Donald Trump moved swiftly to impose his will on the U.S. government as he reclaimed the presidency on Monday, taking steps to curb immigration, slash environmental regulations and withdraw from an international climate treaty.
Cheered by a crowd at an indoor rally, Trump sat at a desk as he signed a series of executive orders in leather dossiers, the first steps in enacting a far-reaching agenda to expand America's territory, curb immigration, boost fossil fuel production and roll back environmental regulations.
He said he would sign more such orders when he reached the White House.
Trump portrayed himself as a savior chosen by God to rescue a faltering nation. His inauguration amounts to a triumphant return for a political disruptor who survived two assassination attempts and won election despite a criminal conviction and a prosecution stemming from his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss.
"I was saved by God to make America great again," he said.
Trump is the first president in more than a century to win a second term after losing the White House and the first felon to occupy the White House. The oldest president ever to be sworn in, he is backed by Republican majorities in both chambers of Congress.
He faces an arduous task delivering on his stated promise of a "Golden Age of America" in the face of a closely split Congress, inevitable lawsuits and recalcitrant world leaders.
But Trump's aides quickly got to work.
Shortly after the inauguration, U.S. border authorities shut down a program that allowed hundreds of thousands of migrants to enter the U.S. legally by scheduling an appointment through a smartphone. Existing appointments were canceled. In the State Department, more than a dozen nonpartisan senior diplomats were asked to resign as part of a broader plan to replace nonpartisan civil servants with loyalists.
Trump's initial executive orders revoked Biden administration policies governing artificial intelligence and electric vehicles, among others. He also imposed a freeze on federal hiring and ordered government workers to return to the office, rather than working from home.
He did not take immediate action on the economy or inflation, two issues that helped him win reelection. An official said he would not immediately impose new tariffs on Canada, China and Mexico as he had pledged to do, an unexpected development that unleashed a broad slide in the U.S. dollar and a rally in global stock markets on a day when U.S. financial markets were closed.
In his inaugural speech, Trump said he would declare a national emergency at the southern border with Mexico, dispatch troops there and resume a policy forcing asylum-seeking migrants to wait in Mexico for their U.S. court hearings - all a prelude to what he described as an unprecedented operation to deport millions of immigrants. Republican colleagues applauded and Democrats sat stone-faced.
He also said he would issue orders to scrap federal diversity programs and require the government to recognize only genders assigned at birth.
While Trump sought to portray himself as a peacemaker and unifier during his half-hour speech, his tone was often sharply partisan. He repeated false claims from his campaign that other countries were emptying their prisons into America and voiced familiar grievances over his criminal prosecutions.
With Biden seated nearby, Trump issued a stinging indictment of his predecessor's policies from immigration to foreign affairs.
"We have a government that has given unlimited funding to the defense of foreign borders, but refuses to defend American borders, or more importantly, its own people," Trump said.
Numerous tech executives who have sought to curry favor with the incoming administration - including the three richest men in the world, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg - had prominent seats on stage, next to cabinet nominees and members of Trump's family.
Trump said he would send astronauts to Mars, prompting Musk - who has long talked about colonizing the planet - to raise his fists.
Trump vowed to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America and repeated his intention to take back control of the Panama Canal, one of several foreign policy pronouncements that have caused consternation among U.S. allies.
© (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2025.
22 Comments
JJE
The expression on Joe's face in photo 5 is vintage.
Burgerland
New start to hopefully a better era. Finally the Biden admin is gone. All the best America.
GuruMick
Politics is show biz for ugly people.
Yes Don....you are so beautiful to me......
stormcrow
I saw on the news about how some schools in ruby red MAGA country are worried about their schools because Trump recently stated that he will cut off federal funding for them. All of the teachers and principals voted for Trump.
This is what they voted for, so they only have themselves to blame. Elections have consequences. . . Yes, indeed.
u_s__reamer
"I was saved by God to make America great again," he said.
Well, I wonder what Satan will have to say to say about that?
I would wager "divine punishment" is already on the wing for the usual suspects. Trump in the White House instead of in prison is all thanks to Biden and Garland. Buckle up, America, it's gonna be a rough 2025.
itsonlyrocknroll
He faces an arduous task delivering on his stated promise of a "Golden Age of America" in the face of a closely split Congress, inevitable lawsuits and recalcitrant world leaders.
This is where diplomacy, ultimately could dare I suggest determine Donald Trumps "second term" legacy.
Donald Trump has made enemies abroad, most tellingly at home, some/many elusive, treacherous mendacious bearing false friendship, hollow insincerity.
I suggest many present at his inauguration, “Remember, remember the 5th of November, gunpowder, treason and plot…”
kurisupisu
The Golden Era is here!
TaiwanIsNotChina
Your boss Putin hasn't figured out how to play it yet.
TaiwanIsNotChina
I suppose Melania's expressions of "why the heck do I have to do this" are also vintage?
JJE
Hard to tell Melania's expression. She is wearing that classy outfit with that matching hat, apparently a NY design, which, because of the camera angle, blocks her face.
There is video footage, from the Capitol One Arena portion of the inauguration, when DJT called out their son Barron, who proceeded to stand up and mimic his father's gestures and made a "I can't hear you gesture" when the crowd began chanting his name. Melania was absolutely beaming with visible pride, as was his father.
So, suspect the above reading of her expression is somewhat miles off.
Sven Asai
Saved by God? He was saved by that shooter.
zulander
Well they obviously werent non-partisan were they.
lincolnman
All the orders written by his Top 1% rich billionaires that donated millions to him...
I'm sure there's a "DEI" immigrant H1B visa order in there expanding the program replacing US workers with "foreigners"...given the millions Elon and Vivek gave him...
Just what you voted for, right MAGA-fans?
ROFL...
Daisaku
Will all of Trump's EO's be legal or will some be challenged in the courts?
Nibek32
Meh, will all be overturned in 4 years before any of it actually takes effect.
Jay
"All illegal entry will immediately be halted, and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came," Trump, said. "I will send troops to the southern border to repel the disastrous invasion of our country."
Incredibly refreshing to see that someone has the backbone to call it what it is - an INVASION - and take decisive action to protect the country. Mass deportations of criminal aliens and sending troops to secure the southern border are long-overdue steps to restore law and order. Americans deserve a leader who prioritizes their safety, not like all the previous ones who let chaos reign for - AT BEST - the sake of woke political correctness.
wallace
Trump withdraws from the Paris Agreement and the WHO.
wallace
The move means the U.S. will leave the United Nations health agency in 12 months and stop all financial contributions to its work.
Trump's order said the administration would cease negotiations on the WHO pandemic treaty while the withdrawal is in progress. U.S. government personnel working with the WHO will be recalled and reassigned, and the government will look for partners to take over necessary WHO activities, according to the order.
The United States is by far the WHO's biggest financial backer, contributing around 18% of its overall funding. WHO's most recent two-year budget, for 2024-2025, was $6.8 billion.
Reuters
Peter14
Saved by a God whom he does not believe in. No Bible to be seen at his swearing in, where he has blatantly lied that he will defend the US constitution and democracy, again!
US stuck in Trumps "tar pit". Good luck getting out again.
bass4funk
This is soooo great!
Yup!
I am just glad we are gone.
He said so to you????
He has, and he will, Biden had a Bible, swore on it, and look what he did to the nation.
I hope not, liberal progressive policies are a trainwreck disaster.
iknowall
The Golden Age of America begins right now!
OKuniyoshi
All the Biden's America allies, ie European/some Asian/etc countries, that screamed so loud about human rights/etc around the world, not screaming about Trump's America???