THE FIRST TWO MONTHS

Just over two months ago, Donald Trump was inaugurated as president. Since then, his main focus has been on decreasing the size of the U.S. government and reshaping it, evidently, to provide the Executive Branch more power. Many of his mandates have been temporary blocked while they await judicial review, but this doesn’t appear to have done much to quell the whirlwind of attempts at change.

INFORMATION FROM THE AMERICAN PRESIDENCY PROJECT; GRAPHIC BY BENJAMIN BRENNER

USAID

One of Trump’s first major acts as president was the laying-off of around 2,000 employees of the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, and the attempted dismantling of that agency (Knickmeyer). An executive order signed on Trump’s first day as president demanded that all spending on foreign aid agencies (USAID foremost) be halted for three months as the next steps are worked out (“Executive Order 14169”). According to the Congressional Research Service, “[USAID] has served as the lead international humanitarian and development arm of the U.S. government” (“U.S. Agency for International Development: An Overview”). The agency was established in 1961 pursuant to an executive order signed by President John F. Kennedy. Later, an act of Congress established it as an independent agency under the Department of State. The United Nations states that USAID is the single greatest donor of international aid. Various scientists and philanthropists have predicted that, losing the largest humanitarian aid source, the world will see some drastic increases in poverty, disease, and famine if the agency or a similar one is not implemented by a future administration. The White House’s webpage says, “For decades [USAID] has been unaccountable to taxpayers as it funnels massive sums of money to the ridiculous—and, in many cases, malicious—pet projects of entrenched bureaucrats, with next-to-no oversight” (“At USAID, Waste and Abuse Runs Deep”). The article’s sources include Breitbart, a commentary outlet that has been described as racist and xenophobic, and several other sources accused of the same tendencies, such as the Washington Examiner, the Washington Times, the Daily Caller, and the Daily Mail, a U.K. newspaper that has traditionally been supportive of conservative ideologies. Trump’s reasoning for dismantling USAID has been that its spending is wasteful and unchecked. However, because USAID was solidified as a state agency by Congress, it is argued that the agency cannot be wholly dissolved without an act of legislature. On March 11, the federal judge Amir H. Ali ruled that Trump’s actions were likely unconstitutional, and the administration was ordered to restore the agency’s responsibilities to its employees. It was not, however, ordered that the fired employees be reinstated (Knickmeyer). The agency still lies in limbo between the Executive Branch and federal judges.

Immigration & Deportation

A hallmark of President Trump’s campaigns has been the use of fervid condemnations of his preceding administrations (former Presidents Obama and Biden) for their ineptitude—by Trump’s standards—to control illegal immigration to the U.S. By emphasizing perceived dangers that some illegal immigrants may pose, Trump has made supporters feel that it is imperative that the influx of immigrants be controlled. While the actual danger posed by undocumented immigrants has by-and-large been questionable, the risk is presented by Trump and allies to be quite serious. 

On Saturday, March 15, the White House posted an order regarding the Venezuelan crime organization Tren de Aragua, or TdA. Section three of the order says, “I direct that all Alien Enemies described in section 1 of this proclamation are subject to immediate apprehension, detention, and removal, and further that they shall not be permitted residence in the United States” (“Invocation of the Alien Enemies Act Regarding the Invasion of the United States by Tren de Aragua”). Two planes left Harlingen, Texas that activists believe contained the deportees. One was bound for El Salvador and the other was headed to Honduras. After the planes departed, Judge James Boaberg released a statement that blocked the deportation. On March 18, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts denounced a demand to impeach Boasberg made by Trump, who said, “HE DIDN’T WIN ANYTHING! I WON FOR MANY REASONS, IN AN OVERWHELMING MANDATE, BUT FIGHTING ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION MAY HAVE BEEN THE NUMBER ONE REASON FOR THIS HISTORIC VICTORY. I’m just doing what the VOTERS wanted me to do. This judge, like many of the Crooked Judges’ [sic] I am forced to appear before, should be IMPEACHED!!!” (Megerian et al.).

Department of Education

On March 20, Trump signed an executive order that demanded that, “The Secretary of Education shall…take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the States and local communities…” (“Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States, and Communities”). The executive order claims that the Department of Education is a severe waste of money. It cited the concerning statistics of sub-proficient students in America. However, similar to the situation with USAID, there is doubt over whether Trump can completely dissolve the Department of Education without an act of Congress.

  One of the main functions of the Department of Education is the distribution of federal funding. Public schools without private donors rely on this funding. The DoE also collects information and statistics to identify areas of weakness. Perhaps the foremost (and most controversial) duty is ensuring that every student has an equal education to their peers. The Department is split into various offices, and the office with the highest spending in the budget (for 2025) is the Office of Federal Student Aid, which manages financial assistance programs for higher education (“Federal Student Aid (FSA)”). Its current obligations (binding agreements for funding) are at $20 billion. Following this is the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, which currently has $13.78 billion in obligations (“USAspending.gov”). There is concern that low-income communities could be drastically impacted by the closure of the Department.

These orders are just a few of the ones already signed, and almost nothing compared to what is likely on its way.

Sources & Works Cited

“At USAID, Waste and Abuse Runs Deep.” The White House, 4 Feb. 2025.

“Executive Order 14169—Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid | the American Presidency Project.” Ucsb.edu, 2025.

“Federal Student Aid (FSA).” U.S. Department of Education, 15 June 2024.

“Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States, and Communities.” The White House, 20 Mar. 2025.

“Invocation of the Alien Enemies Act Regarding the Invasion of the United States by Tren de Aragua.” The White House, 15 Mar. 2025.

Knickmeyer, Ellen. “Trump Administration Fires at Least 1600 USAID Workers.” AP News, 23 Feb. 2025.

Megerian, Chris, et al. “Roberts Rejects Trump’s Call for Impeaching Judge Who Ruled against Him.” AP News, 18 Mar. 2025.

“U.S. Agency for International Development: An Overview.” Congress.gov, 2025.

“USAspending.gov.” Usaspending.gov, 2025.

“What Is an Executive Order?” Americanbar.org, 2021.