Trump Administration: Key Executive Actions and Policy Changes This Week
From governmental cuts to international tariffs and policy shifts, a closer look at the major developments this week.
The Trump administration’s actions this past week have sparked widespread debate, as fallout over his executive orders continues. Proposed cuts to federal agencies, including the Department of Education and layoffs at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), have drawn scrutiny.
Trump has also intensified his stance on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, signing executive orders that ban transgender women from competing in women’s sports. Meanwhile, tensions over tariffs with Canada, Mexico, and China have escalated. Trump’s proposed tariffs prompted retaliatory measures from all three countries, though Canada and Mexico have paused their tariffs for 30 days while increasing troop presence at their borders.
As Trump closes out the third week of his second term, his latest policies continue to shape domestic and international discussions.
Cuts to Department of Education & USAID
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has been at the center of debate this past week after Elon Musk—appointed by President Trump to lead the Department of Government Efficiency (DGOE)—was designated as a "special government employee," according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
A special government employee is anyone who works for the federal government for fewer than 130 days without guaranteed compensation.
“Elon Musk is a once-in-a-generation business leader. He is an entrepreneur. He serves as a great ally, a friend, and a president,” Leavitt said in The Washington Post.
Following this declaration, budget cuts to USAID—a landmark humanitarian agency established during the Kennedy administration—sparked widespread backlash. Trump accused the foreign aid agency of not aligning with his administration’s "America First" policy.
“The United States foreign aid industry and bureaucracy are not aligned with American interests and, in many cases, are antithetical to American values. They serve to destabilize world peace by promoting ideas in foreign countries that are directly inverse to harmonious and stable relations within and among nations,” Trump wrote in an executive order, which withholds foreign assistance for 90 days.
Since the order, nearly all of USAID’s 13,000 staff members have been placed on leave, the agency’s website was shut down last Saturday, and employees were instructed to stay home Monday. Musk boasted about the closure in a post on X.
“We spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper,” Musk wrote.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio was also named acting head of USAID. Despite Trump and Musk’s actions, Rubio told the BBC that the U.S. is not planning to halt foreign aid altogether.
“The United States is not walking away from foreign aid. It has to be programs that we can explain. It has to be programs that we can justify. Otherwise, we do endanger foreign aid,” Rubio said.
A lawsuit challenging Trump’s actions against USAID was filed Thursday on behalf of the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) and the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE). The lawsuit alleges that the president’s actions exceed his authority and violate both the Constitution and federal law.
“President Trump’s actions to dissolve USAID exceed presidential authority and usurp legislative authority conferred upon Congress by the Constitution, in violation of the separation of powers,” the lawsuit states.
At least 300 USAID employees are expected to retain their jobs as “essential workers,” while the remaining staff face either administrative leave or layoffs.
The White House is also preparing executive orders to dismantle the Department of Education. According to The Associated Press, Trump has directed his administration to cut spending and pressure employees to resign. The order would require Education Secretary Denise L. Carter to begin shutting down the agency and urge Congress to pass legislation abolishing the department entirely.
“If it became a reality, Trump’s power grab would steal resources for our most vulnerable students, explode class sizes, cut job training programs, make higher education more expensive and out of reach for middle-class families, take away special education services for students with disabilities, and gut student civil rights protections,” Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, said in an interview with NBC News.
Reports also indicate that the White House is drafting an executive order to fire thousands of employees from the Department of Health and Human Services, including staff at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China
President Donald Trump threatened tariffs—taxes on imports—against Mexico and Canada over border security concerns amid rising anti-immigrant sentiment. The directive initially called for a 25% tariff on imports from Mexico and Canada, along with an additional 10% tariff on Canadian oil, natural gas, and electricity. The president also announced a 10% tariff on all imports from China.
“We need to protect Americans, and it is my duty as president to ensure the safety of all. I made a promise during my campaign to stop the flood of illegal aliens and drugs from pouring across our borders, and Americans overwhelmingly voted in favor of it,” Trump wrote in a statement from the White House.
Reactions were swift, with both Canada and Mexico immediately announcing retaliatory tariffs on American products. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau vowed to impose a matching 25% tariff on U.S. imports.
However, on Monday, fears of a trade war eased as Mexico and Canada agreed to suspend their tariffs. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum deployed more than 10,000 National Guard members to the U.S.-Mexico border, while Canada announced a $1.3 billion border security plan to curb illegal crossings and combat alleged drug cartels. The tariffs are on a 30-day pause while these measures are implemented.
“I just had a good call with President Trump. Canada is implementing our $1.3 billion border plan—reinforcing the border with new choppers, technology, and personnel; enhancing coordination with our American partners; and increasing resources to stop the flow of fentanyl. Nearly 10,000 frontline personnel are and will be working on protecting the border,” Trudeau wrote in a post on X.
Despite the pause, economists have warned that if the tariffs take effect, Americans could face higher prices on essential goods, including groceries.
“Assuming these tariffs go through in a month, I would expect grocery prices to rise relatively soon. For example, the cost of an avocado could increase within a couple of weeks, possibly even sooner for other products,” said Brandon Parsons, an economist at Pepperdine University, in an interview with Fox Business.
Meanwhile, the tariffs on China went into effect Tuesday. In response, China announced a 15% tariff on U.S. coal and natural gas.
El Salvador’s Agreement to House U.S. Criminals
Further controversy arose after the Trump administration announced a deal with Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele to send deportees and those deemed violent to El Salvador, including American citizens and legal residents who are imprisoned.
“I’m just saying, if we had a legal right to do it, I would do it in a heartbeat. I don’t know if we do or not—we’re looking at that right now,” Trump told reporters in an Associated Press report.
Since 2022, El Salvador has been under a state of emergency as part of Bukele’s campaign to crack down on gangs and organized crime. More than 84,000 people have been arrested with little to no due process since March 2022 as part of the Salvadoran president’s initiative.
“He's also offered to do the same for dangerous criminals currently in custody and serving their sentences in the United States, even though they’re U.S. citizens or legal residents,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an NPR report.
While the Trump administration said there were no immediate plans to deport American citizens, Rubio told news outlets that the offer was under consideration despite expected legal challenges.
“We have a constitution, but it’s a very generous offer… obviously, the administration will have to make a decision,” Rubio said.
El Salvador’s harsh prison conditions have been a polarizing aspect of Bukele’s crime crackdown. In 2023, he opened the Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT) in Tecoluca, a mega-prison in the center of the country.
CECOT has a capacity of 40,000 people and consists of eight pavilions. Incarcerated individuals there are not allowed visits, cannot go outside, and receive only two meals a day. The facility offers no rehabilitation programs, such as educational or vocational training, to help prisoners reintegrate into society after serving their sentences.
Executive Order Banning Transgender Athletes from Women’s Sports
Trump signed an executive order Wednesday banning transgender women from competing in women’s sports, directing the Department of Education to investigate and withdraw federal funding from schools that do not comply.
“With this executive order, the war on women’s sports is over,” Trump said in a CNN report.
The order follows years of rising transphobic sentiment, with critics claiming transgender athletes have an unfair advantage in sports. It invokes Title IX, the 1972 landmark civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in federally funded educational programs. An earlier report by The Introspective noted that, in his first days in office, Trump signed an executive order mandating that transgender women in federal prisons be housed with men. A federal judge blocked the administration from enforcing it earlier this week.
Since Trump’s declaration, several sports organizations have responded. The Minnesota State High School League—the governing body for the state’s high school athletics—stated it would follow state law, which bans discrimination based on gender identity, rather than Trump’s order.
“The Minnesota State High School League, similar to other youth sports organizations, is subject to state anti-discrimination laws, which prohibit discrimination based on gender identity. Therefore, students in Minnesota are allowed to participate consistent with their gender identity,” the league said in a statement to the Associated Press.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the governing body for college sports, announced a new policy, effective immediately, restricting participation in women’s sports to athletes assigned female at birth. This move comes despite a New York Times report stating that fewer than 10 out of 510,000 NCAA athletes identify as transgender.
Following the NCAA’s policy change, Republican Congressman Andy Ogles fueled transphobic sentiment in an X post.
“No more biological men in women's sports,” Ogles wrote.
In an interview with the BBC, transgender man and activist Marcelle Afram condemned Trump’s order, calling it “a blatant attack on trans rights and part of the culture war of anti-trans hysteria.”
“It’s another obvious attempt to police trans bodies, further marginalizing an already vulnerable community,” Afram said.
Studies from 2023 indicate that while sex-based differences develop after puberty, many are “reduced, if not erased, over time by gender-affirming hormone therapy.” The study also noted that certain physical attributes, such as height, are “less malleable.” However, it pointed out that no similar restrictions exist for cisgender athletes—those who identify with their assigned sex at birth—who may possess natural physical advantages, such as greater height.
Middle East Policy – Gaza Strip Announcement
During a visit to the United States by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, former President Donald Trump called for the U.S. to “take over” and redevelop the Gaza Strip in Palestine. His remarks followed the events of Oct. 7, 2023, which led to the deaths of more than 47,000 Palestinians by Israeli forces, with estimates potentially much higher.
“The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job with it too. We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site, level the site, and get rid of the destroyed buildings. Level it out, create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs,” Trump said Tuesday during a press conference with Netanyahu.
The proposal sparked widespread global backlash, with many critics calling it a violation of international law and raising concerns about whether displaced Palestinians would be allowed to remain.
“For those who want us to have a happy place and a safe place, we would be delighted to return to our homes inside the state of Israel. This is where we were originally kicked out from. If they want to do that for us, we will welcome it. But short of that, Gaza is part of the state of Palestine,” Palestinian U.N. Ambassador Riyad Mansour said in an interview.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt clarified Trump’s comments Wednesday, stating that there were no formal commitments to seize the Gaza Strip.
“The president has not committed to putting boots on the ground in Gaza. The president has made it clear that they need to be temporarily relocated out of Gaza for the rebuilding of this effort. Again, it’s a demolition site right now. It’s not a livable place for any human being. And I think it’s actually quite evil to suggest that people should live in such dire conditions,” Leavitt said.
However, on Thursday, Trump walked back some of his previous comments, suggesting there would be no U.S. military involvement and that Israel would transfer control of the Gaza Strip to the United States.
“The Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting,” Trump said.
There was no mention of whether the two million Palestinians in Gaza would be allowed to return.
Trump’s recent policy decisions, from deportation agreements with El Salvador to restrictions on transgender athletes and his proposed U.S. involvement in Gaza, have drawn widespread debate and legal scrutiny. As his administration continues to push forward with these initiatives, opposition from lawmakers, advocacy groups, and international leaders is mounting. The future of these policies remains unclear, as legal challenges and international responses continue to unfold.