On Jan. 20, immediately following his inauguration ceremony, President Donald Trump made good on a number of his campaign promises, signing dozens of executive orders ranging from halting Biden-era executive actions, revoking protection for transgender troops, proclaiming that there are only two federally recognized sexes, male and female, ending birthright citizenship, withdrawing from the World Health Organization, and pardoning around 1,500 people who were criminally charged following their participation in the Jan. 6th protests.
In a bid to lower prices for Americans struggling under the weight of historic levels of inflation, Trump signed a series of orders on energy policy.
“The biggest thing and factor for inflation is energy. They screwed up my energy policy,” Trump told reporters from the Oval Office. “We’re going to make a lot of money from energy. We have more than anybody else,” he added.
Trump took aim at Biden’s restrictions on drilling for oil in Alaska, as well as Biden’s 2023 restrictions on Arctic Ocean drilling. In addition, Trump reversed Biden’s ban on drilling off the American coastline, opening up drilling in the Bering Sea.
Trump said his actions will unleash “Alaska’s potential as an energy reservoir for the entire nation.”
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‘Golden age of America’
In his inaugural address Trump vowed to bring about a “golden age of America.”
Among his other orders, Trump reversed several immigration orders from the Biden administration, including one that restricted the deportation of people who commit serious crimes, and those deemed as national security threats.
Immediately following his swearing in ceremony, migrants, waiting at the southern border, were shocked to discover that appointments, made through a Biden-era application, the CBP One app, that made it easier to enter the U.S., were cancelled
He also declared the crisis at the southern border an “invasion” and ordered the attorney general and secretaries of state, as well as homeland security, to “take all appropriate action to repel, repatriate, or remove any alien.”
Among his immigration orders, Trump is also requiring the institution of enhanced screening for visa applications from “high-risk” nations.
Trump also ordered all federal employees back to work in the office for five days a week, and directed every government department and agency to take steps to address the cost-of-living crisis.
He also made good on his promise to create a non-government agency, the Department of Government Efficiency to tackle government waste, and ended all diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs within federal agencies.
By the end of the day, several federally run government websites had deleted pages detailing their DEI initiatives.
1,500 Jan. 6 pardons
Among his more impactful orders, Trump issued a sweeping order to immediately pardon around 1,500 people who had participated in the Jan. 6 protests at the state capital, referring to the ones in prison as “hostages.”
In comments made in the Oval Office, Trump said his hope was that anyone incarcerated would be released immediately, that night.
“The first two January 6 defendants have been released. This is a few hours after President Trump signed his historic pardon,” Paul Ingrassisa, the White House liaison to the Justice Department, told reporters, adding that the pardon was a “monumental moment in our history.”
Two brothers from Stroudsburg, Pa., Andrew and Matthew Valentin, were the first to be released. They had been imprisoned at the Central Detention Facility in Washington, DC, and were released just before midnight.
Trump administration officials, announced outside the jail, that Elon Musk was the “mastermind” behind their sudden release, the NY Post reported.
In total, 1,583 people were criminally charged for their participation in the event that occurred at the U.S. capitol on January 6, 2021.
The two brothers had just been sentenced for their part in the riots last Friday, and were each sentenced to two and a half years in prison.
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