Policies & Analysis

Underway

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This order requires the State Department to increase screening of all noncitizens, including those already in the U.S., and to suggest countries that should be banned entirely.

This executive order directs the Secretary of State to begin applying the vetting and screening procedures in place at the end of the first Trump administration "to the maximum degree possible" to all noncitizens applying for a visa or immigration benefit, seeking admission or entry, or who are already here in the United States. Given that millions of noncitizens live here, it is unlikely that the government will actually be screening noncitizens already in the country. Foreign nationals seeking visas and other immigration benefits from abroad should expect more intensive screening almost immediately. This order also directs the Secretary of State, working with the Attorney General, the Department of Homeland Security Secretary, and the Director of National Intelligence, to submit a report to Stephen Miller within 60 days identifying countries to which travel bans should be applied, and how many of those countries' citizens are currently in the U.S. Finally, this order directs the Secretary of State, and those same officials, to take various steps within 30 days including auditing and changing the Foreign Service Manual and other guidance documents discussion of the criminal and security grounds of inadmissibility, ensuring stringent identity verification of refugees and stateless people before admission to the country, and evaluating visa programs to ensure they are not being used by other countries or non-state actors to harm the United States. The order also contains a vague directive to the Secretary of State that seems to indicate that the federal government should deny or revoke visas or benefits from noncitizens whom the government deem hostile to our constitutional rights, or who provide aid or support for foreign terrorists.

Underway

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This memo functionally removes the United States from the OECD Global Tax Deal negotiated with about 140 countries.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Global Tax Deal, negotiated by the Biden administration with about 140 countries, is a 15% global corporate minimum tax that addresses tax avoidance by multinational corporations and a race to the bottom on corporate tax rates. Congress never passed a law to bring the United States in compliance with the deal, but President Trump's commitment to withdraw our nation from it will undermine its effectiveness at combatting tax avoidance, including in the United States. Additionally, this memo orders an investigation into whether any foreign countries are not in compliance with any tax treaty with the United States, and if so, orders the development of protective measures the United States should take in response.

Challenged

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This order declares a national emergency to increase energy production, transportation, refining, and generation.

This order invokes the National Emergencies Act to remove supposed legal and regulatory barriers to the expansion of domestic energy production. Declaration of a national emergency for energy is unprecedented. Emergency authorities can include the use of Federal eminent domain to seize private property and the Defense Production Act to direct private industry responses, and can suspend protections for clean water, endangered species and other environmental regulations to expedite permitting. The order identifies "dangerous State and local policies" in the Northeast and West Coast as harmful to the entire country. The national emergency declaration could be used to expand domestic production of fossil fuels including coal and make improvements to the electric grid.

Challenged

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This omnibus order covers various aspects of interior immigration enforcement, including criminal prosecutions, expanded enforcement, and threats to sanctuary jurisdictions.

This is an expansive, omnibus-style executive order focused on interior immigration enforcement, and touches on a number of discrete policy issues. First, it revokes the Biden administration's priorities memo, so the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will not focus its resources on people with criminal convictions or people who pose threats to national security. In addition, this order directs the Department of Justice to prioritize prosecuting immigrants for unlawful entry and reentry — which already consumes significant resources for Assistant United States Attorneys along the U.S.-Mexico border. The order directs DHS to expand expedited removal (a fast-track deportation scheme) to its maximum extent, increase fine collection from noncitizens here without authorization, try to expand detention, and re-establish an office focused on crimes committed by noncitizens that existed in Trump's first term. DHS and DOJ are directed to establish a Task Force in each state, and prosecute noncitizens who don't register with the government (which would apply to all undocumented people). The order directs DHS to freeze funding to organizations that serve migrants until an audit is complete, cancel contracts, and even try to take back funds if the organizations don't pass the audit. On the issue of "sanctuary" jurisdictions, this order tells the Attorney General and DHS Secretary to deny them funding to the extent the law allows (which is contested), and tells DHS to issue guidance on existing law. DHS is instructed to expand 287(g) agreements, which allow state and local law enforcement organizations to enforce certain immigration laws in specific circumstances. The order also hints that a type of 287(g) agreement that allows local police and sheriffs to enforce immigration law in the community, while carrying out their law enforcement duties, could be revived after many years. The order directs the State Department, DOJ, and DHS to take a hard look at Temporary Protected Status and work permits, but doesn't rescind them. State and DHS are directed to pressure recalcitrant countries to take their citizens back when the U.S. wants to deport them.

Underway

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This order calls for greater use of the death penalty, particularly for crimes by immigrants or against law enforcement officers.

This order ends Biden's federal moratorium on the use of the death penalty. It directs the Attorney General to pursue the death penalty in all cases where possible, particularly in cases involving capital crimes committed by undocumented immigrants or the murder of a law enforcement officer. The Attorney General must also encourage state attorneys general to pursue the death penalty; make sure that the 37 people whose death sentences Biden commuted have horrific prison conditions; and, work to overrule Supreme Court precedents limiting officials' abilities to pursue capital punishment.

Underway

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This memorandum calls for rerouting water from California's Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to other parts of the state.

This memorandum directs the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Interior to make progress on routing water from Northern California to Central and Southern California, purportedly to fight wildfires, within 90 days. Officials and experts have said water supply is not a problem Los Angeles faces in fighting recent fires, so this order is unlikely to improve California's wildfire management abilities. Additionally, it is likely to harm the already endangered populations of smelt, salmon, and steelhead in the state, causing irrevocable damage to California's biodiversity and critical habitats.

Underway

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This order rescinds dozens of prior executive orders that sought to make progress across the economy, civil rights, health care, climate and more.

This order rescinds roughly 80 Biden-Harris administration executive orders that sought to improve the lives of millions of people, across issues like expanding access to health care, raising wages, protecting civil rights, and combatting climate change. For example, it eliminates the Task Force that sought to reunify families after Trump's family separation program; programs expanding economic opportunities for Native, Black, and Hispanic people; and an initiative promoting access to voting. Democracy Forward and its partners will continue assessing the impact of each individual rescission.

Challenged

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This omnibus order directs agencies to take numerous steps to prioritize energy production at the expense of environmental, climate, or public health concerns.

This executive order rolls back or eliminates most of the advances made by the Biden administration to combat climate change, and undermines longstanding protections to our environment and public health to prioritize domestic energy development. In addition to immediately revoking twelve Biden Executive Orders related to energy, climate, and environmental justice, the order directs agencies to develop plans to expedite permitting and reduce the weight of environmental impacts in policies and other agency decisions. It immediately pauses distribution of funds through the Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, specifically targeting programs that would advance America's electric vehicle industry. It prioritizes the expansion of liquified natural gas exports, domestic mining, and energy exploration and production on federal lands and the outer continental shelf.

Underway

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This memorandum designates membership, staffing responsibilities, and meeting procedures for the National Security Council and the Homeland Security Council.

This memorandum is the first in a series of National Security Policy memoranda establishing administrative procedures and reporting structures for the National Security Council and the Homeland Security Council under the new administration. President Trump has appointed Rep. Mike Waltz as his National Security Advisor and Project 2025 advisory group head Stephen Miller as his Homeland Security Advisor.

Challenged

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This order requires a pause and review of certain foreign development assistance.

This order requires a 90-day pause and review of foreign development assistance to purportedly evaluate if such assistance is consistent with U.S. foreign policy. The impact of this order is not immediately clear and it may be limited by the language of the EO that may restrict its effect to new obligations and disbursements. However, regardless of its immediate impact, this order — like others that purport to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Paris Climate Agreement — does serious damage to our country's credibility, undermines international alliances and partnerships, and allows countries like China and Russia to fill the void created by our withdrawal from the world stage.

Underway

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This memorandum prohibits the leasing of land and the issuance of permits for wind energy projects

This memorandum prohibits the leasing of any area within the Offshore Continental Shelf for the purposes of wind energy and temporarily pauses the issuance of new or renewed approvals, permits, leases, and loans for wind projects. Taken together, these actions represent an attack on the development of the nation's largest source of renewable energy. According to the American Clean Power Association, there is enough offshore wind capacity being developed in our country to power 30 million homes. Notably, the order's prohibition of leasing land within the Offshore Continental Shelf does not apply to leases related to oil and gas.

Underway

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This memo asks for recommendations on how to make Federal public buildings more uniform, classical, and traditional.

This memo directs the Administrator of the Government Services Administration (GSA), together with the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy and agency heads, to make recommendations as to the the architectural style of federal public buildings. Specifically, it is focused on how to emphasize classical architecture and tradition.