Breakdown: Trump's Executive Orders

Project 2025 In Action--What You Need to Know

Day 52—January 21, 2025

Needless to say, the January 6 pardons and the Elon salute took up much of the attention of Inauguration Day.

That’s the point of “shock and awe.”

But a lot more happened that day, in the form of dozens of executive orders.

To ensure folks understand all that happened on the Executive Order front, I’ve put together a quick summary of what Trump signed (with links) late on Inauguration Day. I’ve added extra context where I think it’s helpful. And yes, central planks of Project 2025 are already being implemented just as they were spelled out, and just as I laid out in “2025” and a team of us laid out in the podcast, “Trump’s Project 2025.”

Loyalists over Civil Servants/Experts: Reinstituting, then Renaming, Schedule F

Last fall, and in “2025: Chapter 3” and the Podcast episode that followed, I wrote at length about the Trump plan to reinstitute Schedule F — ripping away civil service protections for thousands of federal employees, and replacing them with loyalists. (Remember, this was an order Trump had signed in late 2020, and which Biden had rescinded). Doing this was one of the central promises of Project 2025, and replacing civil servants with loyalists was a theme of numerous chapters.

No surprise—that was one of the orders Trump signed yesterday. In the process, they renamed “Schedule F” “Schedule Policy/Career.”

The implications of this order alone are enormous—a wholesale change in the core purpose of the federal government (from serving the people to serving Trump). I’ve written about this at length. Here’s my standalone chapter of “2025” explaining how the shift could undermine our response to pandemics, among other challenges. A couple excerpts of what I wrote then, quoting Project 2025:

2025’s goal is a “trained and committed cadre of personnel to implement” the overall plan. (Page xiii) “Our goal is to assemble an army of aligned, vetted, trained, and prepared conservatives to go to work on Day One to deconstruct the Administrative State.” (Page xiv)..

And the first Chapter of Project 2025 — “Taking the Reins of Government” — focuses on how “the new Administration must fill its ranks with political appointees…. Empowering political appointees across the Administration is crucial to a President’s success.” (Page 20).

“Political appointees who are answerable to the President and have decision-making authority in the executive branch are key to this essential task. The next Administration must not cede such authority to non-partisan “experts,” who pursue their own ends while engaging in groupthink, insulated from American voters.”

The new executive order has this all underway.

The Attack on Equity and “Environmental Justice”

Another order that follows nearly word for word what was promised in Project 2025 is eliminating “equity” and related terms from the work of the federal government and the hiring of contractors—including “all ‘equity action plans,’ ‘equity” actions, initiatives, or programs, ‘equity-related” grants or contracts; and all DEI or DEIA performance requirements for employees, contractors, or grantees.’”

Because these terms were so politicized by last year, when I wrote the “2025” chapter on this issue, I tried to find a topic that would best dramatize how impactful and wide-ranging this “ban” could be. And I ultimately chose to describe the impact that banning “equity” would have on research of environmental justice and health impacts. Specifically, the chapter and episode addressed cancer clusters that have a disproportionate impact on African American women, and how such vital, life-saving research could find itself on the chopping block if the elimination of “grants” for “equity” was couched widely enough.

Given that focus, what’s notable about the actual executive order is how much it explicitly attacks the notion of “environmental justice,” banishing the term and the concern with ferocity.

So whether it’s the disparate/discriminatory impacts of climate change, other environmental and health issues, clean air and clean water, or the like—which we know are all too real for disadvantaged communities—those concerns will be removed from federal work, research and problem-solving. To say the least, such a decision alone impacts countless lives, now and in the future.

And clearly, this decision serves the interests of those profiting from imposing environmental injustice on disparate communities. Pretty sickening.

Two other related orders ban any recognition of transgender status, and reform hiring practices in a way that will clearly diminish diversity in the federal workforce. (Numerous federal workers were already placed on paid leave yesterday).

Also, by defining gender “at conception,” the transgender status order also lends credence to the fetal personhood theory that is part of the right-wing strategy to ban abortion in all cases. That language is also a recurring theme of Project 2025—look for it in future orders and actions.

“DOGE”

Interestingly, the much-ballyhooed DOGE organization is established as a “temporary organization” within what was previously called the United States Digital Service. And on the surface, at least, “DOGE” is given less of a bandwidth than we would’ve expected from all the Musk blather of the last two months. Its mandate is to “moderniz[e] Federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity.”

(Of course, the opportunity to “modernize” federal technology and software on a large scale will offer tantalizing gains for some private players—look for some major grift to occur here).

On the same day that DOGE was formalized, things did get slightly more efficient because one of the two co-leaders of DOGE was fired.

Apparently Vivek Ramaswamy was driving everyone nuts, so he’s already been kicked to the curb (and being sent back to Ohio to run for Governor — more on that tomorrow).

Immigration

There are a number of orders on immigration, including:

• attacking the Fourteenth Amendment and Birthright Citizenship;

• a variety of measures cracking down on immigration, including shutting down the CBP One app that allowed migrants to schedule asylum appointments at border ports of entry (which will only cause more chaos at the border itself);

• the suspension of refugee admissions;

• declaring an emergency so that the US military can take part in policing the border;

• constructing detention facilities, restarting wall construction, and taking other actions to effectuate mass deportation;

• designating foreign cartels as terrorist organizations;

• and adding stringent vetting procedures.

State attorneys general from around the country are already in court challenging the frontal assault on birthright citizenship.

Undermining Biden Policies on Health Costs, Gene Therapy, Infrastructure, Organized Crime and Responsible AI

One catch-all order rescinds numerous orders and polices of the Biden administration. As above, many of these involve orders addressing climate change, the environment, and equity issues.

One of the more dramatic steps is to immediately suspend funding for projects funded in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act. As Politico explained, that pause “could imperil billions of dollars in funding for projects that states have already begun working on, some lawmakers and policy experts said Tuesday, for everything from roads and bridges to broadband and withstanding the effects of climate change.”

This order also targets:

• Biden health initiatives, including efforts to lower prescription drug prices and make cell and gene therapy treatments more accessible to Medicaid recipients;

• a Biden executive order guiding safe and responsible AI development;

• a Biden executive order expanding voter access and voter registration (hint: the GOP is greatly threatened by more robust registration);

• a Biden order creating a task force to reunite separated families;

• a Biden order establishing pay equity in federal contracting;

• a Biden order creating a Council on Transnational Organized Crime (would love to see the list of people who lobbied Trump to shut that down);

• and many more.

Isolating America

There are a number of orders that essentially remove the United States from a position of leadership in the world, including:

• removing the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement;

• removing the United States from the World Health Organization (joining Lichtenstein as the only nation not to be in the WHO); and

• temporarily suspending foreign aid.

Another order declares that America’s foreign policy should reflect “America First.” While the order doesn't expand on what changes will take place in furtherance of this declaration, it’s no doubt signaling skepticism in international bodies such as the United Nations and NATO.

Revenge and Retribution

Three orders advance Trump’s zeal for revenge against those who tried to hold him and other lawbreakers accountable, and combat misinformation by Trump, his allies, or foreign entitites:

One order (“Ending the Weaponization of the Federal Government”) falsely asserts: “the prior administration and allies throughout the country engaged in an unprecedented, third-world weaponization of prosecutorial power to upend the democratic process. It targeted individuals who voiced opposition to the prior administration’s policies with numerous Federal investigations and politically motivated funding revocations…And while the Department of Justice has ruthlessly prosecuted more than 1,500 individuals associated with January 6, and simultaneously dropped nearly all cases against BLM rioters.”

The order then tasks the Attorney General and Director of National Intelligence to investigate and find instances “where a department’s or agency’s conduct appears to have been contrary to the purposes and policies of this order”…“with recommendations for appropriate remedial actions to be taken to fulfill the purposes and policies of this order.”

A second order accuses targets prior intelligence officials for allegedly trying to “influence U.S. elections” in 2020 (stemming from the Hunter Biden laptop controversy), “misleading and inappropriate political coordination with the 2020 Biden presidential campaign…John R. Bolton” (ie. they’re still made Bolton was able to publish his book). It strips numerous officials of security clearances, and demands that the issue be further investigated.

A third order seeks to investigate and exact accountability for efforts by the government to combat “misinformation,” “disinformation,” and “malinformation,” saying such efforts violated the First Amendment.

Energy and Climate

In addition to their major victory in the anti-“environmental justice” order, energy donors and climate change deniers also saw their dreams come true with three executive orders dealing with energy and climate issues.

• An order titled “Unleashing American Energy,” spurs more development of energy on federal lands; halts offshore wind energy development; revokes Biden orders involving climate change, promoting clean energy, protecting forests; eliminates the electric vehicle mandate; protects “people’s freedom to choose from a variety of goods and appliances, including but not limited to lightbulbs, dishwashers, washing machines, gas stoves, water heaters, toilets, and shower heads;” eliminates reports and studies highlighting the costs and risks of greenhouse gases and carbon; and more;

• An order “Declaring a National Energy Emergency,” gives the Administration enhanced power in spurring energy production and reducing regulations;

• And a third order takes aim at maximizing oil and gas development in Alaska. As one article summarized, “[i]t covers nearly every major land-use controversy in Alaska this century,” resolving them in favor of energy interests.

Fact check: despite the assertions in these orders, the United States is the largest producer of crude oil in the world (its 2023 production set a new record for any country in history); the largest exporter of liquified natural gas; and produces 16% of the world’s energy.

Name Changes

An order renames Alaska’s Denali Mt. McKinley (a move that Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski opposes), renames the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America,” and opens the possibility of other new names down the road.

TikTok

The TikTok order extends for 75 days the law that would otherwise have shut down TikTok this week—ordering that “the Department of Justice shall take no action to enforce the Act [shutting down TikTok] or impose any penalties against any entity for any noncompliance with the Act.”

Death Penalty

An order advocates for continued and expanded use of the death penalty for certain federal crimes, and ensures that states have sufficient capacity to impose the death penalty for state crimes.

No More Health Advisories

While not an Executive Order, news broke late yesterday that the Administration has ordered that agencies such as HHS, the CDC, and FDA no longer issue health advisories and alerts, release studies, provide website updates or other social media posts, and other guidance traditionally disseminated to the public by these agencies.

Once again, this is ripped directly from the pages of Project 2025. And it’s part of the Schedule F philosophy—that communications such as these should come from Trump and the White House, and not experts/civil servants.

In other words, everything—including guidance on how to stay healthy every day or amid a crisis—is political.

As I wrote last summer:

Under Project 2025, “the CDC should not make recommendations on how Americans can keep themselves health and safe. ‘By statute or regulation, CDC guidance must be prohibited from taking on a prescriptive character. For example, never again should CDC officials be allowed to say in their official capacity that school children “should be” masked or vaccinated (through a schedule or otherwise) or prohibited from learning in a school building. Such decisions should be left to parents and medical providers. We have learned that when CDC says what people “should” do, it readily becomes a “must” backed by severe punishments, including criminal penalties. CDC should report on the risks and effectiveness of all infectious disease-mitigation measures dispassionately and leave the “should” and “must” policy calls to politically accountable parties.” (Page 454).”

So all such communication will only go public only after vetted by Trump and his political cronies.