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The Warrior • News
February 20, 2025
Trump’s Reshaping of the Country Challenged in Courts
by Audrey Farris ‘25
Trump, since his inauguration, has pushed for massive changes to the Federal Government.
When Donald Trump was
inaugurated as the 47th President
of the United States earlier this
year after his victory over Kamala
Harris in a contentious election
last year, he quickly set in motion
a whirlwind of executive actions
and policy shifts that reflect the
themes of his campaign: economic
revival, immigration reform,
and a tougher stance on international
relations. These, among
other issues, have been grouped
and coined as “America First”
policies. Running parallel to his
efforts to make good on his campaign
promises is the implementation
of the Project 2025 agenda
that Trump distanced himself
from while running for president
last summer.
One of the Trump administration’s
priorities upon taking office
was to reshape the federal workforce.
Trump issued an executive
order aimed at curbing the size of
the federal bureaucracy, pushing
for greater efficiency and cost reduction.
At the same time, Trump
is filling positions both through
nominations and appointments,
with those who share his views
but just as importantly are viewed
as loyal to him. Trump has sought
to expand the use of “Schedule
F,” a classification that allows for
the easier removal of federal employees
based on political loyalty,
which he argues is necessary to
ensure that federal agencies align
with his agenda. Recently, tens
of thousands of probationary employees
who started working in
the federal government in the past
1-2 years have received notice of
their termination.
His administration has also
pushed forward with reducing
union influences in the workplace,
arguing that unions impede
governmental efficiency while
promoting policies that limit the
scope of collective bargaining.
Notably, one of Trump’s executive
orders ended DEI, or Diversity,
Equity, and Inclusion programs,
in all aspects of the federal
government, resulted in mass firings
across government agencies.
In response, many of those employees
with DEI positions or
attended DEI trainings, are suing
Trump and his administration for
wrongful termination.
Trump has consistently prioritized
tightening immigration
policies, most notably with his
“Build the wall” messaging from
his 2016 campaign and his transition
in 2024 to have the “largest
mass deportation program in
history.” Before taking office,
he planned on enforcing stricter
vetting for immigrants and limiting
illegal immigration and had
also emphasized eliminating the
number of refugees and asylum
seekers allowed into the United
States.
Upon taking office, Trump
wasted no time revisiting these
core promises. He signed an
executive order calling for the
immediate continuation and
completion of the U.S.-Mexico
border wall, which had been
stalled during his first term. Another
he signed in an attempt to
end birthright citizenship, which
is a right guaranteed by the Constitution,
but was stopped by two
separate federal judges within
days of being signed. Trump’s
administration has also reinstated
and expanded the “Remain
in Mexico” policy for asylum
seekers, requiring them to wait
in Mexico while their claims are
processed. Additionally, his administration
has called for sweeping
changes to the asylum system,
proposing limitations on political
asylum eligibility and increased
detention time for individuals apprehended
at the border.
In addition to tightening border
security measures, Trump has
emphasized the importance of
cracking down on sanctuary cities
and illegal immigration within
the United States, directing federal
agencies to withhold funding
from cities that do not cooperate
with federal immigration enforcement.
Within days of Trump
taking office, the number of ICE
raids across the country dramatically
increased, and some immigrants
being apprehended by ICE
are being held in the infamous
Guantanamo Bay detention camp,
which was initially established
under the Bush administration to
hold illegal enemy combatants
and terrorism suspects. Reportedly,
some migrant detainees are
being guarded by U.S. military
personnel.
Trump has advocated for
expanding U.S. energy production.
He has promised to roll back
environmental regulations that
he views as restrictive to energy
development, aiming to make
the United States less reliant on
foreign energy sources, further
promoting “America First” policies.
After being sworn in, one
of Trump’s first actions was
to approve of the Keystone XL
pipeline, whose construction had
been stalled under the Biden administration.
In addition, Trump’s
administration has worked to
eliminate regulations on fossil
fuel industries, including easing
restrictions on coal mining and
drilling on federal lands. The Energy
Department has been directed
to increase domestic production
of oil, gas, and coal to make
the U.S. less reliant on foreign
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energy resources.
On the environmental front,
Trump has largely continued
the deregulation approach of his
first term, repealing numerous
Obama-era and Biden-era climate
policies. He has reversed
vehicle emissions standards and
challenged renewable energy
mandates, as well as implemented
executive orders that directly
combat these mandates. These
executive orders have reversed a
tax credit for those who purchase
electric vehicles that was originally
implemented under the Biden
administration, as well as banning
federal use of paper straws
claiming they “don’t work,” and
instead requiring the government
to exclusively use plastic.
Trump’s approach to international
affairs is more diplomatically
isolationist, militarily non-interventionist,
and economically
protectionist. He has pledged the
expansion of the military, as well
as claiming that he will acquire
Greenland, re-acquire the Panama
Canal, and take over Canada,
all evidence of his growing
imperialistic impulses. Trump
also set his sights on the idea of
the United States taking over the
Gaza Strip and that Palestinians
should relocate to such countries
as Egypt and Jordan. Last week,
he talked with Russian President
Vladimir Putin and they indicated
that they will complete a “peace
deal” in the Russia-Ukraine War
that presumably will allow Russia
to retain the land in Ukraine that
Russia occupies.
Since his inauguration,
Trump has withdrawn the U.S.
from several international agreements,
including revisiting his
decision to pull out of the Paris
Climate Agreement and the
World Health Organization. Most
recently, Trump has dismantled
USAID, one of the largest official
aid organizations in the world,
which served as the main provider
of foreign aid in the country.
While both Trump and Musk haven’t
provided clear explanations
with accurate evidence, they have
both made broad claims that US-
AID has abused taxpayer money,
citing a list of USAID projects
including a grant of $1.5 million
to an LGBTQ group in Serbia and
$2.5 million for electric vehicles
in Vietnam among others.
Critics have claimed that
these projects have not been
framed truthfully, though, and a
Trump-appointed judge blocked
a plan to put more than 2,000
USAID employees on leave, calling
Trump’s attempt to dismantle
USAID without Congressional
approval “unconstitutional and
illegal.” Another federal judge
ordered the Trump administration
to reinstate funding for foreign
aid contracts and other awards
while litigation moves forward.
Trump has continued his
hardline economic stance, imposing
new tariffs on Chinese and
Canadian goods, imposing new,
extreme tariffs, and ramping up
sanctions with Chinese tech companies.
He has also advocated
for decoupling the U.S. economy
from China by reducing dependency
on Chinese imports. Trump
has also been vocal of his skepticism
of NATO and other international
alliances, advocating for
a transactional approach to U.S.
involvement in global organizations.
Trump’s array of actions
over the past month have led to
a lot of uncertainty among Americans,
and many are asking questions
about what the next four
years will look like. Currently, it
is uncertain where the executive
orders and other actions will go,
due to the number of judicial disputes
and blocks across various
actions Trump has taken.
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