Policies & Analysis

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This order declares an emergency at the southern border, authorizes DoD to send military troops there, and orders that the border wall be built.

This order abuses the National Emergencies Act and further perpetuates an "invasion" myth. This order formally declares an emergency at the southern border pursuant to sections 201 and 301 of the National Emergencies Act. By doing so, the order authorizes the Department of Defense (DoD) to send active duty military troops, reservists, and National Guard members to the southern border to support Department of Homeland Security (DHS) activities, including by providing detention facilities and transportation. The order also directs the Secretaries of Defense and Homeland Security to build more of the border wall. It directs Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to consider waiving certain rules to allow DHS to target drones near the border. Finally, it instructs the Secretaries of Defense and Homeland Security, in consultation with the Attorney General, to prioritize preventing immigrants from crossing the border and to deprioritize the physical safety of migrants in interactions with DHS agents and members of the Armed Forces.

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This order directs the military to come up with a plan to "seal the borders" of the United States and prevent immigration and drug trafficking.

This order makes it U.S. policy for the Armed Forces to prioritize patrolling the country's borders. The order directs the Secretary of Defense to present a revised plan to the President within 10 days that assigns NORTHCOM (the U.S. Northern Command, based in Colorado) a mission of "seal[ing] the borders," presumably both the northern and southern borders. It also adds three requirements to internal Department of Defense (DoD) guidance documents. NORTHCOM must engage in strategic, full-scale military planning to "seal the borders" and present an estimate to the Secretary within 30 days. NORTHCOM must also plan to ensure "southern border security" over the long term, and continuously assess other options to prevent people from crossing the borders.

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This order purports to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is the agency in the United Nations whose responsibility is to promote global public health, including by increasing access to essential health and nutrition services and by fighting pandemics. The withdrawal of the United States, which contributes about twenty percent of WHO's budget, would seriously jeopardize the organization's ability to do its job and fulfill its mission around the world. Our nation's contributions to the WHO are very much in our self interest. If the WHO cannot do its job, then outbreaks of diseases in foreign countries may spiral out of control and become increasingly likely to come to our shores. Furthermore, withdrawing from the WHO would mean that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) would lose access to global data that the WHO currently provides to our country. This would prove devastating during future pandemics where we must collaborate with our allies and international partners.

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Senior Trump appointees are directed to review civil and criminal law enforcement and intelligence actions believed to be against the Trump administration and its supporters.

The Attorney General (AG) and the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) are directed to review all investigations, prosecutions, civil enforcement actions, and other related actions taken during the Biden administration, and provide recommendations for "remedial actions" for conduct the AG and DNI believe constitute "weaponization" of the federal government. As one example, the EO states that the "Department of Justice has ruthlessly prosecuted more than 1,500 individuals associated with January 6, and simultaneously dropped nearly all cases against BLM rioters" but this review will cover any action perceived to be contrary to the views and policies of the Trump administration and its supporters. This review could undo actions to break up monopolies that hurt consumers, prosecutions of insider trading laws, and prosecutions for police misconduct and discrimination in housing, education, and the workplace, among many other areas. Federal prosecutors, investigators, and intelligence officers, as well as any federal employee who cooperated with the House investigation of the January 6 insurrection, could be demoted, fired, and/or prosecuted for their actions. The final report's recommendations are to be given directly to the White House, breaking long-standing traditions of separating law enforcement decisions from political interference.

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This memorandum directs certain White House staff to be granted the highest level of security clearance without vetting.

This memo directs the White House Counsel to identify individuals in the Executive Office of the President that must be granted Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) — the highest level of security clearance — without proper vetting or background checks. The security clearances are for up to six months and the memo allows for the White House Counsel to supplement the lists or revoke any of these accesses.

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This order commands all federal remote workers back to the office full-time, without regard to union agreements or disruptions it could cause.

This order directs agencies to terminate remote work arrangements and require remote workers to return to the office full-time. Only department and agency heads can grant exceptions, and there are no standards listed for those exceptions. There is also no acknowledgment of union collective bargaining agreements, which could mean that the administration intends to ignore them. This will create major hardships for remote workers, despite remote work being common outside the government, and it will make it harder for the government to provide essential services and protections.

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This order claims to prohibit the proposal or issuing of any policies until a Trump administration official reviews and approves them.

By giving Trump administration officials complete review authority over issuing and proposing regulatory actions, guidance documents, and rules, this order makes it much more difficult for our government to perform essential functions, which include ensuring our food, medicine, transportation, and water are safe. Additionally, this order proposes to delay the effective dates of certain policies, as well as withdraw others that have not yet been published. Government cannot work for people and communities across this country by grinding it to a halt.

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This order directs agency heads to lower the costs of housing, healthcare, and other necessities, in part by cutting regulations intended to protect consumers and the climate.

This order claims to address Americans' higher costs of living, but it will have no immediate effect. It directs agency heads to "deliver emergency price relief," in part by cutting policies that protect consumers and communities, and to implement some changes that agency heads lack the authority to carry out on their own.

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This order places a freeze on vast swaths of federal hiring, making it harder for the government to provide critical services and protections.

This order institutes an immediate hiring freeze throughout the executive branch, with some exceptions. It also provides for the White House's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to consult with the DOGE on a plan to reduce the size of the Federal Government’s workforce. The IRS is targeted for a lengthier freeze than the rest of government. This overbroad and arbitrary freeze will make it harder for the government to staff essential positions that benefit all Americans.

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This order seeks to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

This executive order directs the United States to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement, in which almost 200 parties voluntarily committed to reduce their carbon emissions. Our withdrawal will seriously jeopardize the ability of the world community to prevent a catastrophic global rise in temperatures. Climate change has already increased the frequency and severity of extreme weather events like hurricanes and wildfires around the world and in the United States, and in the years to come will only continue to prove destabilizing in alarming and unpredictable ways. Climate change is not only an environmental problem; it risks our long-term national security and economic prosperity. Notably, other than the United States, the only three countries who are not parties to the Paris Climate Agreement are Iran, Libya, and Yemen.

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This order claims to end federal government censorship and directs the Attorney General to investigate the Biden administration for its efforts to combat disinformation.

This order does not alter anyone's First Amendment rights. The federal government is already prohibited from unconstitutionally abridging the free speech of any American citizen. This order claims that the Biden administration, in its attempts to combat "misinformation," "disinformation," and "malinformation," unconstitutionally coerced social media companies to censor Americans' speech on online platforms. The order directs the Attorney General to consult with the heads of executive departments and agencies to "investigate the activities of the Federal Government over the last 4 years" for unconstitutional censorship and to prepare a report recommending "appropriate remedial actions" based on the report's findings.