On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued a freeze on hiring of all federal civilian employees across the executive branch, with no new positions to be created except for those outlined in another memo or applicable law. The freeze applies to all departments and agencies, barring exceptions for military personnel, immigration enforcement, national security, public safety, social security, Medicare, or veterans benefits. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is tasked with submitting a plan within 90 days detailing workforce reduction through efficiency improvements and attrition. Upon the release of this plan, the executive branch freeze will expire except for the IRS. Additionally, it prohibits circumventing the hiring freeze by contracting outside the government.
In January 2025, the President ordered all executive departments and agencies to halt the proposal or issuance of any new rule until a designated department head reviews and approves it. Additionally, all existing rules not yet published in the Federal Register were to be withdrawn for review. The President proposed a 60-day delay for previously published or issued rules, allowing time for review and potentially opening public comment periods on these rules as appropriate. For rules raising substantial questions of fact, law, or policy, agencies were instructed to consult with the OMB Director and initiate further action. The memorandum also clarified that its requirements apply to a wide range of actions beyond traditional “rules” including guidance documents and notices of proposed rulemaking.
On January 2, 2025, the president issued a memorandum instructing all heads of executive department and agencies to implement full-time in-person work for their employees, with exceptions permitted based on departmental discretion. This directive aligns with applicable law. The memo was published by The White House.
On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued an order aiming to address what he perceived as the weaponization of law enforcement and intelligence agencies by the previous administration. The order required the Attorney General to review activities of federal departments and agencies over the past four years, identifying instances where their conduct was contrary to the goals of this order, with recommendations for corrective action. The Director of National Intelligence was also tasked with reviewing activities within the Intelligence Community, similar to the Attorney General's review. Non-compliance with document retention policies or legal obligations would be referred to the Attorney General. This order aimed to ensure accountability for past misconduct and set forth a process to correct it while acknowledging that these actions did not impact the authority of executive departments and agencies, nor interfere with budgetary processes.
On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order aimed at restoring freedom of speech and ending federal censorship. The order addressed the previous administration's actions regarding online platform moderation and content suppression based on political narratives, stating that such censorship was unconstitutional and intolerable in a free society. It set forth specific policies and directives to ensure protected speech rights for citizens, prohibit government involvement in suppressing speech, and mandate investigations into past federal misconduct related to censorship. The order included provisions outlining the responsibilities of various agencies and entities involved, emphasizing its implementation within legal boundaries and subject to budgetary considerations.
This document details a series of executive orders by the current president that revoked various presidential actions and policies from the previous administration, emphasizing a focus on restoring common sense and American values. The document outlines the specific actions being taken across various departments and agencies to dismantle these "unlawful" and allegedly harmful DEI initiatives and replace them with more traditional approaches to governance.
President Trump issued a proclamation on January 20, 2025, ordering that the flag of the United States be flown at full staff on Inauguration Day and all future days in honor of the nation's traditions. The proclamation mandated this for all public buildings, military posts, naval stations, and vessels within the US and its territories. Additionally, US embassies, legations, and consular offices abroad will also fly the flag at full-staff during the same period. Following Inauguration Day, the flag was to be flown at half-staff as per Proclamation 10876 until a period of 30 days following the death of former President James Earl Carter, Jr., which occurred in December 2024.
On January 20, 2025, President Trump designated numerous individuals to serve as chairmen and acting chairmen for various federal regulatory agencies. These appointments included Brendan Carr for the Federal Communications Commission, Mark Christie for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Henry Kerner as Acting Chairman of the Merit Systems Protection Board, Andrew Ferguson for the Federal Trade Commission, Marvin Kaplan for the National Labor Relations Board, David Wright for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Mark Uyeda as acting Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Andrea Lucas as acting Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Travis Hill as Acting Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Kyle Hauptman as Chair of the National Credit Union Administration Board, Peter Kirsanow as Chairperson of the United States Commission on Civil Rights, Steven Gilchrest as Vice Chairperson of the United States Commission on Civil Rights, Jeffrey Hall as Chair of the Farm Credit Administration Board, and Patrick Fuchs as Chair of the Surface Transportation Board.
On January 20, 2025, President Trump designated a number of individuals to serve as acting Cabinet secretaries and agency heads in positions previously held by members who have resigned or are still in the process of being filled, according to The White House. These acting appointments were pursuant to the Constitution and applicable laws, including 5 U.S.C. 3345 *et seq.* A list is provided detailing the appointees for each position.
Donald Trump submitted various sub-cabinet appointments to the Senate for approval, including Keith Bass as Assistant Secretary of Defense, Jayanta Bhattacharya as Director of the National Institutes of Health, James Bishop as Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Frank Bisignano as Commissioner of Social Security, Todd Blanche as Deputy Attorney General, Adam Boehler as Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, Samuel Brown as Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Memorial Affairs, Walter Clayton as United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Elbridge Colby as Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, Monica Crowley as Chief of Protocol and Ambassador, Harmeet Dhillon as Assistant Attorney General, Daniel Driscoll as Secretary of the Army, Michael Duffy as Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, Troy Edgar as Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security, Michael Faulkender as Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, Stephen Feinberg as Deputy Secretary of Defense, David Fink as Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration, Paul Atkins as Member of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Darío Gil as Under Secretary for Science, Department of Energy, Preston Griffith as Under Secretary of Energy, Jacob Helberg as Under Secretary of State (Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment), Dudley Hoskins as Under Secretary of Agriculture for Marketing and Regulatory Programs, Jared Isaacman as Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Scott Kupor as Director of the Office of Personnel Management, Christopher Landau as Deputy Secretary of State, Luke Lindberg as Under Secretary of Agriculture for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs, William Long as Commissioner of Internal Revenue, Martin Makary as Commissioner of Food and Drugs, Mark Meador as Federal Trade Commissioner, Troy Meink as Secretary of the Air Force, Emil Michael as Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, Janette Nesheiwat as Medical Director in the Regular Corps of the Public Health Service and Surgeon General of the Public Health Service, James O'Neill as Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services, Mehmet Oz as Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Kashyap Patel as Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, John Phelan as Secretary of the Navy, Aaron Reitz as Assistant Attorney General, Michael Rigas as Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, Dean Sauer as Solicitor General of the United States, Rodney Scott as Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Abigail Slater as Assistant Attorney General, Keith Sonderling as Deputy Secretary of Labor, Stephen Vaden as Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, David Weldon as Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Brandon Williams as Under Secretary for Nuclear Security.
On January 2nd, 2025, President Trump announced a series of cabinet and cabinet level appointments. He nominated Scott Bessent to be Secretary of the Treasury; Pamela Bondi to be Attorney General; Douglas Burgum to be Secretary of the Interior; Lori Chavez-DeRemer to be Secretary of Labor; Douglas Collins to be Secretary of Veterans Affairs; Sean Duffy to be Secretary of Transportation; Peter Hegseth to be Secretary of Defense; Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., to be Secretary of Health and Human Services; Howard Lutnick to be Secretary of Commerce; Linda McMahon to be Secretary of Education; Kristi Noem to be Secretary of Homeland Security; Brooke Rollins to be Secretary of Agriculture; Marco Rubio to be Secretary of State; Eric Turner to be Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; Christopher Wright to be Secretary of Energy; Tulsi Gabbard to be Director of National Intelligence; Jamieson Greer to be United States Trade Representative; Kelly Loeffler to be Administrator of the Small Business Administration; John Ratcliffe to be Director of the Central Intelligence Agency; Elise Stefanik to be Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations and Representative of the United States of America in the Security Council of the United Nations. Russell Vought was nominated to be Director of the Office of Management and Budget, while Lee Zeldin was named Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.