Trump kicks off second week in office with raft of new executive orders
President Donald Trump continued his executive order spree on Monday, signing a slew of new actions related to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives and transgender military service members, the development of an “American Iron Dome” and more.
Newsweek reached out to the White House for comment via email Monday evening.
Why It Matters
Trump hit the ground running after being inaugurated last week and has signed dozens of executive orders and other actions undoing the Biden administration’s policies and forging ahead with his campaign pledge to crack down on immigration, increase offshore drilling, roll back DEI programs and transgender rights and purge the federal government of officials deemed insufficiently loyal to the president’s agenda.
What To Know
The president announced Monday’s orders while addressing Republican lawmakers at a retreat at Trump National Doral Miami.
As Reuters reported, one of the executive actions orders reinstatement of military service members who were discharged because they refused to comply with COVID-19 vaccine mandates. Another requires the development of an American Iron Dome missile defense system.
A third eliminates “gender radicalism in the military,” as Trump phrases, while a fourth order eradicates DEI military initiatives. The fifth action was a proclamation commemorating the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp.
“We have to have a strong, strong defense,” Trump told Republicans at his South Florida resort earlier Monday. “And in a little while, I’ll be signing four new executive orders.”
Trump also ordered all federal government Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) staff be put on paid leave as their offices begin to close down, in an abrupt move last week.
What People Are Saying
Pete Hegseth, Trump’s newly Senate-confirmed secretary of defense, said on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday: “Thank you for your leadership Mr. President. We will execute!”
Conservative radio host Dan Bongino posted a meme to X on Monday of a person seemingly yelling “more!”
Charlie Kirk, founder and president of conservative Turning Point USA, posted to X on Monday: “Literally the only thing the left has is that Trump hasn’t managed to lower egg prices in 6 days, because he’s done nearly everything else.
That’s called winning.”
Former Democratic Vice President Al Gore said on X regarding Trump’s sweeping executive orders: “In its first week, the new administration has taken many steps to roll back climate progress. One I want to draw extra attention to is the repeal of an environmental justice Executive Order I was proud to champion in the Clinton-Gore White House.”
Gore added: “Decades of discriminatory practices have turned low-income communities and communities of color across the country into dumping grounds for pollution. Environmental justice isn’t part of some imaginary ‘woke agenda.’ The Executive Order that was repealed last week focused on ending discrimination, not perpetuating it.”
What Happens Next
As Trump settles into the first 100 days of his second term, it is believed he will continue leaning into his campaign promises of rolling back DEI initiatives, curbing immigration and “investigating the investigators,” like special counsel Jack Smith and his colleagues.
