The Ultimate Guide to Trump's Day 1 Executive Orders

Energy abundance, immigration, DEI, and the total defeat of the trans movement

Welcome to the first full day of the second Trump administration.

The White House website, at the time of this writing, lists 48 items under “presidential actions.” Among these are dozens of first day executive orders.

News reports say that Trump was planning to sign around 100 of them. So while we still wait for the rest, here I’ll review the main things that the executive orders released so far do, broken down by topic. I then go on to take a big picture perspective regarding what we have seen so far means for the future of the country and what we can expect from the Trump administration going forward.

War on NEPA

The most promising thing to happen on the American left over the last few years has been the emergence of the “abundance agenda,” which is going to be the subject of a book by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson coming out in March. Bronx Congressman Ritchie Torres recently declared himself a convert to the cause in a podcast with Matt Yglesias.

The idea is basically that there are too many government regulations that make it too difficult to build things society needs, with a particular focus on energy and housing. Now, you might be saying to yourself, we already have a political faction that thinks there are too many government regulations that restrict supply, and they’re called Republicans. On the right, you don’t even need a movement to make this case, as it is already baked into conservatives’ underlying model of how the world works. That being said, I’m glad someone is pushing the same ideas on the left, and that’s fine if they promote desirable policies even while they can’t identify with the right due to it being full of morons, conspiracy theorists, and bigots.

On this point, Trump just signed an executive order called “Unleashing American Energy”. The document instructs heads of agencies to review all existing regulations and policies “that impose an undue burden on the identification, development, or use of domestic energy resources — with particular attention to oil, natural gas, coal, hydropower, biofuels, critical mineral, and nuclear energy resources.”

There are few things that abundance agenda types hate more than National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review, which requires mountains of paperwork and years of litigation before federal and federally-funded projects can be built if they are expected to substantially impact the environment. Here’s an article on just how bad things have gotten. Groups file lawsuits demanding more paperwork, even though they have no interest in what the resulting reports actually show. The entire point is delay and making building things more difficult and expensive.

The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) was created to oversee NEPA and ensure agency compliance, coordinating efforts across the federal government. Section 5 of Trump’s main energy EO is called “Unleashing Energy Dominance,” in which the president instructs the CEQ to focus on revising NEPA regulations to expedite the permitting process. Agencies must emphasize speed and certainty in permitting over other considerations. They are also directed to limit environmental considerations to legislated requirements, removing additional elements that introduce delays. This is important, as most laws that get out of hand do not actually require all that much in the underlying legislation. Rather, their mandates end up expanding through actions taken by courts and the executive branch. The new executive order has the potential to scale back environmental review by narrowing the scope of impact assessments and accelerating timelines for project approvals.

As mentioned, NEPA review applies to all projects either undertaken by the federal government or funded by it. Although the EO is about energy, the change put forward here is much broader than that. For example, schools receive federal funding, so they are covered by NEPA.

It is actually an open question whether the decisions of the CEQ are binding on government agencies. Late last year, the DC Circuit decided that they were not. At the time, this was seen as a victory against NEPA, because the CEQ wanted higher standards of review than the agency in question. However, leftist judges could potentially now use such a decision to stand in the way of the Trump administration restricting and streamlining NEPA review across the federal government.

Regardless of how this all plays out, the administration at least recognizes environmental review regulations are too stringent, and with many on the left coming to the same conclusion, I think it’s likely that NEPA does a lot less damage going forward.

Trump has also made it national policy

to safeguard the American people’s freedom to choose from a variety of goods and appliances, including but not limited to lightbulbs, dishwashers, washing machines, gas stoves, water heaters, toilets, and shower heads, and to promote market competition and innovation within the manufacturing and appliance industries

At some point in my life I noticed that dishwashers stopped drying dishes well, and shower heads had become weaker, and I have always been affronted by this, since I’m an American and demand that things always get better. The lesson of history is that we do not need to choose between progress and protecting the environment, as the two go hand-in-hand. An ideology that says household appliances need to get worse is fundamentally anti-human, and I’m happy to see Trump recognize this fact.

The same EO eliminates a 2021 Biden policy that set the goal of making half of cars sold in 2030 electric. Some people think that this is bad for Elon Musk, but it could actually benefit him if it reduces competition within the electric vehicle space, since that’s the only kind of vehicle that Tesla makes.

On the theme of energy abundance, the administration issued a different EO pertaining to Alaska, in effect nullifying all documents and policies adopted by the Biden administration that are inconsistent with new guidance to make full use of the natural resources of that state. This order overturns prior environmental impact assessments deemed restrictive; places temporary moratoriums on certain regulatory decisions for reevaluation; prioritizes energy export infrastructure, including the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System; and requires a reassessment of land management policies affecting Native Alaskan rights and practices relating to hunting and fishing.

A third order ends offshore leasing for wind energy until further notice. It also stops and mandates a review of all wind leasing and permitting practices. I don’t know enough about this topic to understand whether this is good or bad. It isn’t necessarily anti-abundance if the federal government has been unjustifiably prioritizing wind as an inefficient source of energy.

Ending DEI in the Federal Government

In “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,” Trump commands the “termination of all discriminatory programs, including illegal DEI and ‘diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility’ (DEIA) mandates, policies, programs, preferences, and activities in the Federal Government, under whatever name they appear.” This is very broad. It covers not only hiring and promotions, but also contracting and different kinds of social justice initiatives. Some such programs are required by statute, but others come from executive interpretations of the law. All DEI positions are also eliminated. A different order focuses on hiring specifically and mandates that it be done according to merit.

I think this is a good start. At the very least, government should not be into the race, sex, and LGBT bean counting business. This is the most low-hanging fruit, because it is what the executive branch directly controls. Yet I was hoping for more. As I explain in The Origins of Woke, one of the most important things an administration can do on this front through executive order is end mandatory affirmative action among government contractors, which forces DEI policies onto a huge chunk of the private sector. Though still, because Trump has decided to go to war against DEI, government bureaucrats are going to be a lot better in this area, and there will likely be less stringent enforcement of such requirements going forward. I was also hoping for broad guidance saying that the federal government would not use the disparate impact standard. Whether and the extent to which this can be done by EO is a complicated topic, touched on in my book. Hopefully the courts eliminate the disparate impact standard in the coming years anyway.

One thing I’ve realized studying this topic is that law often works like a minefield against certain kinds of activities. So when Democrats are in charge, and even when the civil rights apparatus built up over decades is left intact, it becomes very hard not to get around considering race and sex and being woke all the time, for both private and public institutions. Trump is moving things in the opposite direction. Now, if you are a government agency that wants DEI, you are going to be thwarted not only by the head of the executive branch and his appointees, but also the courts, Congress, and the spotlight of public opinion. If you think you’ve found a way to dodge one EO or court decision, there is another right around the corner that can serve as an additional vector of attack.

All of this is not simply about changing any particular law, but also creating a vibe among conservatives in government that DEI will not be tolerated. Just letting people know that wokeness is a legal issue, as I did in my last book, is important here. Once they accept that, lawyers and government officials will mostly figure out the policies they need to enact.

Cruelty on Immigration

Trump signed an executive order that declared the end of birthright citizenship. This was to be expected. But he went further than that, declaring children born to people in the country on legal visas not to be citizens. This goes into effect 30 days after the signing of the order. Imagine being here pregnant on a student visa, with a baby due in two months, and the president suddenly declares your child will not be a US citizen.

The right is overwhelmingly motivated by cruelty and hate on the immigration issue. The complaints conservatives have about immigration are either petty or completely made up. It’s one thing to be cruel to say criminals, or even ideological opponents, but it says something awful about one’s character to relish in cruelty towards those who have done you no wrong. The relevant EO here is called “Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship,” which is really on the nose, proving the point that hostility towards immigrants is based on a zero-sum understanding of the world in which individuals who are small seek any excuse to feel superior to others. Instead of seeing human beings as individuals you can potentially benefit from interacting with, your citizenship is like a membership card you have to hoard lest it lose its value.

Many seem to think that this EO won’t stand up in the courts. I think that’s probably right, but I would put better odds on it being upheld than most people would. There used to be more of a distance between MAGA and the conservative establishment. Today, right-wing judges are influenced by the same intellectual currents as other conservatives. Amy Coney Barrett and Samuel Alito did not answer when asked about the birthright citizenship question during their confirmation hearings. So what they think remains a black box, but if they’re like other conservatives, they likely have been moving right on this issue as time goes on and indulging more in misinformation and bigotry.

It does not seem impossible to me that the courts eventually uphold the entire EO. Alternatively, the part about legal residents might allow the Supreme Court to split the baby, declaring that part unconstitutional but upholding the section that applies to illegal immigrants. This is an indication that the populists will win out over the Tech Right on this issue. Vivek being removed from DOGE is another bad sign here.

Another EO is called “Protecting the American People Against Invasion.” It implements a comprehensive approach to immigration enforcement, focusing on strict adherence to immigration laws and enhanced border security. It revokes prior policies that emphasized leniency, directing federal agencies to prioritize civil and criminal enforcement against unauthorized entry and presence. Voluntary departure initiatives and diplomatic efforts are called for aiming to repatriate unauthorized aliens, while actions are directed against sanctuary jurisdictions that limit federal cooperation. The order mandates audits of federal funding to halt public benefits to ineligible aliens, reestablishes the VOICE Office to support victims of crimes by removable aliens, and calls for increased staffing of border agents and immigration officers. This last part is “subject to available appropriations,” so it’s probably meaningless unless Congress passes legislation.

Yet another EO appears under the title “Guaranteeing the States Protection Against Invasion.” It declares that the current state of unauthorized entries at the southern border constitutes an invasion under Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution. Immigrants deemed part of the “invasion” can no longer enter the country, until the president determines the crisis has ended. A migrant is an invader if he “fails, before entering the United States, to provide Federal officials with sufficient medical information and reliable criminal history and background information as to enable fulfillment of the requirements of [the relevant laws].” This ends the practice of migrants simply turning themselves into authorities, claiming asylum, and then being released into the country. Rather, we’re going back to the old system where you would try to sneak in and avoid any contact with the federal government at all. To go along with this, the refugee admissions program has been suspended, with allowances to be made on a case-by-case basis. Again, as with the birthright citizenship question, these other policies will also have to withstand challenges in court.

Total Defeat for Gender Ideology

We were expecting an EO on the transgender question, and like the new policies on immigration it goes further than most people expected. There are now two sexes. Female “means a person belonging, at conception, to the sex that produces the large reproductive cell.” A male is “a person belonging, at conception, to the sex that produces the small reproductive cell.” I like the “at conception” part. If you’re a boy and somehow replace your testicles with ovaries, you’re still a male according to the federal government now. So in federal prisons, people will be grouped by biological sex, and passports will only identify you based on which kind of genitalia you were born with. In 2022, the government started allowing “X” as an option for sex on passports, and that looks to be out.

Trump revoked all Biden guidance on classifying individuals according to gender identity rather than biological sex, for example in women’s sports. No federal funds are to go to gender theory, and even the word “gender” is out, replaced by “sex” throughout the government. About a dozen Biden administration documents are listed as revoked, with names like “The White House Toolkit on Transgender Equality” and “Supporting Transgender Youth in School.”

This is a complete and total defeat for the trans movement. One might say that you would have expected this from a Republican president, but the Trump administration has gone beyond what anyone would have thought possible a few years ago. For example, I grew up in a world where “sex” and “gender” were used interchangeably, and didn’t even become aware until I was older that the latter word had ideological significance. The change here is symbolic, but Republicans didn’t used to resist such shifts. And five years ago, while conservatives might have opposed gender confirmation treatment for children, few elites including Trump himself would have disputed the rights of adults who have gone through the full process of transition to have their new identities validated on government documents.

Public polling shows that the backlash to this issue is broad, and few trends have done so much to puncture the illusion a lot of smart people had until recently that American society is destined to always move left on social issues.

DOGE and Government Regulations

Trump has officially created DOGE. Actually, he didn’t create a new agency. Rather, DOGE simply becomes the new name of the US Digital Service (USDS), which was created by Obama in 2014 as a way to modernize federal technology systems and improve efficiency in government. Each federal agency now must have a DOGE team of at least four employees, and they’ll have the mission of “modernizing Federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity.” DOGE terminates on July 4, 2026.

There’s not a lot here, and it seems like Trump just gave Elon the USDS and told him to have fun. But the USDS wasn’t that powerful. It did things like build websites and ensure data sharing across agencies. It didn’t enact or even recommend major changes in spending priorities. Maybe DOGE will be given broader responsibilities, but that is yet to be seen.

Trump also put a freeze on new regulations “until a department or agency head appointed or designated by the President after noon on January 20, 2025, reviews and approves the rule.” Agencies are also directed to withdraw any rules that have been sent to the Office of the Federal Register but not yet published. Finally, they are to consider postponing any rules that have not gone into effect yet for 60 days. Basically, this is a way of making sure that Biden era policies are not snuck into the Trump administration.

Trump also instituted a hiring freeze. There are potentially wide exceptions though.

This order does not apply to military personnel of the armed forces or to positions related to immigration enforcement, national security, or public safety. Moreover, nothing in this memorandum shall adversely impact the provision of Social Security, Medicare, or Veterans’ benefits. In addition, the Director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) may grant exemptions from this freeze where those exemptions are otherwise necessary.

This alone seems pretty meaningless, and so will depend on what OPM decides to do.

After 90 days, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget is to consult with DOGE, and submit a plan to “reduce the size of the Federal Government’s workforce through efficiency improvements and attrition.” At that point, the hiring freeze will be lifted with regard to everything except the IRS, which is very funny. Good government liberals often argue that IRS agents more than pay for themselves because they bring in revenue, and the only reason Republicans don’t want more of them is that they want to help rich people cheat on their taxes. I guess a conservative could say that government takes enough from the rich, so give them a break. Nonetheless, eventually lifting the freeze for everything but the IRS confirms that Republicans simply don’t like taxes and want to make them harder to collect. Speaking of federal employees, work from home has been terminated.

Experts in administrative law point out that conservatives focus too much on the number of government employees. Having more federal workers can actually make government less restrictive, by for example allowing faster processing of permits and licenses. Government being understaffed can actually be a hindrance to individuals and firms in the private sector being able getting things done. But I guess attacking the employees themselves is a way to motivate rightists who need an enemy and don’t know all that much about policy specifics.

Trump had one executive order that was just a list of Biden executive orders he revoked, and perhaps the most important one in this category is EO 14110 on artificial intelligence. This is generally good, as “AI ethics” is an awful field that brings in leftist concerns about disparate impact, “algorithmic fairness,” and other things government should not worry about. Victory for my friend Brian Chau.

Symbolic Nonsense

Trump issued an executive order that renames Mount McKinley and the Gulf of America. The Secretary of Interior is also allowed to solicit input regarding American heroes to honor by naming stuff after them. Trump signed an EO saying that foreign policy will be “America First,” with no specifics regarding what that means. He furthermore moronically revoked security clearances for John Bolton, and the 49 living individuals who signed the letter saying that the Hunter laptop was part of a Russian psyop. We are informed that two more signatories are dead, so Trump decided to graciously leave them alone.

The president proclaimed an end to federal censorship and the “weaponization” of law enforcement. There’s not much here other than new committees and reports.

The EO on trade policy is potentially more significant, but doesn’t do all that much immediately. It directs extensive reviews of trade deficits, currency manipulation, and unfair practices. The focus is on reevaluating agreements like the USMCA, addressing trade relations with China, and enforcing stronger export controls to maintain technological leadership. Additionally, the EO mandates collaborative agency reports on critical issues, such as intellectual property, countering counterfeit imports, and strengthening the industrial base, all aimed at safeguarding US interests.

Where We Go from Here

I think that there are a few lessons we can draw here. First, the online right has won on identity issues. Trump has gone all the way on gender, immigration, and DEI, at least within the federal government. These are areas where both the noisiest right-wingers and to a certain extent public opinion are aligned. I’m actually pleasantly surprised that more wasn’t done on tariffs. The defeat of gender ideology seems almost total, and I think that the trans movement is well past its peak. DEI is on the ropes, but will still have strong representation in whichever institutions liberals control. I think that a future Democratic administration reversing Trump on DEI is more likely than them doing so on trans, where the public has simply had enough. Immigration is still a live issue, and here I suspect there is more likely to be a backlash to Trump than in the other identity areas. No one is going to care if Robin DiAngelo loses some economic opportunities, but harsh immigration crackdowns on sympathetic individuals, including Dreamers, won’t be popular. The Tech Right will also push back from within the administration on high-skilled immigration, which nativist Stephen Miller types want to clamp down on.

The administration appears to be good on energy abundance. Here again I think they’re aligned with public opinion, and conservatives are internally united. This is going to be a lot more significant than the DEI stuff with regards to economic growth. While I do think that global warming should be taken seriously, as long as the environmentalist left has any hint of a degrowth mindset and policy orientation, it needs to be defeated. Moreover, as abundance liberals point out, NEPA slows down the creation of infrastructure of clean and dirty sources of energy alike.

While not exactly an executive order, Trump did issue a proclamation either commuting the sentences of or pardoning everyone involved in January 6. As with gender issues and immigration, he took what was in effect the most extreme stance possible. This is tragic, as the conventional wisdom about these people and what they did was correct. But it’s part of American history now, and there’s no sense in complaining about it.

Going forward, the January 6 pardons and commutations send a signal that Trump is going to reward loyalty. He could’ve shown some moderation here by pardoning only non-violent offenders, but he went all the way. I was pretty upset about Biden pardoning his family members and others who weren’t even charged with a crime on his last day, but Trump making it clear that he cares nothing for the rule of law makes what Biden did at least understandable, even if it doesn’t justify it. Oh well, this is Trumpism, and honest conservatives can decide whether he is worth supporting for the policy victories he provides. Of course, most conservatives are not honest, not even with themselves, and simply deny that the man is uniquely bad on rule of law issues. January 6ers really invoke my Trump Supporter Derangement Syndrome, and there are few things that annoy me more than seeing these ultimate losers treated like martyrs. Anyway, I’m over it.

Regarding the section “Symbolic Nonsense” above, I think that there is perhaps something serious here worth thinking about, which is that the left used to get its way on language, and this contributed to an all-pervasive feeling that they were in control. Pronouns sort of work like this, along with consistently coming up with new phrases like BIPOC. When conservatives do things such as rename the Gulf of Mexico and eliminate all uses of the word “gender” in the federal government, that can have a subtle but nonetheless real effect on culture.

There’s little Trump has done yet that is substantive on foreign policy, though like always, what happens abroad will have a large impact on his legacy. Overall, the question for the Trump administration is whether the pro-human, pro-progress policies on energy, regulations, and DEI will be more important than the anti-foreigner bias that manifests itself in his approach to immigration and trade. Based on what we have seen so far, I’m cautiously optimistic.