WASHINGTON — Just hours into his second term, President Donald Trump signed some of his first executive orders as thousands of people in the arena cheered the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement mandate for federal employees who can return to the office full-time.
Trump scribbled his signature on nearly 10 portfolio-bound documents at a desk on the floor of the Capital One Arena in downtown Washington, D.C., following an inaugural parade inside the 20,000-seat venue. Because of cool temperatures, Monday’s ceremonies were moved indoors.
The orders included a resignation 78 Biden Administration Actions, Freezing Federal Hiring and Hiring RegulationsAnd “Restore Freedom of expression,” below other that the White House press office described it as “America is a top priority.”
“Could you imagine Biden doing that? I don’t believe that,” Trump told the crowd.
Trump threw his ceremonial pens into the seats after signing the orders.
Shortly thereafter, Trump signed a series of additional orders in an Oval Office ceremony explain a national emergency at the southern border to a 75-day lifeline for TikTok to find a recent owner.
Early Monday, Trump signed a letter in the presidential room at the U.S. Capitol, surrounded by lawmakers from both parties chatting with him command It will require all U.S. flags to fly at full height at future presidential inaugurations. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, ordered Despite the recent death of the delayed President Jimmy Carter, flags marched in full force for Trump’s inauguration.
The first flash
During his initial attack, Trump gutted Biden’s orders to “prevent and combat discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation” and “promote equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex people.”
Trump’s team announced hours before the inauguration that the recent president planned to sign an executive order requiring the utilize of the word “sex” instead of “gender” in federal policy language and in documents, including passports and visas.
White House administration officials said in a call with reporters early Monday that one of their first executives was speaking on the background Orders will focus on “defending women from the extremism of gender ideology and restoring biological truth to the federal government.”
About 2 million transgender people live in the United States, according to the Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group that condemned Trump’s order on Monday.
Kelley Robinson, the organization’s president, criticized Trump in a statement for “targeting the LGBTQ+ community instead of uniting our country and prioritizing the pressing issues facing the American people.”
Among the Biden administration’s dozens of previous orders, Trump reversed Biden actions titled “Protect public health and the environment and restore the science to address the climate crisis” and “Revitalize our nation’s commitment to environmental justice for all.”
Environmentalists criticized Trump’s orders. The Center for Biological Diversity said in a statement that Trump’s order to withdraw from the Paris climate accord “shows how threatened Trump is by the latest global pact to divest from fossil fuels.”
“While Trump buries his head in the sand, it is up to world leaders to keep the climate crisis in mind and lead us toward a livable future,” the statement said.
New White House officials also teased orders reversing Biden-era environmental initiatives, including declaring an energy emergency, opening Alaska’s wilderness to energy development and repealing energy standards for home appliances. They had not yet been released as of Monday evening.
TikTok
Later Monday evening, Trump signed one in the Oval Office command Give TikTok an additional 75 days to find a recent owner. The order directs the Justice Department to ignore enforcement of a federal law that requires TikTok to divest from its China ties by Jan. 19.
“The unfortunate timing of the Act – one day before my inauguration as the 47th President of the United States – compromises my ability to assess the national security and foreign policy impact of the Act’s prohibitions before they take effect,” Trump’s statement said Arrangement specified.
The popular video-sharing app, used by around 170 million Americans, was briefly shut down overnight from Saturday to Sunday. A message to users said: “We are pleased that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reintroduce TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned!”
A federal law commissioned that TikTok’s parent company ByteDance is separating from the video-sharing platform within the deadline when it became illegal for US companies to distribute or maintain the app. Companies that fail to comply face fines of up to $5,000 per user.
Trump’s position is a reversal of his support for a ban in 2020.
“I guess I have a soft spot for TikTok that I didn’t originally have,” he told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday night.
TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew was among those attending Trump’s inauguration, and the company sponsored a party on the eve of the inauguration in downtown D.C., Reuters reported reported.
Some lawmakers want the law enforced now. In a statement Sunday, Republican Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Pete Ricketts of Nebraska warned that companies that ignore the deadline “could face ruinous bankruptcy.”
“After the law has come into effect, there is no legal basis for any ‘extension’ of its effective date,” they wrote.
A long campaign full of promises
Trump told In a packed arena in Washington, D.C., on the eve of the inauguration, they said they were “going to see executive orders that are going to make you extremely happy, a lot of them.”
Trump said he would “act with historic speed and strength and solve every single crisis facing our country.”
As a candidate and Republican presidential nominee, Trump promised his supporters that he would campaign on day one Mass deportation of immigrants, end Russia’s war against Ukraine and pardon those who were convicted and pleaded guilty during the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
In one of his final acts in office, Biden issued Preemptive pardons for lawmakers and staff who served on the special committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, as well as for the law enforcement officers who testified before the panel.
Last updated at 8:57 p.m., January 20, 2025
