Following his inauguration, Trump signed several executive orders that could have sweeping consequences for the American people
BY YASMIN VINCE, GAGE SKIDMORE VIA FLICKR
On Monday (20 January), Donald Trump was inaugurated as the president of the United States of America. His second term is only five days old, but the President has already signed several executive orders and announced incoming policy changes that will have wide-reaching effects on the American people.
Here is a round-up of his first five days as president:
He declared there are only two genders
In his inauguration speech, Trump said one of the policies he would instate going forward would only recognise two genders – male and female. True to his word, one of his Day One executive orders removed “gender ideology guidance” from federal government official documents and communication. As such, government ID will not include non-binary genders.
The order also prohibited federal agencies from promoting gender transition and prisons from using taxpayer funds for gender affirming services. The order itself says: “Agencies will cease pretending that men can be women and women can be men when enforcing laws that protect against sex discrimination.”
He rescinded 78 of Biden’s executive actions
Trump reversed several executive actions made by his predecessor, Joe Biden. Many of the orders rescinded were designed to combat discrimination towards the LGBTQIA community. For instance, Trump rescinded the order that directed heads of government agencies to confirm gender identity and sexual orientation were protected identities under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. He also reversed an order that prevented discrimination against trans people in the military.
He announced the US would be leaving the World Health Organisation (WHO)
For decades, America has been the biggest donor and contributor to the WHO. The funding, resources and manpower the country provided is hailed by the organisation as one of the key reasons they have been able to tackle serious diseases, from AIDS to COVID-19, across the globe. But Trump has decided to withdraw from the WHO.
He accused the WHO of mishandling international health crises and said the organisation “ripped us off”. In 12 months, all financial contributions made by the US will stop.
Reclassifying federal employees to make them easier to fire
One executive order signed by Trump reclassified thousands of federal employees as “political hires”. This makes it easier to fire said employees and was a key policy promoted by Project 2025, a right-wing initiative and policy wishlist created by conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation. Project 2025 called for “politically unreliable” civil servants to be fired and replaced with conservatives.
He announced he would be ending birthright citizenship
This is one of Trump’s executive orders that may not come to fruition. All executive orders must be deemed constitutional in order to become active, and a US judge has said this order may not meet that criteria.
But, what Trump’s order will do if passed is end birthright citizenship for the children of immigrants who are residing in America without valid documentation, or who were born in the country whilst the mother was there temporarily. Birthright citizenship so far has guaranteed citizenship for anyone born on American soil and is protected by the 14th amendment to the constitution.
Withdrawing from the Paris Agreement
In 2015, the US joined the Paris Climate Agreement, one of the few global treaties to require signed states to reduce their carbon emissions. In 2017, Trump exited the agreement, but this was reversed by Biden. The president has again withdrawn, calling the treaty a “rip off” and Biden’s clean energy efforts “the green new scam”.
As at January 2024, when the country was still signed up to the deal, the US was the second largest emitter of greenhouse gases. While China was the biggest emitter overall, when looking at greenhouse gas emissions per capita, the average American was responsible for nearly twice as much carbon pollution as the average person in China.
Renaming the Gulf of Mexico and declaring a national border emergency
Trump has ordered that the Gulf of Mexico be renamed the Gulf of America in all official federal government communications. He has also declared a national border emergency, allowing US troops to be sent to the southern US border. He has since promised the “largest deportation program in American history”.
Issue pardons for 6 January defendants
The president has issued pardons for offenders related to the attack on the Capitol that occurred on 6 January 2021, following a speech he made after losing the election. He has also directed the Department of Justice to dismiss cases currently in progress. He called the offenders “hostages”.
Trump himself was indicted for attempting to overturn the 2020 election on 6 January, but this was dismissed in November 2024. He was, however, convicted of falsifying business records and the case against him for racketeering to overturn the election in Georgia has yet to conclude. Trump has not yet issued a pardon for himself.
DIVA magazine celebrates 31 years in print in 2025. If you like what we do, then get behind LGBTQIA media and keep us going for another generation. Your support is invaluable.
