Executive orders: Donald Trump’s first acts as new president

Donald Trump has signed a raft of executive orders within hours of returning to the White House as he reversed some of his predecessor Joe Biden’s policies.

The new president told supporters at an inauguration parade event at a sports arena in Washington DC that he would revoke “80 destructive and radical executive actions of the previous administration”.

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Among Mr Trump‘s first acts after being sworn in as the country’s 47th president on Monday were:

January 6

:: Pardons for about 1,500 Trump supporters who have been charged over the January 6 2021 riot at the US Capitol.

The action also cuts short the sentences of 14 members of the far-right Proud Boys and Oath Keepers organisations, including some who were convicted of seditious conspiracy.

Climate

:: Withdrawing the US from the Paris climate agreement. The announcement further threatens the central goal of the agreement to avoid a rise in global temperatures of 1.5C.

Mr Trump withdrew the US from the agreement during his last presidency, but President Biden reversed this decision.

::Revoking a 2021 Biden order that sought to ensure half of all new vehicles sold in the US by 2030 were electric.

Energy

:: Repealing a 2023 memo from Mr Biden that barred oil drilling in 16 million acres in the Arctic. The new president declared a national energy emergency, promising to fill up strategic oil reserves and export US energy all over the world.

“We will be a rich nation again, and it is that liquid gold under our feet that will help to do it,” the American leader said.

Illegal immigration

:: Declaring illegal immigration at the US-Mexico border a national emergency as he plans to send US troops to help support immigration agents and restrict refugees and asylum.

The president has also designated criminal cartels as terrorist organisations, and has taken steps to block citizenship for children of immigrants who are in the US illegally.

Mr Trump reversed several immigration orders from the Biden presidency, including one that narrowed deportation priorities to people who commit serious crimes, are deemed national security threats, or were stopped at the border.

Foreign affairs

:: Temporarily suspending all US foreign assistance programmes for 90 days pending reviews to determine whether they are aligned with his policy goals.

It was not immediately clear how much assistance would initially be affected by the order as funding for many programmes has already been appropriated by Congress and is obligated to be spent, if not already spent.

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Free speech

:: Restoring freedom of speech and preventing censorship of free speech.

:: The president signed a document “ending weaponisation” of government against political opponents.

The order directs the attorney general to investigate the activities of the federal government over the last four years, including at the Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Federal Trade Commission during the previous administration.

It said the government will “identify and take appropriate action to correct past misconduct by the federal government related to the weaponisation of law enforcement and the weaponisation of the intelligence community”.

Death penalty

:: Mr Trump signed a sweeping order on the death penalty, directing the attorney general to “take all necessary and lawful action” to ensure that states have enough lethal injection drugs to carry out executions.

Mr Trump said in the order that “politicians and judges who oppose capital punishment have defied and subverted the laws of our country”. A moratorium on federal executions has been in place since 2021, and only three defendants remain on federal death row after Democratic President Joe Biden converted 37 of their sentences to life in prison.

TikTok

:: Mr Trump signed an executive order to keep TikTok operating for 75 days, a boost for the social media platform’s users even as national security questions remain.

TikTok’s China-based parent company ByteDance was supposed to find a US buyer or be banned on 19 January. Mr Trump’s order could give ByteDance more time to find a buyer.

“I guess I have a warm spot for TikTok,” Mr Trump said.

Return to office

:: Ordering federal workers to return to the office five days a week.

:: The return-to-office order comes alongside a federal hiring freeze, except for the military, and the creation of an advisory body – the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) – aimed at reducing the federal government’s size.

Cost of living

:: There was a directive to every department and agency to address the cost of living crisis.

Gender and equality

:: Ending “wasteful” government programmes promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, defend women from “gender ideology extremism” and restore biological truth to the federal government ( two sexes male and female).

Drug cartels

:: Designating cartels and other organisations as foreign terrorist organisations and specially designated global terrorists. “International cartels constitute a national-security threat beyond that posed by traditional organized crime.”