On his first day on office the US president sought to undo much of Joe Biden’s legacy, also vowing to ‘unleash’ oil and gas drilling and revoking birthright citizenship
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Donald Trump’s inauguration and first day in office.
Immediately after his swearing-in ceremony on Monday the new US president set into motion a slew of executive orders seeking to make good on his campaign promises and undo the legacy of his predecessor Joe Biden, including the pardoning of January 6 defendant and a crackdown on immigration to the US.
Trump pardoned about 1,500 January 6 defendants facing prosecution for their role in the 2021 storming of the US capitol. Among those pardoned is Enrique Tarrio, the former leader of the Proud Boys, who was sentenced to 22 years in prison on seditious conspiracy charges. Trump also commuted the sentence of Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the Oath Keepers militia, who had been sentenced to 18 years in prison on sedition charges.
He also signed an executive order seeking to revoke birthright citizenship – automatic citizenship for people born in the US – for the children of undocumented immigrants. Birthright citizenship is protected by the 14th amendment and the order will almost certainly be challenged in court.
One order declared a “national emergency” at the southern border, paving the way to send US troops to the area and another that designated drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.
He signed an executive order to, for a second time, withdraw the US from the Paris climate accords. He also declared a national energy emergency as part of a barrage of pro-fossil fuel actions and efforts to “unleash” already booming US energy production.
Another order will remove the US from the World Health Organization (WHO). “World Health ripped us off, everybody rips off the United States. It’s not going to happen any more,” Trump said at the signing. The withdrawal of the US would dramatically cut funding from the global public health organization.
He issued an executive order requiring federal agencies revoke the use of “gender” and “gender identity” and instead use a binary definition of “sex” in implementing policy – including in issuing passports, a move that LGBTQ+ rights groups have vowed to challenge in court.
Another order reclassified thousands of federal employees as political hires, making it much easier for them to be fired. Key aides to Trump have called for mass government firings. Project 2025 made attacks on the deep or administrative state a core part of Trump’s second term.
One order renamed the 617,800 sq mile Gulf of Mexico and Alaska’s 20,000ft Denali. The Gulf of Mexico will be renamed the Gulf of America, and Denali, the highest mountain in North America, will revert to Mount McKinley, which it was called before Barack Obama changed the name in 2015. The order will have no bearing on what names are used internationally.
Trump also signed an executive order temporarily delaying the enforcement of a federal ban on TikTok for at least 75 days. “I guess I have a warm spot for TikTok that I didn’t have originally,” Trump said at the White House.
