Sunday marked the end of President Donald Trump’s first full week back in office, which included dozens of executive orders, firings at federal agencies, pardons, and other actions that will likely spur political pushback and legal challenges from opposition groups.
Trump has issued sweeping actions on illegal immigration, deploying the military to the southern border and ordering mass deportations nationwide.
He also moved to rename two large geographical landmarks, ended diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in federal agencies, proposed overhauling or eliminating the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and backed a plan to relocate thousands living in the Gaza Strip to “clean out” the territory.
Within his broader crackdown on illegal immigration, Trump ended birthright citizenship for children of non-citizens or those on temporary status and eliminated the CBP One app for migrants seeking asylum in the United States.
He issued pardons for roughly 1,500 defendants charged for the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol Breach, and for 23 pro-life demonstrators convicted under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act.
Trump also directed all federal agencies to put their DEI employees on paid leave as the programs are slowly dismantled. He then reportedly fired at least a dozen inspectors general at various agencies, including the departments of Agriculture, State, and Education.
Trump signed an executive order reversing many of President Joe Biden’s policies, including his actions on immigration, the environment, gender, and race.
As TikTok was facing a ban in the United States, Trump signed an order giving the app 75 days to divest or find a U.S.-based buyer before it has to cease its American operations.
Trump also ordered plans to be drafted for the release of records related to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy (JFK), Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy (RFK), and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
The executive order gives the director of national intelligence and the attorney general 15 days to create a plan for the “full and complete release” of the JFK files and 45 days for the plans to release the RFK and King files.
Several federal agencies have launched immigration enforcement operations in Chicago and other cities this week after Trump promised a swift crackdown on illegal immigration.
ICE reported 956 arrests on Sunday alone.
—Jacob Burg
BOOKMARKS
The CIA announced that it has found a lab origin “more likely” for the COVID-19 pandemic, joining two other top U.S. agencies that have previously made the assessment. An agency spokesperson said it has “low confidence” in the conclusion, but still finds the theory plausible as it continues to evaluate new intelligence reporting.
President Donald Trump is calling for Egypt, Jordan, and other Arab nations to accept additional Palestinian refugees from the Gaza Strip, with the goal of moving out enough of the war-torn area’s population to “just clean [it] out” and create a virtual clean slate of the Palestinian territory. Trump said the resettling could be “temporary or long term” so that the area can be rebuilt.
After the Senate confirmed him to lead the Department of Defense (DoD), new Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described putting “America First” as one of many top priorities for the Pentagon under his leadership. He said he would accomplish President Donald Trump’s military mission in three ways: “by restoring the warrior ethos, rebuilding our military, and reestablishing deterrence.”
RedNote, a social platform alternative to TikTok, “presents significant privacy concerns” similar to its predecessor, which is now facing a 75-day “divest or ban” deadline in the United States, according to LJ Eads, director of research intelligence at Ohio-based Parallax Advanced Research. Like TikTok, RedNote is subject to the same Chinese law that compels companies to hand data over to the state.
Within the snow-covered Judith Mountains of Winifred, Montana, sits a one-acre plot secured by a chain-link fence, complete with surveillance cameras, motion sensors, and barbed wire. The site houses the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM)—on alert for a nuclear attack for 60 years—and has been a constant reminder of the catastrophic possibility of nuclear war for the small community growing up in the area since the early years of the Cold War.
—Jacob Burg
