President Donald Trump has largely gotten his way during the first few days of his second term, issuing a flurry of executive orders, enjoying relatively high approval ratings and seeing some of his Cabinet picks earn Senate confirmations.
Newsweek reached out for comment to the White House via email on Thursday.
Why It Matters
Trump won a return to the White House by sweeping the swing states in November’s election while running a campaign heavily focused on the economy, immigration and a conservative agenda he promised to implement swiftly once in office.
He has quickly pushed forward with his agenda since taking office last Monday.
What To Know
Trump has spent the first week in office moving to fulfill campaign promises and buoyed by high approval ratings.
A number of actions he has taken could be considered victories, here are some of the moves made by Trump in his first week back in the White House:
Delivering on Campaign Promises With Executive Orders
Trump has signed dozens of executive orders during his first few days in the Oval Office. The orders have focused on a range of issues that he promised to tackle during his campaign, including clamping down on illegal immigration, pardoning January 6 Capitol attack participants and “Silk Road” creator Ross Ulbricht, withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accord, withdrawing from the World Health Organization, eliminating federal diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and changing federal government policies toward transgender people.
Rolling Back Former President Joe Biden’s Orders
Within hours of being inaugurated on Monday, Trump moved to invalidate dozens of Biden’s executive orders with his own order for the “rescission of harmful executive orders and actions.” Trump’s order included the rescission of Biden’s order on “Lowering Prescription Drug Costs for Americans,” potentially opening the door for drug companies to raise prescription costs for Medicare and Medicaid recipients. Biden’s order had directed the Department of Health and Human Services to explore ways to lower costs.
Quick Cabinet Confirmations in the Senate
Despite some early bumps in Cabinet nominees, including the failed nomination of former Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz as Attorney General, Trump’s picks have been successfully navigating Senate confirmation hearings during his first week in office.
Former Republican Senator Marco Rubio was confirmed by a 99-0 vote as Trump’s Secretary of State by the Senate on Monday. John Ratcliffe, who served as the director of National Intelligence during Trump’s first term, was confirmed by the Senate as the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director by a vote of 74 to 25 on Thursday.
Additionally, former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, one of Trump’s Cabinet picks that has faced the most pushback, came one step closer to becoming the next Department of Defense secretary after passing a key procedural vote on Thursday. Hegseth will likely face a full Senate confirmation vote on Friday.
Improved Approval Ratings Compared to First Term
Early polls have shown Trump earning approval ratings that are higher than he achieved during most of his first term. Rasmussen Reports, which has a history of being favorable towards Trump, showed the president with a 56 percent approval rating as of Thursday, not far from a high of 59 percent approval he received in the same poll at around the same point during his first term.
Trump’s approval ratings have also been relatively favorable in other polls, although slightly lower. A poll released this week by The Economist/YouGov shows the president with 49 percent approval and 48 percent disapproval. In a poll from Reuters/Ipsos, Trump was a approved of by 47 percent of respondents, which is similar to his first term ratings.
Despite a week of pushing his policy and fulfilling campaign promises, Trump’s first few days back in office have faced some resistance, including an avalanche of lawsuits filed over the president’s executive orders.
His order attempting to invalidate birthright citizenship has been temporarily blocked by a federal judge who called it “blatantly unconstitutional” on Thursday.
What People Are Saying
A press release on The Economist/YouGov presidential approval poll: “This is the first sustained period in Trump’s political career in which similar shares of Americans have favorable and unfavorable opinions about him; he spent his entire first term as president, and most of Joe Biden’s presidency, with significantly more unfavorable views than favorable views.”
Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville, in a post to X, formerly Twitter: “We are witnessing the dawn of a Golden Age in U.S. history. President Trump is already taking ACTION to restore SANTIY and LAW AND ORDER in this country. There’s a new sheriff in town, and his name is President Donald J. Trump.”
Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, on X: “President Trump’s Executive Orders make it obvious that no Golden Age is coming to America—unless you’re one of the wealthiest few, you’re well-connected, or you own a Big Oil or Big Pharma company.”
Progressive Independent Senator Bernie Sanders, on X: “In the new Trump presidency, we have got to remain focused. We can’t panic. No matter how many executive orders he signs or statements he issues, our goal is the same: We must fight to create an America based on economic, social & environmental justice.”
What Happens Next
Trump visited areas of North Carolina ravaged by Hurricane Helene on Friday before heading off to Southern California for a tour of areas devastated by a series of ongoing fires. The president told reporters that he was considering abolishing the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and wanted to tie federal emergency disaster aid for California to the state adopting new laws on identification required for voting.
The president will likely continue attempting to reshape the federal government and policies through executive orders in coming weeks. With Republicans currently controlling both houses of Congress by thin margins, significant legislative could certainly follow, but could still prove difficult on some hot button issues.
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