Name: Trump’s Major Actions in His First Week Back in Office
Uploaded: 2025-01-27T05:51:36.000Z
Description: President Donald Trump’s first week back in office has been full of executive orders, firings, pardons, and other actions that will likely spur political pushback and legal challenges from opposition groups.

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President Donald Trump’s first week back in office has been full of executive orders, firings, pardons, and other actions that will likely spur political pushback and legal challenges from opposition groups.

Trump has issued sweeping actions on illegal immigration, deploying the military to the southern border and ordering mass deportations nationwide.

He also moved to rename two large geographical landmarks, ended diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in federal agencies, proposed overhauling or eliminating the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and backed a plan to relocate thousands living in the Gaza Strip to “clean out” the territory.

These are some of Trump’s major actions in his first full week back in the White House:
<h2>Illegal Immigration</h2>
Trump had said on the 2024 campaign trail that he saw border security as a more pressing issue than inflation and the economy, while vowing to deploy the military to block illegal immigration.

Many of his first executive orders this week cracked down on illegal immigration, as he declared a national border emergency, sent troops to the U.S.–Mexico border, ended birthright citizenship for children of non-citizens or those on temporary status, and eliminated the CBP One app for migrants seeking asylum in the United States.

Trump’s order challenging birthright citizenship was already <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/epochtv/judge-blocks-trumps-restrictions-on-birthright-citizenship-5797913">blocked</a> by a federal judge, amid legal challenges from several states and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

Trump also plans to resume border wall construction and has invoked the Alien Enemies Act to stop “any invasion or predatory incursion against the territory of the United States by a qualifying actor.”

Trump suspended the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program until further refugee entry “aligns with the interests of the United States.”

Additionally, Mexico has <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/mexico-accepted-4-deportation-flights-this-week-white-house-says-5798772?ea_src=ai_recommender&ea_med=desktop_news">accepted</a> the first four deportation flights of illegal immigrants from the United States. The flights set a new record for deportations to the nation in a single day, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
<h2>Pardons and Firings</h2>
In keeping with one of many campaign promises, Trump pardoned roughly 1,500 people convicted for actions connected to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach. Trump said he felt many of the defendants were treated unfairly and given harsh punishments.

“If they were non-violent, I think they’ve been greatly punished,” he said. “They’ve suffered greatly, and in many cases, they should not have suffered.”

During a Sunday interview with CNN’s “State of the Union,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said he didn’t like the pardons, particularly for any who were violent.

“I’ve always said that I think when you pardon people who attack police officers, you’re sending the wrong signal to the public at large, and that’s not what you want to do to protect cops,” Graham said. “But [Trump] has that power.”

This week, the president also <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/trump-pardons-23-pro-life-activists-ahead-of-march-for-life-5797925?utm_source=News&src_src=News&utm_campaign=ts-2025-01-25&src_cmp=ts-2025-01-25&utm_medium=email&est=AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAa%2BMoehFCy9Ta65MCt3NcRbd1xnk4U8IPuVWk4vcQJkvAMts%3D">pardoned</a> 23 pro-life demonstrators convicted under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act.

Ten of the pardoned individuals were convicted after an October 2020 demonstration at a Washington abortion clinic, where demonstrators linked themselves together with chains to bar entry into the clinic’s doors.

Two former Washington police officers who were convicted of murder in the 2020 death of 20-year-old Karon Hylton-Brown <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/trump-pardons-police-officers-convicted-over-fatal-2020-police-pursuit-5797443">received</a> pardons from Trump on Wednesday. Both were each sentenced to more than 40 months in prison for “an unauthorized police pursuit that ended in a collision on Oct. 23, 2020, that caused the death of Karon Hylton-Brown, 20, in Northwest Washington D.C.,” the Justice Department said last year.

In addition to pardons, Trump also moved to put all federal DEI employees on paid leave as the agencies work to dismantle those programs, <a href="https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Flists.theepochtimes.com%2Flinks%2F7cxCsoVmb%2FRontmvJPy%2Fq1C5NqtbtA%2FIRJczJ8jZh&data=05%7C02%7C%7Cad0257cb3e6f4de3fc6c08dd3d3ba748%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638734048602223853%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=YFRP5V9SPTg8p0cnF0hiO9OlS%2BceS7y891G7fKwgy2w%3D&reserved=0">according</a> to a memo from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM).

The Department of Education then <a href="https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Flists.theepochtimes.com%2Flinks%2F7cxCsoVmb%2FRontmvJPy%2Fq1C5NqtbtA%2FRVPks7CYxr&data=05%7C02%7C%7Cad0257cb3e6f4de3fc6c08dd3d3ba748%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638734048602248959%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=4j8UOSJSfQ4EA7eccwbM3oNl2cFwl0EQsDQZmU%2FuiZU%3D&reserved=0">announced</a> on Thursday that it would remove all of its DEI initiatives and put related staff members on paid leave.

Trump reportedly fired at least a dozen inspectors general, presidentially appointed watchdogs who oversee federal agencies. Those dismissed <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/inspector-general-council-says-white-house-firing-of-government-watchdogs-not-legal-5798760">objected</a> to the move, calling it illegal in a Jan. 24 <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25504469-hannibal-ware-cigie-letter-to-sergio-gor-wh/">letter</a> to Sergio Gor, director of presidential personnel at the White House.

“At this point, we do not believe the actions taken are legally sufficient to dismiss Presidentially Appointed, Senate Confirmed Inspectors General,” Small Business Administration (SBA) Inspector General Hannibal Ware wrote in the letter to Gor, who had sent dismissal emails to several inspector generals, including Ware.

Trump defended the move while speaking with reporters on Air Force One Saturday, calling it a “very common thing to do.”

“[I will] put good people in there that will be very good,” Trump said.

Trump did not give Congress a legally required 30-day notice for the removals, which drew criticism from Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).

“There may be good reason the IGs were fired. We need to know that if so,” he said in a statement. “I’d like further explanation from President Trump. Regardless, the 30-day detailed notice of removal that the law demands was not provided to Congress.”

Those who were dismissed reportedly included inspectors general at the departments of Agriculture, State, Transportation, Interior, Education, Housing and Urban Development, Labor and Defense, and Energy, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency and the Small Business Association.
<h2>Name Changes, FEMA Overhaul</h2>
After Trump had floated changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America and renaming Mount Denali, the U.S. Department of the Interior <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/interior-department-formally-implements-gulf-of-america-mount-mckinley-name-changes-5798417">announced</a> on Friday that it was formally implementing those alterations with the U.S. Board on Geographic Names.

“The Gulf of Mexico will now officially be known as the Gulf of America,” and Denali will revert to its former official name, Mount McKinley, the Interior Department said in a <a href="https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/interior-department-advances-restoration-historic-names-honoring-american-greatness">statement</a>.

While Trump’s efforts to rename the Gulf of Mexico are unprecedented, the name of North America’s tallest peak has been in dispute for decades. After being referred to as Mount McKinley, named after President William McKinley, since the early 1900s, President Barack Obama signed a 2015 executive order renaming the peak as Denali, an Athabaskan word that means “the high one” or “the great one.”

During a Friday trip to western North Carolina—an area destroyed by Hurricane Helene flooding in late September 2024—Trump <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/trump-says-he-will-sign-executive-order-to-overhaul-fema-5798296">said</a> he would sign an executive order to start the process of fundamentally overhauling or “getting rid of” FEMA.

Trump said he believes states can more efficiently respond to natural disasters. “You want to use your state to fix it, and not waste time calling FEMA.” He also criticized the federal agency for reportedly avoiding homes with Trump signs last year.

The catastrophic Category 4 hurricane had been downgraded to a Tropical Storm by the time it reached North Carolina, but still caused tens of billions of dollars in cumulative damage and killed more than 200 people across several states.

“I’ll also be signing an executive order to begin the process of fundamentally reforming and overhauling FEMA, or maybe getting rid of FEMA,” Trump told reporters at a press conference in Fletcher, North Carolina.

He also vowed to provide immediate aid from the federal government so that North Carolina could “come back bigger, better, stronger than ever before.”
<h2>Other Actions</h2>
One of Trump’s biggest actions on day one was <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/the-significant-biden-executive-orders-rescinded-by-trump-on-day-one-5796269">reversing</a> many policies and executive orders of his predecessor, President Joe Biden.

He rescinded more than 70 of Biden’s executive actions, including policies related to COVID-19, immigration, the environment, gender and race, health care, and others.

One <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/02/09/2021-02804/rebuilding-and-enhancing-programs-to-resettle-refugees-and-planning-for-the-impact-of-climate-change#page-">order</a> Trump revoked created programs for refugee resettlement for illegal immigrants crossing the border through coordination with “private partners and American citizens in communities across the country.”

Another repealed Biden <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/01/25/2021-01765/protecting-public-health-and-the-environment-and-restoring-science-to-tackle-the-climate-crisis#page-">order</a> made it federal policy to “advance environmental justice” at all federal agencies.

Trump also <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/business/trump-pauses-enforcement-of-tiktok-divest-or-ban-law-for-75-days-5795230">signed</a> an order pausing the ban on the social platform TikTok, giving it 75 days to separate from its Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance. Trump said he wanted a solution “that protects national security while saving a platform used by 170 million Americans.”

The app went dark in the United States for roughly 14 hours after its divest-or-ban deadline on Jan. 19.

Trump <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/trump-signs-executive-order-releasing-additional-jfk-assassination-files-5797085">ordered</a> plans to be drafted for the release of records related to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy (JFK), Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy (RFK), and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

“That’s a big one,” Trump said while signing the order in the Oval Office. “A lot of people have been waiting for this for years, for decades. And everything will be revealed.”

The executive order gives the director of national intelligence and the attorney general 15 days to create a plan for the “full and complete release” of the JFK files and 45 days for the plans to release the RFK and King files.

On Sunday, Trump <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/trump-calls-for-jordan-egypt-to-take-more-palestinian-refugees-clean-out-gaza-5799016">said</a> he wants Egypt, Jordan, and other Arab nations to accept more Palestinian refugees from the Gaza Strip. The goal, he said, is to relocate enough of the war-torn area’s population to “just clean [it] out” and create a virtual clean slate of the Palestinian territory.

“You’re talking about probably a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing and say, ‘You know, it’s over,’” Trump said.

<em>Tom Ozimek, Andrew Thornebrooke, Samantha Flom, Terri Wu, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.</em>

<em>From <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/us/trumps-major-actions-in-his-first-week-back-in-office-5799049">The Epoch Times</a></em>

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