January 20, 2025, President Donald J. Trump was sworn into office as the 47th President of the United States. Since then, he has begun to follow through with plans to radically reshape many elements of American life and society. With Changes of the federal government structure to a populist brand of aggressive protectionism, American citizens should expect a serious alteration of their country in the next few years.
On his first few days in office, President Trump signed a flurry of executive orders. These included revoking American membership from global agreements and groups such as the Paris Climate Accord and World Health Organization, rescinding various Biden-era policies, and pardoning nearly every defendant involved in cases related to the January 6, 2021 insurrection.
Many of these choices from the executive office will harm both America’s place in the world and our country’s domestic situation. Leaving the Paris Climate Accord, for example, hurts our position as a global leader on climate change, as America is no longer in a place to pressure other nations to adhere to a higher standard for use of clean energy and lessening of carbon emissions. Pardoning and commuting the sentences of those that broke into the Capitol and attacked law enforcement on January 6 hurts the perception of our country as one that respects the rule of law. And vacating past executive orders that dealt with issues such as gun violence, racial equality, and climate change sets back progress on core issues.
Trump is also pursuing economic policy that hinges on tariffs, which are taxes on goods imported from other countries. Economic experts have concluded that tariffs are by nature an inflationary measure, and will raise costs for consumers on everyday items. Trump began his tariff agenda by threatening Mexico and Canada with 25% tariffs on every import, an unprecedented step against our two largest trading partners that border the United States. Trump later backed down on this decision, after negotiations with Mexico for increased border security and after Canada threatened to match Trump’s tariff plan. However, he insists that these are temporary pauses, and has decided to move ahead with a 10% tariff on China, an inexplicably lower import tax for a country that is a direct competitor to the United States compared to ally trading partners like Mexico and Canada.
Additionally, Trump is cracking down on immigration with a large rise in deportations and arrests. Trump’s administration has pressured U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to substantially raise the amount of arrests made of those suspected of illegal entry into the country. This has led to a rise in coordinated raids by ICE, many of which are reported to have occurred without a warrant or a high enough level of probable cause. The pressure that Trump has put on ICE has also raised questions about the veracity of the arrests being made, as those who do not have a criminal background are being questioned and apprehended simply to meet quotas.
In another controversial step, President Trump moved to grant more power to billionaire and head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Elon Musk. This includes giving him increased authorization into the personal information of Americans and aspects of the Treasury Department, and recently established the goal of shutting down USAID, the U.S. foreign aid department that coordinates funding to fight starvation and poverty overseas.
President Trump has taken a stark and bold approach to reshaping the government in his (and Elon Musk’s) vision, with little regard to rule of law or the long-term effects of his policies. How his administration will respond to the threats it seems to ignore and the inevitable legal challenges that his moves will result in remains unclear, but a period of chaos seems to be certain.
Leave a Reply