Trump’s Eighth Week, Part II: Executive Overreach, Immigration Crackdowns, and Military Escalations
From shifting White House background checks to invoking centuries-old wartime laws, Trump’s second term intensifies its push to reshape U.S. policy.
The eighth week of Trump’s second term continued to reshape U.S. policy and alter precedents. This came after President Trump requested the Supreme Court to weigh in on birthright citizenship, the constitutional right granting citizenship to those born in the U.S. This request raises questions about the future of this long-standing legal precedent.
The White House also directed the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to stop conducting background checks for staff, shifting the process to the Pentagon. This move is part of Trump’s ongoing initiative to restructure the federal government. At the same time, a federal judge ordered the reinstatement of thousands of probationary federal employees who were part of the administration’s ongoing mass layoffs.
The administration’s pushback against policies promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) continued, as an appeals court allowed Trump to issue a temporary ban on DEI programs within federal agencies and businesses with government contracts. This follows a previous ruling in which a judge blocked the Trump administration's attempt to ban such policies.
In continued coverage of Trump’s immigration policies, undocumented immigrants held at Guantanamo Bay are being moved to detention centers operated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Louisiana. This move raises concerns, especially after previous reports of alleged abuse at ICE centers in the state. Additionally, a federal judge blocked Trump’s attempt to invoke the Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 law that allows the president to arrest, detain, and deport noncitizens.
On Saturday, Trump ordered airstrikes against the Houthi group in Yemen, killing 31 people. The administration has threatened to use “overwhelming lethal force” against the Iran-backed group, marking the largest military operation in the Middle East since Trump’s second term began.
White House, Power Struggles, & DEI Pushback
White House officials have directed the FBI to stop conducting background checks for top aides and moved the process to the Pentagon. The Department of Defense (DOD) will now handle all aspects of the process, including interviews, reviewing financial records, foreign contacts, and threats to security.
An ABC News report quoted a former FBI official who called the move “highly unusual.”
“If any of this is true, and if you apply it to whatever has been historically in the remit of the FBI, then it would be breaking that historic, long-standing precedent, and highly unusual,” the official said.
“It would be highly unusual if that was taken away from the FBI now, for whatever reason, and given over to the DOD or another agency.”
In the same report, recently sworn-in FBI Director Kash Patel saw the move as an opportunity to “rebuild trust” and restore “law and order.”
“The FBI is relentlessly focused on our mission to rebuild trust, restore law and order, and let good agents be good agents. We have full confidence DOD can address any needs in the clearance process,” Patel said.
Meanwhile, Trump’s initiative to downsize the federal government continues. An appeals court ruled Friday that the administration can enforce a ban on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. The ruling came from the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, with multiple judges issuing opinions.
“The challenged Executive Orders, on their face, are of distinctly limited scope,” wrote Judge Pamela Harris.
“The Executive Orders do not purport to establish the illegality of all efforts to advance diversity, equity or inclusion, and they should not be so understood.”
Harris also emphasized that her vote did not signify agreement with the Trump administration’s policies.
“My vote should not be understood as agreement with the orders' attack on efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion,” she wrote.
Judge Allison Rushing offered a different perspective, questioning the other judges' defense of DEI.
“Any individual judge’s view on whether certain Executive action is good policy is not only irrelevant to fulfilling our duty to adjudicate cases and controversies according to the law, it is an impermissible consideration,” Rushing wrote.
“A judge’s opinion that DEI programs ‘deserve praise, not opprobrium’ should play absolutely no part in deciding this case.”
This ruling follows a decision by District Judge Adam Abelson, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, who blocked the executive order, claiming the policies would lead to “arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement.”
At the same time, a federal judge ordered the reinstatement of federal employees who were fired as part of ongoing layoffs. This includes employees from agencies such as the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Labor, State, Transportation, and the Department of Treasury.
In a statement to NBC News, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Judge William Alsup, who issued the ruling, was attempting to “unconstitutionally” seize power from the executive branch.
“A single judge is attempting to unconstitutionally seize the power of hiring and firing from the Executive Branch. The President has the authority to exercise the power of the entire executive branch—singular district court judges cannot abuse the power of the entire judiciary to thwart the President’s agenda,” Leavitt wrote.
“If a federal district court judge would like executive powers, they can try and run for President themselves. The Trump Administration will immediately fight back against this absurd and unconstitutional order.”
This follows a previous ruling that found the firing of more than 5,000 employees from the Department of Agriculture (USDA) was illegal.
Immigration Backlash
As the president’s backlash against immigration continues, undocumented immigrants being held at Guantanamo Bay, a U.S. naval base in Cuba, will be transferred to ICE facilities in Louisiana. This follows a previous report from The Introspective highlighting allegations of abuse in ICE centers throughout the state after the arrest of Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil, a permanent U.S. resident.
A BBC report noted the president’s previous comments about detaining undocumented immigrants deemed “dangerous.”
“Some of them are so bad we don't even trust the countries to hold them because we don't want them coming back,” Trump said.
“So, we're going to send them to Guantanamo... it's a tough place to get out.”
As coverage of the president’s initiative to end birthright citizenship continues, the Trump administration has brought the case to the Supreme Court, despite multiple lower courts blocking the executive order. This raises implications, as birthright citizenship is protected by the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment.
Many immigration experts reacted to the latest development. Retired Cornell University professor Stephen Yale-Loehr saw it as potentially causing “chaos and confusion.”
“I think that would cause chaos and confusion as to who was included in the court rulings and who is potentially subject to the birthright citizenship ban if the case goes in favor of the Trump administration on the merits,” Yale-Loehr told NPR.
President Trump faced further scrutiny Saturday after attempting to invoke the Alien Enemies Act—also known as the Alien and Sedition Acts—a 1798 law that allows the president to arrest and deport noncitizens during periods of war. This was the first time since World War II that the law had been activated. During the war, many Japanese-Americans were held in internment camps, along with German and Italian-Americans.
“By invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, I will direct our government to use the full and immense power of federal and state law enforcement to eliminate the presence of all foreign gangs and criminal networks bringing devastating crime to U.S. soil,” Trump said during his inaugural address.
“As commander in chief, I have no higher responsibility than to defend our country from threats and invasions.”
This follows a previous Introspective report covering an executive order signed by Trump that designated cartels and international gangs as foreign terrorist organizations, including groups such as MS-13, which was founded in the United States, and Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua—the focus of Trump’s current proclamation.
A federal judge blocked Trump from invoking the wartime law that same night after a lawsuit was filed by a coalition of Venezuelan men in immigration custody against the Trump administration.
Lee Gelernt, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) who is leading the lawsuit, called Trump’s proclamation “lawless.”
“We are thrilled the judge recognized the severe harm our plaintiffs would face if removed,” Gelernt told CBS News.
“The president’s use of the Alien Enemies Act is flat-out lawless.”
Despite the ruling from the judge, the Trump administration went ahead with deporting the detained immigrants to El Salvador on Sunday, with a court filing from the Department of Defense appealing the decision.
"Today, the first 238 members of the Venezuelan criminal organization, Tren de Aragua, arrived in our country. They were immediately transferred to CECOT, the Terrorism Confinement Center, for a period of one year," Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele wrote on X.
"May God bless El Salvador, and may God bless the United States."
Military Action in Yemen
President Trump ordered a series of airstrikes on the Yemeni capital of Sanaa on Saturday, claiming he would use “overwhelming lethal force” until the Iran-backed Houthi group stops attacking shipping corridors in the Red Sea, partly due to Israel's blockade of aid into Gaza.
“Today, I have ordered the United States military to launch decisive and powerful military action against the Houthi terrorists in Yemen. They have waged an unrelenting campaign of piracy, violence, and terrorism against American and other ships, aircraft, and drones,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, threatening to use “lethal force.”
“The Houthi attack on American vessels will not be tolerated. We will use overwhelming lethal force until we have achieved our objective.”
The operation, which was solely carried out by the United States, killed more than 50 people—mainly women and children—according to reports from Al Jazeera. U.S. officials have claimed that the strikes killed multiple Houthi leaders.
In the same Truth Social post, Trump also issued a warning message for Iran.
“To Iran: Support for the Houthi terrorists must end IMMEDIATELY! Do NOT threaten the American people, their president, who has received one of the largest mandates in presidential history, or worldwide shipping lanes. If you do, BEWARE, because America will hold you fully accountable, and we won’t be nice about it!” Trump wrote.
The Houthis were formed in 1994. Since the 2014 Yemen Civil War, the group has taken control of the majority of northern Yemen after overthrowing the Saudi Arabia-backed government.