January 31, 2025/Midnight

Erie, Pa. —– It was not a surprise that Donald Trump is back in office, but many have been taken aback by the many decisions made within his first week.

Trump was inaugurated into office for his second term on January 20, 2025, and ever since has taken every moment to cater the organization of the United States of America to how he sees fit.

A lot has happened in the last week from executive actions to policy changes.

The 47th President has wanted to leave his mark on the presidency. One of the first actions he made was to revoke protections for those who identify as transgender. The biggest change the newly inaugurated president made was to severely curtail immigration.

Other than immigration policies being changed there were acts to strip former officials under threat from Iran of security details or the potential of issuing a blanket pardon for January 6 rioters.

So far, the president has shown no concrete steps taken to lower costs or the promises for tariffs to be deferred but his second term has just begun.

The Trump administration this week is testing how far the other branches are willing to exercise the constitutional obligation to check executive power and authority with the executive orders that have been issues.

Within Section 1. Purpose and Policy, Trump stated that the previous administration had created deeply unpopular, inflationary, illegal, and radical practices. For diversity, equity, and inclusion it corrupted the workplace and created a dangerous preferential hierarchy.

It found the order to open the border a danger to the American people and dissolved Federal State and that the local resources should only be used to benefit the American people.

The order mentioned that the climate extremism has exploded inflation and overburdened businesses with regulation. To ensure the Nation is united, fair, safe, and prosperous again the policy was to restore common sense to the Federal Government. Planning to “unleash the potential of the American citizen.”

In one of his orders, he rescinded 78 policies that had been signed by former President Joe Biden. These actions were made within the first day.

Section 2 was a complete revocation of orders and actions that were instated by Trump’s predecessor. These include but are not limited to advancing racial equity and support for underserved communities, include all persons whose place of residence was in that state regardless of their immigration status, response to combat COVID–19, preventing and combating discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation, protecting public health and the environments climate crisis, revision of immigration policies and priorities, and so many more throughout just Section 2.

The main plan for Section 3 was to make the revocations described in section 2 should have heads of each agency that would take steps to end Federal implementation of unlawful and radical DEI ideology.

The Director of the Domestic Policy Council and the Director of the National Council were given the task of reviewing all Federal Government actions for orders, memoranda and any proclamations listed in Section 2.
Both the DPC and the NEC have been given 45 days to submit an additional list of orders, memoranda, and proclamations that should be rescinded.

The National Security Advisor had been tasked to create a complete and thorough review of the National Security Memoranda that had originally been issued from 2021 to 2025. Within Section 4 General Provisions it was decided that nothing within the order would be construed to affect the authority by law to an executive department or agency, or the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget. This was to prevent disruptions to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

Already the action to end birthright citizenship had been halted on January 23. This action has been guaranteed and instated in the constitution for over a century.

Other than multiple orders being revoked within the first week there have also been orders made to affect the economy.

The focus is towards how energy is in a national emergency and that high prices have impacted many low–income Americans. His bigger order is to focus on domestic energy production, specifically oil and gas drilling. This has been found to not have much impact on the prices of everyday goods and services.

Immigration has always been one of Trumps biggest passions and this week it has shown through his suspension of refugee resettlement. He has also stopped flights of immigrants who had originally been cleared to land in America. Appointments have been cancelled for asylum and again the potential to uproot birthright citizenship.

President Trump’s first week back in office has been an eventful one and it does not look like the newly inaugurated president has any plans of slowing down any time soon.