On January 20th, 2025, Donald J. Trump officially started his second presidential term, 8 years after his first term began on January 20, 2017, when he was inaugurated as the 45th president. In his first term, some of Trump’s main accomplishments were the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (which significantly reduced the corporate tax rate and caused fundamental changes to taxing international income), spending cuts on major welfare programs such as Medicaid, and the creation of Space Force (a new, space-focused branch of the U.S. Armed Services).
It has been a little over a month since the beginning of Trump’s second term. Trump has approved more than 70 executive orders, but what exactly is an executive order? It is an official document that only the president can issue and sign. They differ from laws one generally thinks of, which are passed by Congress and signed by the President, as executive orders don’t require approval from Congress and legislators cannot simply overturn them. However, an executive order cannot override federal laws and statutes, they can only direct how federal agencies implement or manage a statute.
So what kind of executive orders have been passed? Let’s recall ten of the most significant executive orders Trump has approved since inauguration.
1. “Force” Use of Paper Straws
A recent executive order was approved to end the “procurement and forced use of paper straws.” This policy reverses Biden’s gradual end to the US government’s purchasing of plastic straws by directing government agencies to end the purchase of paper straws and to stop providing them within Federal buildings. Trump’s personal opinion of paper straws is that they “don’t work” because he’s “had them many times, and on occasion, they break.” According to Fox News, the White House stated that paper straws are also much more expensive than plastic straws and carry chemicals that pose a risk to human health.
2. “Anti-Christian Bias”
On February 6th, Trump signed an executive order in an attempt to eliminate “anti-Christian bias” within the US government. He believed there was an immediate need to end all anti-Christian violence and discrimination in the government. To do so, Trump announced the development of a task force led by Pam Bondi, a United States attorney general, to “fully prosecute anti-Christian vandalism in our society and to defend the rights of Christians nationwide.”
3. Trans Athletes in Women’s Sports
On the same day as the ban on “anti-Christian bias,” Trump signed an order to forbid transgender women from participating in female sports. Its stated purpose is to restore fairness in sports, but LGBTQ advocates and human rights organizations see this order as discriminatory. The order went into effect immediately, first covering high schools and universities and then expanding towards local, community-based sports. According to BBC, an administration official declared that the executive order would reverse the Biden administration’s rules protecting LGBTQ students by federal law under Title IX. The White House has also declared that “the US would do all it could to prevent transgender athletes from partaking in the 2028 L.A. Olympics.”
4. Guantanamo Bay Migrant Detention Center
On February 5th, Trump ordered the construction of a migrant detention center, which he declared would hold as many as 30,000 people. The facility will be at the US Navy base in Cuba, separate from the established high-security prison. According to BBC, it will be organized by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency. Trump states the detention center will hold “the worst illegal aliens threatening the American people.” This order is part of his broader goal of fulfilling his promise of removing millions of people from the United States. Cuba’s government has responded to this act, accusing the US of illegal detention on occupied land.
5. Gender-Affirming Care
Trump not only prohibited trans athletes in women’s sports but also signed an order that attempts to end gender transitions for all those under nineteen. Trump states that the order “is a policy for the United States that it will not fund, promote, or support the transition of a child from one sex to another.” The order directs federally-run insurance programs such as Medicaid to exclude coverage for gender-affirming care and suggests the end of the practice as a whole, as it calls for the Department of Justice to oppose such care legislatively.
6. Reshaping the U.S. Military
On January 27th, Trump signed three executive orders, all of which modified the U.S. military. His primary goals for the military are to remove DEI programs, eliminate “gender radicalism,” and reinstate soldiers who were expelled for refusing COVID-19 vaccines a few years ago. At a Republican conference in Florida, Trump assured an audience that his orders guaranteed “the most lethal fighting force in the world.” He announced that America “will get transgender ideology the hell out of our military.” These orders do not yet officially ban transgender soldiers but imply that the Pentagon should create a policy about this.
7. Barriers to AI Innovations
During his first week back in office, Trump revoked Biden’s executive order that outlined requirements for AI developers to reduce the risk of artificial intelligence. Trump’s case demanded the removal of all policies that are “barriers to American AI innovation,” though the order doesn’t name which existing policies are hampering AI development. Trump asserted that “we must develop AI systems that are free from ideological bias” to maintain the US’s dominant position in AI development. Any of Biden’s policies that don’t fit with Trump’s new regulation will be immediately suspended. Additionally, he signed a second order for the creation of a cryptocurrency working group tasked with proposing new digital regulations. Part of the order—stemming from industry claims that regulators cut off crypto companies from banking services—demands for crypto companies to have those services protected.
8. Termination of Refugee Resettlement Program
Trump suspended the US Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), a program that protects the most vulnerable refugees. USRAP has been active since the 1980 Refugee Act, which established a systemic procedure for those seeking asylum. Starting on January 20th, refugees are now only admitted on a case-to-case basis after carefully inspecting that their entry is in the “national interest.” According to AP News, Trump has already canceled travel for refugees who were cleared to immigrate to America before his executive order. The International Refugee Assitance Project, among other agencies, has filed class-action lawsuits to have the executive order declared illegal and funding for the USRAP restored.
9. Departure From the World Health Organization
On his very first day back, Donald Trump signed an order to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO). According to CNN, he later explained that the “WHO ripped us off” and that “It’s not going to happen anymore.” Not only that, he also accused the WHO of mishandling the Covid-19 crisis and other world crises. America hasn’t officially left the WHO yet, but it will leave in a year and stop all financial support for WHO’s current missions. Without the U.S.’s economic contributions, the WHO will lose its most prominent financial backer.
10. Withdrawal From the Paris Climate Agreement
Trump issued an executive action to withdraw America from the 2025 Paris Agreement, a legally binding international treaty on climate change. During a rally at the Capital One Arena, Trump said, “I am immediately withdrawing from the unfair, one-sided Paris Climate Accord rip-off.” In context, back in Trump’s first term, Trump exited the Paris Agreement, but in 2021, Biden took office and rejoined. Now, Trump is staying true to his campaign promise to retreat from the agreement once again. The US will have to wait a year before it is officially out of the treaty and will join countries such as Iran, Yemen, and Libya as the only nations outside the agreement.
