President Trump took the presidency on January 20, and has since been in the spotlight for some controversial things.
Donald Trump hasn't wasted any time following his inauguration as 47th president of United States.
Since taking office, he's issued a huge amount of executive orders, ordered Elon Musk to 'go get' the two NASA astronauts currently stranded at the International Space Station, and reinstated a 'global gag rule' on abortions.
It's been a pretty hectic week for US citizens, some of whom his new executive orders could severely impact in the future - so they've not exactly been the most popular things he's done so far.
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In fact, eight of his changes in the last couple of days alone have raised eyebrows for some.
Announced plans to fire more workers
Trump openly announced that he will be firing more than one thousand government workers and 'presidential appointees' only a few hours after he was sworn in as the United States' 47th president.
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He made the announcement via his social media platform, Truth Social, where he penned: “My Presidential Personnel Office is actively in the process of identifying and removing over a thousand Presidential Appointees from the previous Administration, who are not aligned with our vision to Make America Great Again."
Now, according to NBC News, Acting FBI Director Brian Driscoll on Friday (January 31) refused a Justice Department order to fire agents who were involved in investigating the January 6 insurrection cases.
Imposed hefty tariffs against Canada, Mexico and China
Trump announced his plans to implement ordered hefty new tariffs of 25 percent on goods from Mexico and Canada and 10 percent on imports from China, using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to back the tariffs.
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According to The White House, these tariffs were placed in a bid to stop illegal immigration and to stop chemicals, like those used for fentanyl - however, Canada and Mexico haven't gone down without a fight.
His tariffs have so far had a major impact on the cryptocurrency market, and Mexico's president has since announced a huge update regarding the US-Mexico tariff.
This could potentially mean increased costs for American consumers on even the most basic goods, like food and gas.
Admitted the war in Ukraine could continue for months
One of Trump’s biggest foreign policy promises was to make a peace deal for the Ukraine-Russian war on his first day in the White House - which he said he could do in '24 hours' back in 2023, according to Newsweek.
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He's even threatened Russia with tariffs and high sanctions if they do not cease the war on Ukraine, BBC reports.
However, Trump has since back-pedalled on this promise, admitting that the journey towards a peace deal could in fact take months, not days to manifest.
On January 31, Trump envoy Keith Kellogg announced a very different stance, saying: "I would like to say it's months, and it's not years. I would like to think that we could have something in the short term...I'd like to see it count down from 100 days back...this is all in the realm of the doable."
Caused concerns about flooding by opening reservoirs
Trump issued an executive order for federal agents to 'immediately take actions to override existing activities that unduly burden efforts to maximize water deliveries' in California to respond to the LA wildfires - even going so far as to claim Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, and other officials had refused to take water from the north of the state (via The Guardian).
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On Friday (January 31), water flow from two dams had dramatically increased, which The LA Times report had occurred following Trump's statement on social media that the US military had 'entered' California and 'turned on the water', with federal reports showing the increase from Terminus Dam and Lake Success.
Though, many are concerned that this could potentially flood farms in the area, as well as leave farmers without a sufficient water during dry months, Politico reports.
On Truth Social, the President posted: “Today, 1.6 billion gallons and, in 3 days, it will be 5.2 billion gallons. Everybody should be happy about this long fought Victory! I only wish they listened to me six years ago — There would have been no fire!”
Seemingly encouraged the FCC to release recordings of Kamala Harris
The Federal Communications Commission requested 'full, unedited transcript and camera feeds' from an October interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris about her candidacy for president from CBS News.
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"We are working to comply with that inquiry as we are legally compelled to do," CBS News said in a statement (via CNN).
This news follows Trump suing CBS News in a Texas federal court in October 2024, claiming the channel’s editing of the Harris interview intentionally misled the public and unfairly disadvantaged him.
Removed scientific data from the internet
Following his win, one of Trump’s instructions to agencies was to end all 'programs that use taxpayer money to promote gender ideology' and disable related information from websites by Friday afternoon (January 31).
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Data references to LGBTQ+ health, and information on some vaccines from federal websites, such as top public health agencies, have since been erased.
A senior health official told CNN that staff were informed that consequences for non-compliance would be severe, so the sites and information were taken down as a result - however, for an 'undetermined time'.
Gave members of his cabinet shares in his company
Trump’s gifted more than $800,000 worth of stock each to Kash Patel, his nominee to run the FBI, and Linda McMahon, his pick for the Education Department lead, for Truth Social, his social media startup, according to regulatory filings.
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According to CNBC, the stock was granted as 'consideration for services provided' between March, when the company went public, and December.
The outlet further reports that following his win, Trump transferred his stake in Trump Media to his revocable trust, of which he is the sole benefactor.
Topics: Donald Trump, US News, World News
Maxine Harrison