Trump is Making America Great Again – Our Look at the First Executive Orders

Inauguration Day seemed like thirty things happening all at once. I flipped the channels to catch the live action while scrolling through online feeds, hoping not to miss a thing.

The day was inspiring and exhilarating – and it all happened so fast.

Seeing the President move quickly from the Oath of Office to signing executive orders, delivering three – or was it four, hope-filled speeches, hosting an hour-long impromptu press conference in the Oval Office as he continued to sign directives, and then dancing with our beautiful First Lady at three glittering inaugural balls.

Pomp and circumstance aside, in the space of one day, it feels like everything has changed.

Don’t you feel a bit lighter?

This week, we’re looking at what was done during the flurry of executive orders that day and beyond. It’s hard to discern exactly how many were signed in the first 24 hours after his presidential term began or which were combined with others. It’s been nonstop since that day, so we’ll cover all the information we can lay our hands on.

Here’s a bit of what was done (in no particular order):

• National Emergency at the Border – Among his first actions, Trump declared a national emergency at the border, which allows additional resources like deployed US Troops to work with US Border Agents to gain control. The President also promised to reinstate his Remain in Mexico policy, begin mass deportations (targeting the “worst first”), and restart border wall construction. Just three days after this order, deportations and raids have begun.

• End of Birthright Citizenship – This protects America from “anchor babies” gaining citizenship though their parent has illegally entered the US. This one will be contested because it is guaranteed in the Constitution. Though some claim there’s no way this one will stand, others think Trump’s effort has merit because the 14th Amendment contains the language “subject to the jurisdiction.”Mike Howell of The Heritage Foundation wrote on the topic, “Legislative history makes no mention of illegal immigrants being subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. Proponents of birthright citizenship often point to the 1898 Supreme Court case US v. Wong Kim Ark, but that case dealt with the children of lawful permanent residents, not illegal immigrants.” ¹

• Drug Cartels Designated Foreign Terrorists – Invoking principles legislated in 1798’s Alien Enemies Act, this executive order will unleash additional weapons in the battle against the invasion of drug cartels and gangs.

  As explained at Whitehouse.gov, “The Cartels have engaged in a campaign of violence and terror throughout the Western Hemisphere that has not only destabilized countries with significant importance for our national interests but also flooded the United States with deadly drugs, violent criminals, and vicious gangs. The cartels functionally control, through a campaign of assassination, terror, rape, and brute force nearly all illegal traffic across the southern border of the United States.” ²

• Jan 6 Justice – President Trump commuted the sentences to time served for those convicted of January 6 – related offenses and granted “full, complete and unconditional pardon” for everyone else convicted. The pardons included roughly 1500 who were charged with a variety of offenses from “parading” to “assault.”

  Though no guns were wielded by protesters that day, many were subjected to swat-style raids on their homes. Others didn’t receive their Constitutionally guaranteed speedy trial and were held indefinitely. Meanwhile, a sham, one-sided committee parsed selected evidence before TV cameras, conveniently leaving out significant and pertinent video and testimony to create a narrative rather than investigating to get to the truth. That committee also destroyed much evidence, limiting a future non-partisan investigation. Committee members received a preemptive pardon from former President Biden as he left office, making the appearance of their guilt more vivid.

  When asked in an interview this week on Hannity about the small number who were violent on January 6, President Trump explained why even those were included in the pardon. “They were in there (incarcerated) for three and a half years, a long time, many [in] solitary confinement.” 

  He continued, “You had 1500 that suffered. That’s a lot of people. You know, they were looking for new people two weeks ago. They were looking to charge new people. They have a woman who is 76 years old that they said made a statement that was a little bit out of line years after the fact. This was a political hoax.” ³

• Au Revoir Paris Climate Accords! – President Trump has taken action to end the Green New Deal (aka “Green New Scam”) and other climate-focused energy and business-killing regulations and has pulled us out of the Paris Climate Agreement. That coalition of nations cost the US more than $3 billion yearly. At the same time, other countries ponied up a fraction of that amount. A valid question might be raised about what that cooperative effort has accomplished. Online articles seem light on achievement and heavy on goals and hopeful rhetoric. Good riddance.

• End of Electric Vehicle Mandate – Trump undid Biden’s electric vehicle mandate, allowing the American people to choose their desired vehicle. EVs won’t go away – and the President isn’t against them; in fact, one of his good friends, Elon Musk, heads the most successful EV company in the world, Tesla. Chalk this one up as a free market move.

• Drill Baby Drill! – The President’s order, “Unleashing American Energy,” opens up lands and waters for exploration and energy pursuit. The directive also states that the US should become the leader in non-fuel resources, including rare earth minerals. It also wiped out a dozen Biden climate and energy-related executive orders.

• National Energy Emergency – This orders agencies to work together to address US energy needs and to fast-track restoring America’s military readiness, affordable energy for citizens, and our energy dominance.

• Cost of Living Crisis Memorandum – Each federal agency is tasked with reviewing to see if they can affect change to help Americans find relief from skyrocketing energy, housing, medical, and grocery costs.”President Trump is ordering all federal agencies to untangle the American economy from Biden constraints and improve affordability of necessary goods and services and increase the prosperity of the American workers.” ⁴

• Tik Tok Un-banned (Temporarily) – It was a mini-crisis for Gen Z and other enthusiastic Tik-Tok-ers who saw their fav app shut down for several hours. During that brief outage, reportedly, some panicked users even called 911. Ah, youth!

  President Trump has postponed the ban for 75 days to provide time for a deal to achieve some degree of US ownership of the app. Whether the right deal can be struck remains to be seen.

• Only Two Genders – Taking his first swipe at diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) culture, the President stated that the national stance will be to recognize the only two sexes, male and female. This will end taxpayer-funded medical transitions for inmates and illegals – among others. There will be no forced speech or penalties for those who “misgender” or use non-preferred pronouns.

  Additionally, all DEI departments throughout our government were required to close as of January 22, with staff encouraged to report any attempts to hide DEI actions within each agency.

• Creation of DOGE – Much has been said about the Department of Government Efficiency’s creation; on inauguration day, the President signed the order that brought it to life. A temporary agency, to be headed by visionary businessman Elon Musk of Tesla, SpaceX, and X (Formerly Twitter – where he famously fired roughly 80% of the workforce), is tasked with saving trillions for our nation.

• Hiring Freeze – This will pause the nonstop growth of government, with no new or open federal civilian positions filled until the freeze is lifted. It calls for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to work with the new US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and other appropriate agencies to provide a plan to reduce the government workforce through greater efficiency and attrition. This hiring moratorium excludes essential areas, including the VA and the military.

• Return to In-Person Work – Covid is over, folks, and like so many others, government employees have been ordered back to the office full-time.

• The Gulf of America and Mount McKinley – In a Presidential Action titled “Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness,” the Secretary of the Interior has been charged to take action to make these name changes happen.

• JFK, RFK, MLK Files to Be Opened – By the first week in February, a plan is to be finalized to make public all records related to President John F. Kennedy’s assassination. Then, around mid-March, a similar plan will be presented to release all information pertaining to the killing of Senator Robert F. Kennedy and Reverand Martin Luther King, Jr. After signing this order, President Trump requested that the pen used be given to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

• Pro-Life Protesters Pardoned – Individuals prosecuted under the FACE Act for peacefully protesting outside abortion clinics and sentenced to prison have received pardons from President Trump. He commented, “Twenty-three people that were prosecuted. They should not have been prosecuted. Many of them are elderly people. They should not have been prosecuted. This is a great honor to sign this.”

Did I miss any? Probably. Frankly, it’s been hard to keep up.

As the orders have rolled out, the mainstream media sputters in disbelief as they try to keep their outrage up to speed with the Trump train that’s barreling down the tracks.

Thank God for what’s happening. Let’s keep praying, mamas – for the work ahead and for protection for this administration and the many who will be instrumental in making the needed change that promises to make America strong, prosperous, healthy, safe, free, and great again!

January, 28, 2025 – Podcast Note: It’s Sanctity of Human Life Month, and on this week’s podcast, we spoke with Karin Barbito, special projects manager for the organization Support After Abortion. Studies show that abortion can leave traumatic wounds, physical and emotional. We also know that one in four women have had at least one abortion. These women should not be left to suffer in silence; there is hope and help. Don’t miss our encouraging conversation.

 ¹usatoday.com

² whitehouse.gov (Cartels – Terrorists)

³ foxnews.com (Trump on Jan 6 Pardons)

⁴ whitehouse.gov (Cost-of-Living Crisis)

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