Donald Trump began his second term as America’s President and commander in chief with a flurry of activities and fury of actions to fulfill broadly popular campaign promises.
On Monday, during his first day, after presenting a formal inaugural address, he gave a long unscripted impromptu speech to an overflow Capitol One Arena crowd.
Subsequently, he began signing a blitz of impactful executive actions and orders as well as attend three separate late-night inaugural balls.
He then relocated to the Oval Office to sign several more presidential edicts while simultaneously commenting and responding to questions from reporters.
On Thursday, Trump presented a virtual address to the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, threatened tariffs and demanded allies spend more on defense.
On Friday, the president surveyed hurricane damaged areas in North Carolina, then on that same day, traveled to tour Los Angeles wildfire destruction and participated in a press conference with state and local officials where he pledged help while criticizing water and forest management policies.
By last weekend President Trump had signed 46 executive actions, with many of them multi-pronged mixes of more than 200 executive orders, directives, and policy guidance statements for a "whole-of-government" makeover.
Dozens of these actions and orders rescind those issued by former President Joe Biden concerning key issues that Trump campaigned on which subsequently contributed to his landslide election victory and attendant GOP congressional majority.
Returning U.S. Border Sovereignty
One of Trump’s first executive orders (EOs) declared that the illegal immigrant "invasion" that's going on at America’s southern border with Mexico constitutes a national emergency.
Another declares that Mexican criminal cartels are terrorist organizations and directs the U.S. Department of Defense to develop plans to protect the United States' territorial integrity and sovereignty by targeting drug and human trafficking along with other related illegal activities.
Still another EO, "Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship," disputes and ends assumptions of birthright citizenship for illegal border crossers.
Freedom from Censorship and Lawfare
An EO titled "Restoring Freedom of Speech and Ending Federal Censorship" pledges to end the previous administration’s censorship of free speech on online platforms — often through coercive pressures on social media companies — to moderate, deplatform, or otherwise suppress speech under the guise of combatting "misinformation," "disinformation," and "malinformation."
Another directs the federal government to end the "weaponization of government against the political adversaries of the previous administration," something that Donald Trump has experienced more than any other president in history.
The War on Woke
An EO titled "Reforming the Federal Hiring Process and Restoring Merit to Government Service" ends all diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs and policies in the federal government, and declares that only two genders — male and female — will be recognized.
The EO policy change emphasizes workforce incentives and rewards based upon merit rather than skin color and gender, a system that also makes it easier to fire poor performers.
Henceforth, all federal employees are immediately required to either immediately return to full-time in-person work or be terminated.
End of The Green New Deal
Another of Trump’s first executive actions echoed one he issued during his first term which withdrew the U.S. from the 2015 U.N. Paris Climate agreement, an action that had been reversed by the Biden administration, along with any other "agreement, pact, accord, or similar commitment made under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change."
This directive immediately rescinds the U.S. International Climate Finance Plan which, over the years, earmarks billions in U.S. taxpayer commitments.
Other EOs included rollbacks of any regulations or rules adopted within the last 60 days and any allocations authorized under two "New Green Deal" bills adopted in 2021 and 2022.
One order, "Prioritizing Accuracy in Environmental Analyses," calls for doing away with "social cost of carbon" calculations which it states are "marked by local deficiencies, a poor basis in empirical science, politization, and the absence of a foundation in legislation," which puts the U.S. economy at a disadvantage.
Another order pledges to eliminate the electric vehicle (EV) mandate imposed by the Biden Department of Transportation’s fuel-efficiency rules to ensure "a level regulatory playing field for consumer choice in vehicles” and calls for eliminating "unfair subsidies and other ill-conceived government-imposed market distortions that favor EVs over other technologies and effectively mandate their purchase."
"Drill Baby, Drill!"
An "Unleashing American Energy" EO declares an intent "to establish our position as the leading producer and processor of non-fuel minerals, including rare earth minerals . . . to protect the United States’ economic and national security” and includes executive orders, actions, directives, and policy guidance.
Another "Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential" EO directs federal agency officials to "expedite the permitting and leasing of energy and natural resource projects," prioritize "development of Alaska’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) potential," and expand fossil fuel development in the 23-million-acre National Petroleum Reserve and 19.6-million-acre Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Having previously stated that "We’re going to try and have a policy where no windmills are being built," adding that "they don’t work without subsidy," another Trump order establishes a temporary withdrawal of all offshore wind-power project leasing subject to government cost-benefit reviews.
Here again, the president has wind at his back emanating from priorities shared by many; in this case those of us who want reliable, affordable energy to power the cars we want, to warm our homes, and to keep the lights on when the wind isn’t blowing.
Larry Bell is an endowed professor of space architecture at the University of Houston where he founded the Sasakawa International Center for Space Architecture and the graduate space architecture program. His latest of 12 books is "Architectures Beyond Boxes and Boundaries: My Life By Design" (2022). Read Larry Bell's Reports — More Here.