WASHINGTON—Upon returning to the White House, President Donald Trump rolled out a raft of executive actions and sweeping policy changes, making his first 100 days among the most consequential starts to a presidential term in modern U.S. history.

Serving as the 47th president, Trump is picking up where he left off, revisiting key priorities from his first term that were delayed by the Russia investigation, derailed by nationwide Black Lives Matter riots, or sidelined during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trump has refocused with unprecedented intensity on the staple issues that have defined his Make America Great Again agenda: securing the border, countering China’s unfair trade practices, and increasing domestic energy production.

On all three fronts, the president has taken actions that many did not see coming, such as targeting all global trading partners with a broad tariff strategy, or paying El Salvador to house illegal immigrant gang members.

Trump shattered President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s record of 99 executive orders in his first 100 days, potentially positioning himself as one of the most influential presidents in reshaping Washington.

Supporters have hailed Trump’s first 100 days back in the Oval Office as a restoration of U.S. values and strength, while opponents have condemned what they see as overreach and chaos.

Trump has raced to build momentum on both domestic and foreign fronts, recognizing that without early progress, the window for advancing key items on his agenda could close quickly.

These actions included declaring a national emergency, directing troops to the border, reinstating the Remain in Mexico policy, ending “catch-and-release,” restarting border wall construction, designating criminal cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, and ending birthright citizenship.

Some of these efforts have since been challenged in court.

Additionally, Trump imposed tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China in February in response to illegal immigration and fentanyl flowing into the United States via those countries.

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Trump imposed tariffs on nearly all U.S. trading partners, saying they have exploited the United States for decades.

This move triggered stock market volatility, wiping out trillions of dollars in market value and alarming millions as they watched their retirement savings shrink.

Trump urged Americans to be patient, saying there will be short-term economic pain to reap long-term benefits.

At the center of his hardline trade policy is an unsettling fact: In 2024, the United States posted a $1.2 trillion trade deficit—the largest in the world.

Spanish economist Daniel Lacalle told The Epoch Times that the large trade deficit and mounting national debt are proof that the United States has long suffered from unfair foreign trade practices, including both tariff and nontariff barriers.

The administration retained the 10 percent baseline tariffs on all trading partners, but paused reciprocal tariffs for 90 days on all but China. The United States is now negotiating trade deals with 90 countries.

The president has imposed sweeping 145 percent tariffs on Chinese imports, aiming to end Beijing’s unfair trade practices.

Trump’s tariff strategy is to build a global trade bloc to isolate China economically, according to Christopher Balding, senior fellow at the UK-based think tank the Henry Jackson Society.

The president is also freeing up military resources in Europe and the Middle East to focus on countering Beijing’s geopolitical ambitions, Balding told The Epoch Times.

Less than a month into Trump’s second term, Panama became the first Latin American country to exit China’s Belt and Road Initiative under Washington’s pressure. A U.S.-led group also announced plans to acquire Panama Canal ports from a Hong Kong company—another strategic win, although the deal is still pending.

While Trump has expressed optimism about reaching a trade deal with Beijing, Balding said Washington’s efforts to weaken the Chinese regime’s global influence will continue, regardless of the outcome of negotiations.

Trump has removed the United States from the Paris climate agreement, eliminated the electric vehicle “mandate,” opened massive areas in Alaska for fossil fuel development, diluted restrictions on the coal industry, rolled back reams of Environmental Protection Agency regulations, and removed mentions of climate change from public websites.

He also preempted what his administration describes as state and local regulatory “overreach,” laid off or fired hundreds of federal agency employees, repealed appliance energy efficiency standards, and lifted the already-expired liquefied natural gas pause.

That listing is a fingernail synopsis of a long list. The essence of the president’s actions is to prompt a “whole-of-government” 180-degree change in energy and environmental policies, with a deregulatory emphasis designed to dismantle the Biden administration’s focus on decarbonization.

Trump reopened direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which had been frozen for four years.

“My proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier,“ Trump said in his Jan. 20 inauguration speech. ”That’s what I want to be.”

While DEI’s advocates argue that such programs help remedy historic injustices against black Americans and other minorities, Trump and his team see it differently. They say DEI violates civil rights law by introducing race-based discrimination.

On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order to end DEI initiatives across the federal government. Subsequent executive actions expanded the effort, targeting DEI influence over university accreditation standards and federal contracting practices.

Trump also ordered an end to DEI programs in both K–12 education and higher education. An April 3 letter from the Department of Education set an April 24 deadline for states to have districts certify that DEI is not in use in schools. A federal judge blocked that measure ahead of the deadline.

The administration has looked for leverage in the federal funding provided to universities and public schools.

Columbia University was the first to receive an administration demand to address anti-Semitism or lose federal funding. It agreed.

Harvard, when faced with a similar demand to address anti-Semitism and root out DEI, took a different approach. Citing academic freedom, the university rejected the requests and lost $2 billion in federal funding. The fight will now play out in the courts.

Jonathan Williams, president and chief economist of the American Legislative Exchange Council, told The Epoch Times that Trump’s order aims to complete “the unfinished business of Ronald Reagan, who wanted to eliminate the department back in the 1980s.”

Despite its name, DOGE is not a traditional Cabinet-level department. It is a temporary body, set to sunset on July 4, 2026.

So far, DOGE reports that $160 billion has been saved through asset sales, contract terminations, and other efforts, so far well short of its bold $1 trillion first-year target.

The speed and boldness of Musk’s approach have drawn heavy fire from Democrats and the media, making DOGE one of the most controversial elements of Trump’s first 100 days. More than 120,000 federal workers across 30 agencies reportedly have been laid off since Trump took office.

After Tesla’s revenue and profit dropped significantly in the first quarter, Musk announced plans to scale back his contributions to DOGE in May.

States and outside groups have sought to challenge Trump’s immigration actions, DOGE, mass firings within the executive branch, and sweeping halts on spending, among other things.

Kennedy has led a sweeping change at the HHS, cutting tens of thousands of jobs and reorienting the agency’s focus. He has pushed for banning artificial dyes and narrowing the use of food stamps to cut out non-nutritious foods and drinks.

“I would like to have a timeline within a year, where they would start to put out the preliminary results,” Bhattacharya said on April 22.

During his first term, Trump faced resistance from some Republican lawmakers and often clashed with GOP leaders such as then-House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). Trump now seems to be working more smoothly with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.)

In April, Congress passed a budget plan, clearing the way for Republican leaders to draw up a broad bill focusing on a host of Trump measures on defense, energy, immigration, and tax cuts.

GOP leaders in both chambers will need to negotiate the reconciliation package and secure the passage of Trump’s legislative agenda by the August recess.

Trump said he hopes that his tax cuts will fuel an economic and stock market boom, helping to offset the pain caused by the tariffs.

He recently floated a new income tax cut for people earning less than $200,000 per year.

“When Tariffs cut in, many people’s Income Taxes will be substantially reduced, maybe even completely eliminated,” Trump wrote in an April 27 post on Truth Social. “Focus will be on people making less than $200,000 a year.”