President Donald Trump has been back in the Oval Office for just a week, but he has already unleashed a flurry of executive actions designed to remake the government and country in his image.

Within minutes of signing dozens of consequential executive orders, he drew backlash from Democrats, including those representing Maryland in Congress.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen slammed Trump for talking about a new “golden age” in America during his inauguration, with billionaire tech moguls “sitting in the front row. “He wants it for THEM — not for working people.”

Rep. Johnny Olszewski said the Trump administration’s quick removal of reproductiverights.gov escalates an assault on reproductive rights that is “unacceptable.”

But Rep. Andy Harris, the lone Republican in Maryland’s congressional delegation, cheered Trump’s actions on border security, DEI and more. “‘Diversity, equity, and inclusion’ is a kind of woke discrimination that has no place in healthcare, science, or our government,” he said in a statement. “It is contrary to the principles held dear in America.”

Here’s a closer look at Trump’s boldest and most significant actions since his inauguration on Jan. 20.

Immigration

Illegal immigration has been Trump’s signature issue for nearly a decade, and his push to secure the U.S.-Mexico border while ridding the country of dangerous criminals received extensive coverage last week.

U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) began its widespread deportation operations Tuesday, which led to the arrest of hundreds of migrants living in major cities, according to the Associated Press. Trump border czar Tom Homan told CNN the administration is focusing on the most egregious offenders first, such as those with criminal records who have outstanding deportation orders. The White House also touted actions taken to crack down on illegal immigration during Trump’s first 100 hours.

As for incoming migrants, the restoration of Trump’s “Remain in Mexico” policy will require them to wait for asylum hearings on the Mexican side of the border. Construction of his long-promised border wall will also continue, thanks to an executive order titled “Securing Our Borders.”

Trump also moved to declare the border situation to be a national emergency, which allows him to authorize an increased U.S. military presence in the area. The president also seems poised to act against the Mexican cartels trafficking drugs and people across the border, as a separate executive order formally designated them as foreign terrorist organizations.

Trump also issued an order that could strip U.S. citizenship from the children of some undocumented people. This action has already been challenged in a lawsuit filed by at least 22 Democratic attorneys general, who argue Trump lacks the authority to nullify a right to birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment. A federal judge on Thursday blocked the executive order and called it “blatantly unconstitutional,” according to the Associated Press.

On Sunday, Trump showed what would happen to country’s who refused to comply with his deportation efforts, according to the Associated Press.

Trump said he would implement tariffs and visa restrictions against Columbia, whose government refused to take in two-flights worth of deported migrants.

“These measures are just the beginning,” Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. “We will not allow the Colombian Government to violate its legal obligations with regard to the acceptance and return of the Criminals they forced into the United States.”

Government reform

Following through on a campaign promise, Trump issued an executive order to create a new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The new executive branch advisory body will be led by the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, but fellow tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy will not participate in DOGE after being expected to co-lead it alongside Musk. Ramaswamy is considering a run for elected office in Ohio, according to an AP report.

Employment in the federal government is facing serious changes under Trump, who directed federal agencies to freeze all new hiring. The administration also issued a memo mandating that federal employees return to the office five days per week after working partially or entirely from home for much of former President Joe Biden’s term.

Broader Trump orders focus on the “restoration of freedom of speech and preventing government censorship” and ending “the weaponization of government against political adversaries. The latter order mandates a review of law enforcement and intelligence agencies under Biden and authorizes recommendations for “appropriate remedial actions.”

On Friday, Trump’s team began firing independent inspectors general at government agencies, the Associated Press reported, a legally questionable that the news agency called “a sweeping action to remove oversight of his new administration.”

Race and gender

By executive order, Trump declared the U.S. will recognize “two sexes, male and female.” He also stopped Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives and issued another order to shut down all federal government DEI programs. Trump allies say the move will restore “merit-based” practices without considering a person’s demographic information when hiring. But opponents, like Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, say axing DEI programs amounts to removing long-guaranteed protection for racial minorities.

“Everyone should be concerned with not just the executive order around birthright citizenship, but the ones that are eliminating particular things that President [Lyndon B.] Johnson set up to make sure that there were protections for folks — especially folks that look like you and I,” Scott, who is Black, told a Black reporter at a news conference Wednesday.

Johnson, who served as president from 1963 to 1969, was instrumental in signing major civil rights initiatives to advance racial equality — such as Executive Order 11246 in 1965 — which Congress expanded by passing the Equal Opportunity Employment Act in 1972. Johnson’s order, which required federal contractors to take affirmative action in hiring, was reversed by Trump.

Foreign policy

Trump 2.0 made his first appearance on the global stage Thursday, as he spoke virtually to elites attending the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

“My message to every business in the world is very simple: Come make your product in America and we will give you among the lowest taxes of any nation on Earth,” Trump said. “But if you don’t make your product in America, which is your prerogative, then, very simply, you will have to pay a tariff.”

Trump used the opportunity to express his frustration with high oil prices, calling on the Saudi Arabia-led Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to lower prices — thus undercutting Russian energy and potentially forcing Vladimir Putin to call off Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.

Trump’s other foreign policy degrees seem to promote a shift toward American isolationism. By two executive orders, he authorized the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement and World Health Organization.

Pardons

Trump raised some eyebrows last Monday by issuing full pardons for more than 1,500 people who were convicted of various offenses related to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. At least 200 of those pardoned pleaded guilty to assaulting police, including members of far-right groups like the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, according to the Associated Press.

Trump also announced a full pardon for Ross Ulbricht, whose dark website, Silk Road, allowed for the sale of illegal drugs. A New York narcotics and money laundering sting led to Ulbricht’s conviction in 2015, a case that pro-Trump Libertarian Party members called an example of government overreach.

Trump’s pardons came just hours after outgoing President Biden issued unconditional pardons dating back to 2014 for five members of his family, Dr. Anthony Fauci and General Mark Milley.

Have a news tip? Contact Carson Swick at cswick@baltsun.com.