Donald Trump was officially sworn in as the 47th President of the United States on Monday, and quickly got to work, signing a flurry of Executive Orders, pardons, and personnel actions. Many of the most notable actions of his first 24 hours in office relate to immigration, the federal workforce, foreign relations, and those charged with crimes on January 6th, 2021.
One of the most controversial actions taken by Trump, and one that has already garnered legal pushback, is an to narrow the constitutional definition of those eligible for birthright citizenship. For over a century, birthright citizenship has been guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment, ratified on July 9, 1868, which states that 鈥淎ll persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.鈥�
Under this new order, the Trump Administration seeks to deny the extension of citizenship to persons born in the United States 鈥�(1) when that person鈥檚 mother was unlawfully present in the United States and the father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person鈥檚 birth, or (2) when that person鈥檚 mother鈥檚 presence in the United States at the time of said person鈥檚 birth was lawful but temporary鈥nd the father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person鈥檚 birth.鈥� A coalition of more than twenty Democratic-led states, along with the city of San Francisco and the District of Columbia, a lawsuit in federal court in Boston on Tuesday, alleging that these efforts are unconstitutional.
This was far from the only immigration-related policy enacted during Trump鈥檚 first day in office. He also several orders seeking to increase border security, including declaring a national emergency, designating numerous cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, restricting funds from sanctuary cities, and reinstating the 鈥淩emain in Mexico鈥� policy, among others.
Trump has also orders that make it easier to remove career civil servants from the federal government by reinstating 鈥淪chedule F,鈥� which states that occupants of career/policy positions are 鈥渞equired to faithfully implement administration policies to the best of their ability, consistent with their constitutional oath and the vesting of executive authority solely in the President. Failure to do so is grounds for dismissal.鈥�
In yet another controversial move, President Trump has a sweeping grant of clemency to all of the nearly 1,600 people charged in connection with the January 6th attack on the Capitol. Most of those affected by this order will be granted full pardons, effectively wiping all charges from their criminal record. In a separate move, Trump commuted the prison sentences of members of the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, many of whom were charged with seditious conspiracy. In total, the commutations erased more than 100 years of prison time for the 14 defendants.
Furthermore, among the slew of executive actions taken by President Trump on Monday and Tuesday include a number related to . Trump declared a national emergency designed to promote the development of energy resources and issued memorandums to restrict and review numerous wind-power projects throughout the country.
Finally, in foreign policy news, Trump issued orders the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Paris Climate Accords. The order withdrawing from the WHO cites the organizations 鈥渕ishandling鈥� of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the unfair payments extracted from the United Staes as the motivation for leaving.
Many of these executive actions will face significant legal resistance in the coming weeks.