On January 20, 2025, Donald Trump was inaugurated at noon. By midnight, he had signed approximately 30 executive orders and presidential memoranda — a first-day record that dwarfed every previous president. The orders were not symbolic. They were operational, designed to immediately reshape the federal government.
The Big Ones
January 6 pardons: Trump signed pardons or commutations for over 1,500 people charged in connection with the January 6 Capitol attack. This included people convicted of assaulting police officers, seditious conspiracy defendants, and individuals who had pleaded guilty. The pardons were sweeping and unconditional for most recipients.
WHO withdrawal: Initiated the process of withdrawing the United States from the World Health Organization, cutting $700+ million in annual funding during an active bird flu outbreak.
Paris Agreement exit: Withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement for the second time, removing the world’s second-largest emitter from the global climate framework.
Birthright citizenship: Attempted to end birthright citizenship by executive order, contradicting the 14th Amendment. Multiple federal judges blocked it within days.
Border emergency: Declared a national emergency at the southern border and deployed active-duty military troops for immigration enforcement.
Federal hiring freeze: Froze all federal hiring across every agency, with limited exceptions for military and national security positions.
DOGE creation: Established the “Department of Government Efficiency” advisory body, led by Elon Musk.
Schedule F: Restored the executive order reclassifying career civil servants as at-will political employees, enabling mass terminations.
What They Reversed
Trump also signed orders revoking dozens of Biden-era executive orders, rolling back protections on climate, LGBTQ+ rights, workplace diversity, and environmental regulations. He reinstated the Mexico City policy (restricting international abortion funding), expanded the travel ban from Muslim-majority countries, and reversed Biden’s student loan forgiveness initiatives.
The Court Challenges
Within the first two weeks, federal judges had blocked or temporarily restrained at least five of the Day One orders, including the birthright citizenship order, elements of the federal funding freeze, and aspects of the border military deployment. The administration proceeded with others despite pending legal challenges.
Bottom Line
Day One wasn’t an inauguration — it was an overhaul. Thirty executive orders designed to reshape the federal government, withdraw from international agreements, pardon an insurrection, end constitutional rights, and centralize power in the presidency. Some were blocked by courts. Most were not. The scope was deliberate: move so fast on so many fronts that the legal system, the media, and the public cannot respond to any single action before the next one lands. It’s not governing. It’s a blitz. And by the time you’ve read this paragraph, three more things have happened.
Sources
- White House: Full list of Day One executive orders and presidential actions.
- Associated Press: Day One executive order tracker and analysis.
- New York Times: Scope and legal analysis of first-day actions.