Trump's executive orders - from renaming the Gulf of Mexico to January 6 pardons
21 January 2025, 15:54
During his first full day in office, Donald Trump signed off a slew of executive orders - from renaming the Gulf of Mexico to pardoning January 6 rioters.
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The returning president spoke to thousands of supporters at a stadium in Washington DC on Monday evening, as he picked up a pen, reversing many of predecessor Joe Biden's policies.
The executive orders included the withdrawal of the US from the Paris climate agreement, alongside "restoration of freedom of speech".
Trump rescinded a total of 78 Biden-era executive actions, after slamming his administration as the "worst in history".
Here's what we know about the executive orders and actions Trump signed on Monday.
Read more: President Trump gives TikTok 75-day extension to sell its US business
Pardons for January 6 rioters
Trump has gone on to pardon around 1,500 defendants charged in the January 6 attack on the US Capitol and is issuing six commutations.
The pardons fulfil his promise to release supporters who tried to help him overturn his election defeat four years ago.
"These are the hostages," he said while signing the paperwork in the Oval Office.
He also directed the Attorney General to seek the dismissal of about 450 pending criminal cases tied to the riots.
Nancy Pelosi, who was the Speaker of the House at the time of the riots, called the move 'shameful'.
Economy
While speaking to supporters on Monday night, Trump signed a "presidential memorandum to marshal every power to combat inflation" to bring down prices, as he said 'you can't buy bacon anymore'.
By repealing Mr Biden's actions and adding his own orders, Mr Trump is easing regulatory burdens on oil and natural gas production, something he promises will bring down costs of all consumer goods.
On trade, the president said he expects to impose 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico starting on February 1, but declined to flesh out his plans for taxing Chinese imports.
Climate and energy
Trump will formally withdraw the US from the Paris climate agreements. He made the same move during his first term but Mr Biden reversed it.
Trump promised to "drill, baby, drill", adding that the "liquid gold under our feet" will make America a "rich nation again".
The administration will end the Green New Deal and revoke the electric vehicle mandate, he said.
Border and immigration
Trump is set to declare a national emergency on the US-Mexico border in order to support border wall construction and send additional troops to the border, an incoming Trump official said.
Trump did the same during his first term after Congress refused to give him the money to build the border wall.
Mr Trump is trying to end birthright citizenship. It is unclear, though, whether his order will survive inevitable legal challenges, since birthright citizenship is enshrined in the US constitution.
He temporarily suspended the US Refugee Admission Programme, pending a review to assess the programme's "public safety and national security" implications.
He has also pledged to restart a policy that forced asylum seekers to wait over the border in Mexico, but officials did not say whether Mexico would accept migrants again.
And Mr Trump is ending the CBP One app, a Biden-era border app that gave legal entry to nearly a million migrants.
'America First'
Trump is pulling the US out of the World Health Organisation.
He also ordered a comprehensive review of US foreign aid spending.
Trump also signed an order renaming the Gulf of Mexico, making it the Gulf of America and the highest mountain in North America, now known as Denali, will revert back to Mount McKinley, its name until former president Barack Obama changed it.
He also signed an order that flags must be at full height at every future inauguration day. The order came because former president Jimmy Carter's death had prompted flags to be at half-staff. Trump demanded they be moved up on Monday.
Government bureaucracy
Trump has halted federal government hiring, except for the military and other parts of government that went unnamed. He added a freeze on new federal regulations while he builds out his second administration.
He formally empowered the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, which is being led by Elon Musk, the world's richest man. Ostensibly an effort to streamline government, Doge is not an official agency. But Mr Trump appears poised to give Mr Musk wide latitude to recommend cuts in government programmes and spending.
Gender and DEI
Trump is rolling back protections for transgender people and terminating diversity, equity and inclusion programmes within the federal government.
He signed an order mandating the federal government to only recognise two genders - male and female.
"There are only two genders, male and female"
"As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female," he said.
A separate order halts DEI programmes, directing the White House to identify and end them within the government.
