President Donald Trump spent his first week in office signing multiple executive orders and other presidential memoranda on a myriad of topics concerning health, economy, environment, disaster response, immigration, national security, technology, diversity and more. Some executive orders will take place immediately, while others will go into effect at a later time.
Many executive orders have gained negative attention from the general public. The order titled “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing” states that the federal government must terminate all DEI and “environmental justice” programs, getting rid of thousands of jobs as well as related committees, programs, activities, services and budgets. This executive order has the potential for increased discrimination, workplace inequality, negative workplace culture and harassment.
The order “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government” requires that the federal government asserts biological distinctions between males and females and refers to individuals by their sex instead of their gender identity. This order defines “male” and “female” based on whether a person belongs “at conception” to the sex that produces sperm or eggs. However, zygotes do not contain or produce sperm or eggs at conception. This scientifically inaccurate wording is likely to cause significant confusion.
Trump has several executive orders about immigration, specifically about Mexico and the legalization process. In summary, those without legal status within the U.S. will be removed and placed into detention facilities, immigration at the Mexico-U.S. border will be prohibited, the Refugee Admissions program will be suspended, citizenship may no longer be granted to U.S.-born children of non-U.S. citizens, the death penalty will be resumed and “pursued whenever possible” and the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 will be re-enacted.
These executive orders about immigration have already negatively affected the U.S. and will continue to hurt both the economy and U.S. citizens. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has already begun arresting suspected undocumented citizens in major cities, leading to mass labor shortages. Significant portions of the construction and agriculture industries heavily rely on the work of undocumented immigrants. As labor shortages continue to worsen, the U.S. may experience a great rise in both food and housing prices.
Trump also enacted several executive orders pertaining to energy and the environment. Trump is withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris climate accord, being the only country besides Iran, Libia and Yemen to not ratify the agreement. The goal of the Paris Climate Agreement is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit climate change.
Trump has declared a national energy emergency within the U.S., arguing that inadequate energy production is a threat to the U.S. This will expand the executive branch’s power to be able to facilitate energy projects. Within this order, solar and wind power are excluded from the definition of “energy.”
Another two orders will encourage the drilling of fossil fuels, particularly in Alaska and on federal lands, and the removal of regulations that favor electric vehicles. Not only will this be a massive expense to the U.S., but it also will greatly increase the amount of greenhouse gases produced by the U.S. and accelerate climate change. The decrease in environmental protections will have severe consequences on the longevity of humans as a whole.
Trump has removed the U.S. from the World Health Organization and rescinded former President Biden’s executive order that aided the COVID-19 response effort and processes to respond to future pandemics. The U.S. is now the only country besides Liechtenstein that is not a member of the W.H.O.
The W.H.O. monitors global health threats, evaluates new vaccines and medications, coordinates the response to emerging health crises alongside ongoing issues and provides expert support to countries, particularly when they face a health emergency and much more. The U.S. will lose easy access to critical data on outbreaks and a seat at the table when health standards are set, and disease responses are decided. This will likely have catastrophic effects on the health of Americans as the Centers for Disease Control and National Institutes of Health will be unable to communicate with the W.H.O.
Another executive order will pause a law banning TikTok for 75 days, giving the Trump administration “time to pursue a resolution that protects national security while saving a platform used by 170 million Americans.”
Trump also reversed over 70 of former President Joe Biden’s executive orders, placed a regulatory freeze on agency rules that have not yet been enacted and temporarily paused federal grants, loans and other financial assistance programs. The pause only applies to programs listed in seven of Trump’s executive orders, but the original announcement was rescinded due to widespread panic and confusion.
