WASHINGTON, D.C. — Following his inauguration at the Capitol, President Donald Trump addressed a large crowd at the Capitol Arena, where he delivered a rally-like speech before signing a series of executive orders aimed at reversing many policies enacted by the Biden administration. The event marked a significant shift in the executive branch’s policy direction as Trump begins his second term in office.
An aide announced each executive action as Trump signed it, holding the documents up for the cheering crowd to see. The orders included:
- Rescinding Biden-era actions: “The first item that President Trump is signing is the rescission of 78 Biden-era executive actions, executive orders, presidential memoranda, and others.”
- Regulatory freeze: “A regulatory freeze, as you announced in your speech, preventing bureaucrats from issuing any more regulations until we have full control of this government and this administration.”
- Federal hiring freeze: “A freeze on all federal hiring, except the military and a number of other excluded categories, again, until full control of the government is achieved and we understand the objectives of government going forward.”
- Return to in-person work: “A requirement that federal workers return to full-time in-person work immediately.”
- Cost of living crisis: “A directive to every department and agency in the federal government to address the cost of living crisis that has cost Americans so dearly.”
- Withdrawal from the Paris climate treaty: “The withdrawal from the Paris climate treaty,” accompanied by a letter informing the United Nations of the decision.
- Free speech protections: “A directive to the federal government ordering the restoration of freedom of speech and preventing government censorship of free speech, going forward.”
- Ending weaponization of government: “A directive to the federal government ending the weaponization of government against the political adversaries of the previous administration, as we’ve seen.”
At one point, Trump quipped, “Could you imagine Biden doing this? I don’t think so,” as he displayed a signed order to the crowd.
Record number of executive orders
The scale and breadth of executive actions signed by Donald Trump on his first day back in office far exceeded both his initial efforts in 2017 and those undertaken by President Joe Biden in 2021. When Trump first assumed office in 2017, his inaugural day saw the signing of a single executive order focused on the Affordable Care Act. In contrast, Biden issued nine executive orders on his first day, targeting a variety of priorities, including ethics rules for executive branch officials, protections against discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation, and the reversal of Trump-era directives on immigration and deregulation.
