Trump’s First 5 Days

President Donald Trump signs an executive order on TikTok in the Oval Office on Jan. 20, 2025. Evan Vucci/AP Photo

The first five days of President Donald Trump’s second term in office have moved at breakneck speed, with the 47th Commander-in-Chief issuing dozens of executive orders. They range from crackdowns on immigration to removing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies from federal agencies to releasing additional files on the assassination of President John F. Kennedy (JFK).

Several states and activist groups have already begun challenging Trump’s actions in court, particularly those on immigration and his move to revoke birthright citizenship from children born to illegal immigrant parents or those on temporary entry.

Many of the policies also reflect promises Trump made on the 2024 campaign trail, including his vow to pardon many of those convicted for the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol Breach.

Immigration Crackdown

After Trump said border security was a bigger issue than inflation and the economy before the election, it came as no surprise that many of his first actions in office were related to cracking down on illegal immigration.

The president declared a national border emergency, mobilized the military for deployment at the southern border, ended birthright citizenship for children of non-citizens or those on temporary status, and eliminated the CBP One app for migrants seeking asylum in the United States.

One of his orders calls for resuming border wall construction, while another says Trump may invoke the Alien Enemies Act to stop “any invasion or predatory incursion against the territory of the United States by a qualifying actor.”

Trump is also suspending the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program until further refugee entry “aligns with the interests of the United States,” likely barring access for thousands seeking shelter from war-torn or impoverished nations.

DEI

Another promise Trump made before he assumed office for the second time was to roll back the Biden administration’s DEI initiatives throughout government agencies. Trump signed the executive order “Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs And Preferencing” moments after he was sworn into office.

One day after inauguration, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued a memo ordering that all federal DEI employees be put on paid leave as the agencies work to dismantle those programs.

The same day, Trump signed an executive action that cut off all federal funding for any learning institutions that require DEI provisions or hire contractors that use them.

These actions then hit the Department of Education, which announced on Thursday that it would remove all of its DEI initiatives and put related staff members on paid leave.

JFK File Release

On Thursday, Trump ordered plans to be drafted for the release of records related to the assassinations of JFK, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy (RFK), and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

The executive order, signed on Jan. 23, instructs the director of national intelligence and the attorney general to prepare a plan in 15 days for the “full and complete release” of the JFK assassination files. The deadline for the plans for the RFK and King files is 45 days.

“That’s a big one,” Trump said while signing the order in the Oval Office. “A lot of people have been waiting for this for years, for decades. And everything will be revealed.”

Trump promised at his pre-inauguration rally in Washington on Jan. 19 that he would release the remaining records on the assassinations of JFK, RFK, and King in the coming days.

Pardons

Roughly 1,500 Jan. 6 defendants were not the only recipients of pardons this week, as Trump also pardoned 23 pro-life demonstrators convicted under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act.

Of those pardoned, 10 were convicted after an October 2020 demonstration at a Washington abortion clinic.

On Wednesday, Trump also pardoned two former Washington police officers who were convicted in the 2020 murder of 20-year-old Karon Hylton-Brown. Both were each sentenced to more than 40 months in prison for “an unauthorized police pursuit that ended in a collision on Oct. 23, 2020, that caused the death of Karon Hylton-Brown, 20, in Northwest Washington D.C.,” the Justice Department said last year.

FEMA Overhaul or Removal

On his fifth day in office, Trump said he would be signing an executive order to start the process of fundamentally overhauling or “getting rid of” the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), as he was touring areas in western North Carolina that were devastated by Hurricane Helene last year.

Trump called for immediate disaster relief for North Carolina without conditions for aid but suggested that FEMA may no longer be up to the task of providing funds to rebuild areas facing devastation.

“I'll also be signing an executive order to begin the process of fundamentally reforming and overhauling FEMA, or maybe getting rid of FEMA,” Trump said.