By Ceres
Yesterday, Donald Trump was inaugurated as President of the United States. Immediately after being sworn in, he signed a slew of Executive Orders.
The most anticipated ones were the pardons and commutations he would issue to the J6 prisoners, and here he did not disappoint. He issued a blanket pardon to the vast majority of the prisoners, over 1500 altogether. In addition, he freed Enrique Tarrio of the Proud Boys, who was serving a 22 year sentence, and Stewart Rhodes of the Oath Keepers, who was serving an 18-year sentence. President Trump also freed 21 pro-life activists who had been convicted under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act. At the time of this writing, Trump had not yet followed through on his promise to free Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, but sources within the White House report that his pardon will occur shortly. (Update: Ross has been freed)
President Trump also issued Executive Orders regarding the previous administrations Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) policies. He revoked several Biden administration orders preventing discrimination against people on the basis of “gender identity” and sexual orientation. He also ordered the federal government to begin cutting support for DEI programs within federal agencies. Furthermore, he declared that the United States government would from now on recognize only the two biological sexes.
On the tech front, President Trump delayed the banning of TikTok for 75 days to allow it to comply with a new law requiring it to be sold to an American company. He floated the possibility of having ByteDance and the United States share a 50/50 partnership in running the company, but also threatened to impose harsh tariffs on West Taiwan if they refused to compromise.
President Trump ordered the United States to withdraw from the World Health Organization for the second time, following Biden’s reversal of Trump’s 2017 EO ordering withdrawal from the WHO.
On the energy front, President Trump signed orders ending the Green New Deal, declaring a national energy emergency, and withdrawing the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement (again for the second time, as with the WHO order). He also signed an order directing the government to begin utilizing Alaska’s natural resources for energy.
On the immigration front, President Trump declared a national emergency on the southern border. He declared Mexican drug cartels and gangs to be terrorist organizations. He ordered the use of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to remove cartel members from the United States. He suspended America’s refugee resettlement program, as well as ICE’s “catch and release” policy, requiring asylum seekers to remain in Mexico while their applications are processed. President Trump also ordered the end to birthright citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants and the children of temporary residents who are not married to American citizens. This order has been challenged by multiple states already and will likely be the first significant legal showdown of the Trump administration. In addition, he directed the DOJ to seek the death penalty against illegal aliens who commit capital crimes or murder law enforcement officers.
President Trump revoked Biden’s mandate that federal employees must receive gene editing therapy for the Chinese common cold, and to reinstate all military servicemen who were discharged for refusing to receive said Chinese common cold gene editing.
Also, the Gulf of Mexico is now called the Gulf of America.
All in all, a decent start.