Is Everything in Order?
President Trump’s First Week in Office
Donald J. Trump, the 47th President of the United States, signed 37 executive orders within his first week in office. Trump accomplished more orders in his first week than the last 15 presidents were able to. The topics vary from eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs in the federal workforce, ceasing federal funding for elective abortions, renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America and removing past government policies that acted as barriers to artificial intelligence (AI).
Out of all the orders President Trump signed, two pertained to economic matters, two to environmental matters, three to foreign policies, two to health policies and two to miscellaneous matters. Additionally, there were eight concerning immigration policies, three about technology, four about national security, two disaster responses and nine affecting the federal government.
The two economic orders President Trump signed are named “Unleashing American Energy” and “Declaring a National Energy Emergency.” These orders target energy supplies, with one removing restrictions on the energy industry to encourage energy independence, while the other prioritizes securing infrastructure needs and enhancing energy production.
The two environmental orders Trump signed are named “Putting America First in International Environmental Agreements” and “Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential.” In the first order, Trump withdrew the United States from the Paris climate accord, as he did in his first term. In the second environmental order, Trump aims to reduce restrictions on mining and drilling in Alaska, although specifically focusing on growing the state’s natural gas and oil reserves. These policies align with his statement to “Drill, baby, drill.”
“There are so many other countries that produce oil that we get it from and I don't think that would seriously benefit our economics enough to offset the horrible environmental destruction it’s going to have,” an anonymous faculty member said. “Truly, so many protected areas are going to be destroyed, and that’s just going to be tragic.”
While these orders pose a concern to the environment, Trump’s goal is to improve the economy.
“I believe it will be worth any negative effects, climate change is real, but I don’t think it’s as real as they say it is,“ sophomore Blake Brannen said. “We just got snow in Florida.”
Trump signed three foreign policy orders with the names “America First Policy Directive to the Secretary of State,” “Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid” and “Designation of Ansar Allah as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.” The first foreign policy order directs the secretary of state to issue directions to the State Department putting American interests first, but the policy does not report any specific programs that will achieve this goal. The second foreign policy order places a 90-day pause on assistance or aid to United States allies while the current aid programs undergo evaluation by the administration. The third foreign policy order identifies Ansar Allah, otherwise known as the Houthis, as a “Foreign Terrorist Organization.”
The two health policies that were signed are called “Withdrawing the United States from the World Health Organization” and “Enforcing the Hyde Amendment.” These orders have begun the process of removing the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO) and removed federal funding for elective abortions.
“We are one of two countries in the world that are not part of the WHO now,” an anonymous faculty member said. “It is such an important medical body around the world that us not being part of it probably makes other countries kind of laugh at us a little bit because we are supposed to be this big powerhouse, and we are not part of the biggest medical organization in the world.”
The two orders that President Trump signed under the miscellaneous category are named “Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions” and “Declassification of Records Concerning the Assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” These orders revoke 78 executive actions signed by former President Joe Biden, among them several health regulations, and releasing all records relating to the assassinations of former President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The eight orders signed concerning immigration policies are named “Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats,” “Designating Cartels and Other Organizations as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists,” “Clarifying the Military’s Role in Protecting the Territorial Integrity of the United States,” “Protecting the American People Against Invasion,” “Restoring the Death Penalty and Protecting Public Safety,” “Securing our Borders,” “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship” and “Realigning the United States Refugee Admissions Program.” Most of these orders ultimately aim to clear the United States of any illegal immigrants, with notable orders removing birthright citizenship, calling for immediate removal of people without legal status and directing the attorney general to resume enacting the death penalty whenever possible.
“I’m afraid that the removal of birthright citizenship is going to be a brain drain on America,” an anonymous faculty member said. “There are so many intelligent and brilliant people that were born here because their parents came here on purpose to do that.”
The three orders about technology are named “Application of Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act to TikTok,” “Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence” and “Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology.” These orders have paused the TikTok ban for 75 days, revoked former President Biden’s executive order on AI while encouraging AI innovation and are promoting American investment in digital assets.
The orders concerning national security are called “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness,” “Restoring America’s Fighting Force,” “The Iron Dome for America” and “Reinstating Service Members Discharged Under the Military’s Covid-19 Vaccination Mandate.” The first national security order states that people who do not identify with the pronouns of their sex are unfit to serve in the military, while the second security order abolishes DEI programs in the Department of Homeland Security and the Defense department. The remaining orders aim to station a more advanced missile defense shield to defend against aerial attacks and reinstates service members that were discharged due to refusing to receive the COVID-19 vaccination during the pandemic.
“I don’t think they should’ve been removed anyway,” Brannen said. “That's a personal decision, it shouldn’t have anything to do with the government.”
The two disaster responses that Trump signed are named “Emergency Measures to Provide Water Resources in California and Improve Disaster Response in Certain Areas” and “Council to Assess the Federal Emergency Management Agency.” These orders attempt to supply resources to Southern California and issues a review on how the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is doing its job.
The nine orders affecting the federal government are named “Ending the Weaponization of the Federal Government,” “Restoring Accountability to Policy-Influencing Positions Within the Federal Workforce,” “Holding Former Government Officials Accountable for Election Interference and Improper Disclosure of Sensitive Governmental Information,” “Reforming the Federal Hiring Process and Restoring Merit to Government Service,” “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,” “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” “Establishing and Implementing the President’s ‘Department Of Government Efficiency,’” “Restoring Names that Honor American Greatness” and “Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship.” While most of these orders reorganize and set boundaries within the federal government, significant orders are renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America,” and mandating that the federal government will not recognize gender identities, forcing individuals to be referred to by their sex.
“The transgender community makes up less than 1% of the U.S. population and to be spending time targeting legislature against a marginalized community when there are so many other things worth writing laws on makes no sense,” an anonymous student said. “Trans rights are human rights, and to take these rights away is a direct violation to the 14th amendment and will put these people in harm’s way.”
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