On Jan. 20, after the inauguration, President Donald Trump headed to the Oval Office to sign more than 42 executive orders on the first night of his presidency. Many of these orders focus on immigration at the southern border.
Here are some of his first executive orders in office. Others not mentioned include restoring the death penalty, declaring a national emergency at the southern border, requiring all workers of the executive branch to return to in-person work and establishing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Withdrawing from the World Health Organization (WHO)
One of the most notable of these executive orders is the United States withdrawing from the WHO. The administration explained this withdrawal due to “the organization’s mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
According to the executive order, the United States is held to unfair financial contributions. The United States is the top donor to WHO. During the 2022-2023 biennium, the United States contributed an estimated $1.284 billion.
“WHO continues to demand unfairly onerous payments from the United States, far out of proportion with other countries’ assessed payments,” the administration wrote. “China, with a population of 1.4 billion, has 300 percent of the population of the United States, yet contributes nearly 90 percent less to the WHO.”
Following the withdrawal, WHO publicly commented on the matter, highlighting the success of the partnership. The statement emphasized the importance of WHO in addressing health emergencies, such as disease outbreaks.
“WHO and the USA have saved countless lives and protected Americans and all people from health threats. Together, we ended smallpox, and together we have brought polio to the brink of eradication. American institutions have contributed to and benefited from membership in WHO,” the organization wrote.
Terminating Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) within the federal government
Trump has also signed an executive order officially terminating DEI preference in federal contracting and federal agencies. According to the executive order, federal hiring and promotions will be based on “individual initiative, skills, performance, and hard work and not, under any circumstances, DEI-related factors, goals, policies, mandates, or requirements.”
“It enforces long-standing federal statutes and faithfully advances the Constitution’s promise of colorblind equality before the law,” the Trump administration wrote in a briefing.
The Secretary of Education and Attorney General will also provide guidance in the application of the Supreme Court’s decision in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College. This ruling in 2022, held that race-based affirmative action programs in college admissions violate the Equal Protection Clause.
Designating international cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations
This executive order has officially designated Cartels as a Foreign Terrorist Organization under the reasoning that Cartels constitute a national security threat beyond traditional organized crime. The executive order emphasized the complex systems within cartels and their influence on governments in the Western Hemisphere.
“The Cartels have engaged in a campaign of violence and terror throughout the Western Hemisphere that has not only destabilized countries with significant importance for our national interests but also flooded the United States with deadly drugs, violent criminals, and vicious gangs,” the administration wrote.
‘Defending women from gender ideology’
Under this executive order, the United States will recognize two sexes. The administration explained how the erasure of biological sex fundamentally attacks women and deprives them of their “dignity, safety, and well-being.”
“Ideologues who deny the biological reality of sex have increasingly used legal and other socially coercive means to permit men to self-identify as women and gain access to intimate single-sex spaces and activities designed for women, from women’s domestic abuse shelters to women’s workplace showers,” the administration wrote. “This is wrong.”
Federal agencies shall use the term “sex” and not “gender” in Federal policies and documents that are applicable. Government-issued documents, such as passports and visas, will follow suit.
