On Tuesday, President Donald Trump kicked off his second term with a flurry of executive actions and controversial decisions. Among the key actions taken were a crackdown on immigration, withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement and World Health Organization, and the granting of pardons to over 1,000 individuals involved in the Capitol insurrection of 2021.
One of the most notable pardons went to 14 far-right extremists from groups like the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys who were convicted or charged with seditious conspiracy. These pardons have sparked widespread debate and criticism.
Today's agenda for President Trump includes a meeting with House and Senate Republican leadership at the White House. He is also set to continue signing a series of executive orders that he has promised to enact in the early days of his new presidency.
At 10 a.m. ET, the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee will convene a hearing to review the expected nomination of Douglas Collins as Secretary of Veterans Affairs. Simultaneously, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a hearing to examine the expected nomination of Elise Stefanik as the US representative to the United Nations.
Following these hearings, at 10:15 a.m. ET, the Senate Finance Committee will conduct an Executive Session to consider the nomination of Scott Bessent for Secretary of the Treasury.
President Trump's actions and decisions on his first full day in office have set the tone for what is expected to be a contentious and eventful second term. The repercussions of these executive actions and pardons are likely to reverberate across the political landscape in the coming days and weeks.
