over their handling of COVID-19; you know, science and all)
• IMMEDIATELY END all federal diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs and the dismissal of employees in related offices, which provided protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
• DECLARE THAT THE U.S. LEGALLY recognizes only two sexes: male and female. This change affects shelters, prisons, and government documents such as passports, defining sex based on whether a person was born with eggs or sperm.
• MANDATE ALL FEDERAL EMPLOYEES currently working remotely to return to offices full-time, issuing a hiring freeze across all federal agencies.
• ELIMINATE THE GLOBAL TAX DEAL aimed at preventing corporations from avoiding taxes.
• ORDERED THE ATTORNEY GENERAL to ensure states have sufficient lethal injection supplies and explore ways to reverse Supreme Court decisions that limited the death penalty.
• THE HHS TO STOP ALL communications, meetings and decisions until at least February 1. This has caused confusion among researchers and medical professionals who are researching cures for diseases such as cancer, reviewing applications for cancer trial patients, training workshops, and job offers have been rescinded.

BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP

On Thursday, a federal judge appointed by Reagan temporarily blocked Trump’s executive order to end birthright citizenship, a right guaranteed by the 14th Amendment, which states that anyone born in the U.S. is automatically a citizen.

Judge John Coughenour issued a 14-day temporary restraining order after Washington, Arizona, Illinois, and Oregon filed a complaint. The states argue that the order would harm children affected by it by depriving them of their constitutional right to citizenship and associated benefits. These include the risk of deportation and family separation, loss of access to federal funding for medical care and public benefits that prevent child poverty and promote health, and negative impacts on education, employment, and healthcare—costs the states would have to bear due to the loss of federal funding.

As a result, Trump’s order cannot take effect for at least 14 days while legal challenges proceed. The judge is expected to order a longer pause until the legal challenges against it are adjudicated.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

• "More than a century of legal precedent has recognized the Constitution’s 14th Amendment as granting U.S. citizenship to every person born here. (Judge in Seattle blocks Trump order on birthright citizenship nationwide)
• Washington state Attorney General Nick Brown argued that the 14^th Amendment was adopted after the Civil War and “embodies one of its most solemn promises” to grant citizenship to anyone born in the US — no matter their race. 
• After the court hearing, Brown said Coughenour’s comments reinforced that “no one individual, not even the president of the United States can simply erase what it means to amend the Constitution.” (Judge in Seattle blocks Trump order on birthright citizenship nationwide)
• Brown: The order would affect 150,000 babies every year. (If born in the US and not granted citizenship, these children would be “stateless”; citizens of nowhere with no guaranteed rights. These children would not be granted passports — rendering them trapped.

REFUGEE PROGRAMS

One of Trump’s first actions was to immediately shut down refugee programs, leaving at least 2,000 approved Afghan refugees stranded after their flight plans were canceled. Many of them are family members of active U.S. soldiers and face serious threats in Afghanistan due to their ties to the U.S. military.

A soldier whose family was affected shared that he came to the U.S. after Afghanistan fell in 2021. Having worked as a combat interpreter for U.S. special operations forces, he later joined the U.S. military, saying it was “the best way I can give back” and prove that Afghans in the U.S. are willing to “fight for this freedom.”

HOLDING CALIFORNIA HOSTAGE?

On his first official presidential trip, Trump visited Southern California Friday, where wildfires have been raging for weeks, destroying entire neighborhoods and killing at least 27 people. 

Trump threatens to withhold federal disaster aid from California unless they change policies that he falsely claims have led to a water shortage, making it difficult to contain the fires. There is no shortage of water in California. Given the location of the fires, there have been some logistical issues related to accessing reservoirs, which are filled at or above historical levels, making it more tricky for firefighters to reach the fires. 

“Several California representatives agreed that the federal government must guard against the misuse of funds but argued that the money should not be held up or saddled with restrictions not placed on other states after tornadoes and hurricanes.” (Yes, even some Republican ones).