On Jan. 20, 2025, President Trump was sworn in to a rare non-consecutive second term. The last time an event like this occurred was in the late 1800s, when President Grover Cleveland won the presidency under the same circumstances.
Donald Trump has gotten to work very quickly at setting his agenda and taking the steps to achieve it, but many students may be confused about what that agenda exactly is.
The media environment surrounding Trump has been hard to follow, with much of that confusion coming from the flurry of executive orders that President Trump has signed. Thanks to an intense media reaction that has generated in response to the controversial nature of the Trump Administration’s executive orders, it can be difficult to find clarifying information on his positions. However, many of his important policy proposals can be broken down into three sections: his economic policy, his immigration policy, and his social policies.
Trump’s Economic Policy
Firstly, a cornerstone of Trump’s policy has been his economic policy, with a focus on tariffs. Tariffs are a tax on all imports that a country brings in. Trump has spoken very favorably of tariffs, and within the first few weeks of his presidency, he has applied a 10% tariff (import tax) on China. Prior to trade negotiations between the three countries, Trump also applied a 25% tariff on Mexico and Canada, a tariff which has an uncertain fate thanks to the Trump Administration’s decision to repeatedly enact and revoke the policy. To get an idea of how this could affect U.S trade, the Council for Foreign Relations, a non-profit that specializes in foreign policy, estimates that “nearly half of all U.S. imports—more than $1.3 trillion—come from Canada, China, and Mexico.”
The effect of the tariffs is to be determined, but many economists, such as Brown University’s Economics Professor Şebnem Kalemli-Özcan believes that, “Research has shown that consumers ultimately pay. Economists don’t typically agree on all things, but if you ask me, ‘What is one thing they do agree on?’ It’s that tariffs are costly to the American consumer in the end.” If Trump’s tariff plan goes through, then consumers could potentially see price increases on goods and services.
Trump’s Immigration Policy
Secondly, an additional field of policy that Trump has taken action on is immigration. Trump, during the campaign trail, vowed to enact the largest mass deportation operation in U.S. history. When inaugurated into office, he quickly began a crackdown on undocumented migrants, arresting nearly 6,000 undocumented people within the final six days of January. While deportation is a common policy measure for all presidential administrations, the speed and scope of the deportations have generated controversy.
Additionally, another reason that Trump’s immigration policy is sparking controversy is due to the divide in opinion and values between liberals and conservatives on the topic. Many liberal-leaning people believe that immigration, legal or illegal, is essential to American values, while more conservative-leaning people view illegal immigration as untenable to America.
The Trump Administration claims to be targeting violent criminals in these arrest operations, however, according to Ras Baraka, the Mayor of Newark, (a city in New Jersey where an ICE arrest operation took place), a U.S Citizen was detained in an operation. “Today, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents raided a local establishment in the City of Newark, detaining undocumented residents as well as citizens, without producing a warrant,” said Mayor Baraka.
Additionally, the Trump Administration’s Acting Head of Homeland Security, Benjamine Huffman, sent out a directive that eliminated a provision preventing ICE from making arrests in schools, churches and other sensitive locations, adding that “Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest.”
Opponents of this executive order, such as Olivia Golden, an executive director at the Center of Law and Social Policy, say that “This action could have devastating consequences for immigrant families and their children, including U.S. citizen children, deterring them from receiving medical attention, seeking out disaster relief, attending school, and carrying out everyday activities.”
Trump’s Social Policy
Lastly, Trump’s social policies have been a big fixture of his administration. On his first day in office, he signed an executive order that was widely believed to be anti-transgender. The executive order in question is one that declared that the federal government would only recognize two sexes, male and female. Additionally, Trump’s executive order denied the existence of transgender people outright.
These policies are a stark contrast to the previous administration which federally recognized those that identified as transgender and non-binary. Another social policy that the Trump Administration has targeted is “DEI,” otherwise known as Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. DEI is a policy where companies and organizations will make decisions with diversity in mind. The Trump Administration, in an executive order, targeted federal DEI programs, calling them “illegal and immoral discrimination programs,” and moved to end their usage in the federal government.
If DEI policies are removed from organizations, there could be a backsliding in workplace diversity.
So far, the Trump Administration has made quick work in enacting their agenda, as many aspects of the United States Government have been rapidly changed in a short period and any of these decisions have been controversial.
As the news is constantly updating, policies from this article may have changed.
