Response Center
Real-time analysis of Trump-Vance administration actions, to support legal challenges and provide resources for the pro-democracy community.
Featured Policies & Analysis
Policies we're monitoring especially closely given their potential impact to people and communities throughout the United States.
Latest Policies & Analysis
Prioritize the appearance of government buildings
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.
Undermine strong rules and protections by creating the "Department of Government Efficiency"
This order establishes the "Department of Government Efficiency," which has been tasked with modernizing federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency.
This executive order claims to create the "Department of Government Efficiency" as a Temporary Organization under 5 U.S.C. 3161, with a stated purpose to modernize federal technology and software in order to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity. Such a mission may appear to be benign, or even a positive development for the federal bureaucracy, but Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and others associated with DOGE have made clear their intent to target, overrule, or undermine civil servants; roll back important protections that keep us safe; and, cut massive programs that benefit tens of millions of Americans.
Rename geographic features to reflect Trump administration priorities
This order establishes new standards for naming geographic features, including renaming Mount Denali to Mount McKinley and the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
This order addresses the composition of the Board on Geographic Names, directing agency heads to consider replacing appointees on the board. It also lays out vague principles to guide the board’s naming and renaming of geographic features, which are encapsulated in the two specific changes the order makes to the current names: Mount Denali to Mount McKinley and the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America. Both changes reflect the rhetoric of the Trump administration, making implicit references to tariffs and trade policy, as well as a dismissal of Native American history and international cooperation.
Politicize the hiring and review of senior independent public servants
This order injects politics into the hiring, review, and retention of public servants in the "Senior Executive Service" who keep the government running for the American people.
This memo directs Trump-Vance political appointees to control various personnel affecting non-partisan senior executives. The key initiatives include requiring that performance plans are set centrally, rather than by supervisors; reassigning these senior executives without real guidance; and, having political appointees dominate the internal boards that oversee hiring and performance. The clear purpose is to harass and control those nonpartisan public servants who have the most experience delivering for Americans.
Embolden discrimination and hate towards transgender people
This order seeks to severely narrow government protections and support for transgender, intersex, and nonbinary individuals.
Relying on false claims that attempt to divide communities, this order claims to change the policy of the United States to recognize only two genders (male and female), and attempts to redefine those and other terms throughout federal law to comport with this harmful worldview. It also orders the Attorney General to issue guidance to circumvent Supreme Court case law that supports transgender protections and orders several agencies to investigate people deemed to have prevented others from expressing the administration's dangerous views. This order squarely targets transgender, intersex, and nonbinary people for discrimination.
End Asylum and Deny Entry at the Southern Border Based on a Fake "Invasion"
This order claims inherent executive authority to prevent asylum seekers and others from crossing the southern border, based on claims of an "invasion" that is not happening.
This executive order is a massive power grab by the president, who is claiming inherent constitutional authority to suspend laws passed by Congress — specifically, the entire asylum system that Congress created in 1980. Conflating immigration with an "invasion," and citing caselaw from a time before the asylum system was legislated, this order claims authority to prevent any noncitizens "engaged in the invasion" — though it is unclear who falls into that category — from entering the country. This order also claims to deny those noncitizen people the right to apply for asylum.
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