New U.S. President Donald Trump carried out a promised flurry of executive actions on his first day in office, overturning dozens of decisions made by his predecessor, Joe Biden.
In a speech on Monday evening, Trump stated that he was rescinding nearly 80 “subversive, radical executive actions of the previous administration.”
Among the Biden orders revoked were directives requiring the federal government to resume the refugee assistance program and gradually phase out the Department of Justice’s use of private prisons.
Some of Trump’s orders are almost certain to face legal challenges, while others are largely symbolic. Collectively, however, they reflect his intent to sharply deviate from the Biden administration’s course and fulfill his campaign promises.
Key actions included Trump’s orders to withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Paris Climate Agreement, rename Denali Mountain and the Gulf of Mexico, and ensure that states using the death penalty maintain “sufficient supplies” of lethal injection drugs.
Trump instructed the Attorney General not to enforce a law that banned TikTok for 75 days, allowing his administration “time to determine the appropriate path forward.”
He declared a national energy emergency—the first in U.S. history—which could unlock new powers to suspend certain environmental regulations.
Trump initiated the rollback of Biden-era emissions standards for passenger cars and light trucks, which encouraged automakers to produce more electric vehicles. He also revoked energy efficiency standards for dishwashers, showerheads, and gas stoves, and opened more of Alaska’s wilderness to oil and gas drilling.
Additionally, Trump ordered a ban on granting asylum to those newly arriving at the southern border and moved to end birthright citizenship, guaranteed by the 14th Amendment, for children of undocumented immigrants. He suspended the refugee admission program “until further refugee entry into the United States aligns with U.S. interests.”
Trump directed federal agencies to investigate trade practices, including persistent trade deficits and unfair currency practices, and to study the flow of migrants and drugs from Canada, China, and Mexico into the U.S.
He also ordered a review of China’s compliance with the 2020 trade agreement he signed, as well as the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which replaced the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 2020.
