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Donald Trump has completed an extraordinary return to power as the 47th president, vowing to impose his vision and re-altering the political and cultural landscape of the nation.
To keep up with the dizzying array of executive orders, directives, firings and policy changes, the Guardian will be tracking the major developments of the second Trump administration’s first 100 days, just like we did during the first 100 days of Trump’s first presidency in 2017.
This story will be updated every Monday during Trump’s first 100 days.
Week 4
16 February 2025
Day 28
Trump asked the supreme court to let him fire the head of a federal agency that protects government whistleblowers, marking his first appeal to the justices on America’s highest court since he took office. The justice department’s filing asked the conservative-majority court to lift a judge’s court order temporarily reinstating Hampton Dellinger as the leader of the office of special counsel.
Also on Sunday:
• Trump told reporters that he believes he could meet “very soon” with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.
• Trump’s limousine, known as “the Beast”, led Daytona 500 drivers on two laps around the Florida racetrack. “This is your favorite president,” he told them. “I’m a big fan. I am a really big fan of you people.”
15 February 2025
Day 27
Trump went on social media to signal continued resistance to limits on his executive authority in the face of multiple legal challenges. “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law,” the president wrote on his Truth Social network. The phrase, attributed to Napoleon, the French military leader who eventually declared himself emperor, drew immediate criticism from Democrats. “Spoken like a true dictator,” Senator Adam Schiff of California, a longtime adversary of Trump, wrote on X.
Also on Saturday:
• The US envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, told a global security conference in Munich that the US would act as an intermediary in talks with Ukraine and Russia. Asked about the prospects of the Europeans being at the table, Kellogg said: “I’m [from] a school of realism. I think that’s not gonna happen.”
14 February 2025
Day 26
JD Vance, the vice-president, stunned the Munich security conference by accusing European leaders of suppressing free speech, failing to halt illegal migration and running in fear from voters’ true beliefs. Vance suggested that Europe was infected by media censorship, cancelled elections and political correctness.
“The threat that I worry the most about vis-à-vis Europe is not Russia, it’s not China, it’s not any other external actor,” the vice-president said. “And what I worry about is the threat from within, the retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values.” The blistering remarks were condemned by the European Union and Germany but drew praise from Russian state television.
Also on Friday:
• Members of Elon Musk’s “department of government efficiency” arrived at the Pentagon in what appeared to be their first meeting with defense department staff.
• Under pressure from Trump’s justice department leadership, prosecutors in Washington asked a federal judge to drop bribery and fraud charges against the New York mayor, Eric Adams, rather than see the entire public integrity office be fired.
• The White House said it would ban the Associated Press from events in the Oval Office and Air Force One over the news agency’s refusal to obey Trump’s executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America.
13 February 2025
Day 25
Trump unveiled plans for the US to implement “reciprocal” tariffs on all countries with which it conducts trade. “They charge us a tax or tariff and we charge them the exact same,” he told reporters in the Oval Office.
Signing a memorandum called the “Fair and Reciprocal Plan”, the president admitted the tariffs could cause Americans some “some short-term disturbance”, adding: “Prices could go up somewhat short-term. But prices will also go down.”
Also on Thursday:
• The Senate voted 52–48 to confirm the longtime vaccine sceptic Robert F Kennedy Jr as the next health and human services secretary. Senator Mitch McConnell, a polio survivor, was the only Republican to join all Democrats in opposition, saying he “will not condone the relitigation of proven cures”.
• Trump was equivocal when asked what concessions Russia should be willing to make to secure a peace deal in Ukraine. He told reporters at a press conference: “It’s too early to say what’s going to happen. Maybe Russia will give up a lot. Maybe they won’t. It’s all dependent on what is going to happen.”
• Danielle Sassoon, the acting US attorney for the southern district of New York, quit after the justice department ordered her to drop the corruption case against the New York City mayor, Eric Adams. Several other justice department officials also resigned after they were ordered to drop the case.
12 February 2025
Day 24
Trump held separate phone calls with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in an effort to end the war that has raged for three years. The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, told reporters at a briefing: “They were very good calls. They were very positive.”
Later Trump told reporters he expected to come face to face with Putin soon. “We ultimately expect to meet,” he said in the Oval Office. “In fact, we expect that he’ll come here, and I’ll go there, and we’re going to meet also, probably in Saudi Arabia. The first time we’ll meet in Saudi Arabia.”
Also on Wednesday:
• The Senate confirmed the former Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard in a 52–48 vote to serve as director of national intelligence. Senator Mitch McConnell, the former Senate leader, was the lone Republican to join all Democrats in opposition.
• The Senate budget committee voted 11–10 to approve a budget reconciliation bill intended to serve as a blueprint to get Trump’s border, energy and military agenda through Congress.
• Inflation rose to 3% on an annual basis in January, an increase from 2.9% in December, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
11 February 2025
Day 23
Joined by his four-year-old son X in the Oval Office, Elon Musk claimed the ”department of government efficiency’s” (Doge) goal was to “restore democracy”, contending that the federal bureaucracy had amassed too much power.
The world’s richest man denied conflicts of interest. “You can see whether I’m doing something that’s benefiting one of my companies or not,” he told reporters. “I’ll be scrutinised nonstop.” Trump signed an executive order that seeks to “significantly reduce the size of government” by instructing agencies to undertake plans for “large-scale reductions in force”.
Also on Tuesday:
• Trump stood by his plan for the US to take control of Gaza and redevelop it as a tourist destination while relocating 2 million Palestinians. During a meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Trump told reporters: “We’re going to take it. We’re going to hold it. We’re going to cherish it.”
• The White House secured the release of Marc Fogel, an American teacher who had been imprisoned in Russia. The US released Alexander Vinnik, a Russian cybercriminal who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering, in exchange.
• Trump claimed that he would abide by court decisions curbing his administration’s actions amid growing fears of a constitutional crisis following Vance’s assertion that “judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power.”
10 February 2025
Day 22
Trump signed an order to impose 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports to the US while eliminating all country exceptions. He said: “It’s a big deal. This is the beginning of making America rich again.”
The chief executive of Ford, Jim Farley, said while he believed the president aimed to strengthen the US car industry overall, the tariff plans had “a lot of cost and a lot of chaos”. The move was also criticised by Canada, Mexico and other trading partners.
Also on Monday:
• The justice department ordered federal prosecutors to drop corruption charges against the New York mayor, Eric Adams, arguing that the case was interfering with the mayor’s ability to aid the president’s crackdown on illegal immigration.
• Asked whether he saw Vice-President JD Vance as his automatic successor in 2028, Trump told Fox News: “No, but he’s very capable. I mean, I don’t think that it, you know – I think you have a lot of very capable people. So far, I think he’s doing a fantastic job. It’s too early. We’re just starting.”
Week 3
9 February 2025
Day 21
Donald Trump defended Elon Musk, head of the “department of government efficiency”, amid criticism of the billionaire’s slash-and-burn tactics at agencies such as USAid. “He’s not gaining anything. In fact, I wonder how he can devote the time to it,” Trump told Fox News in an interview taped ahead of the Super Bowl.
Trump also predicted Musk would find “billions” of dollars of abuse and fraud in the federal government. “I’m going to tell him very soon, like maybe in 24 hours, to go check the Department of Education ... Then I’m going to go, go to the military. Let’s check the military,” Trump said. “We’re going to find billions, hundreds of millions of dollars of fraud and abuse.”
Also on Sunday:
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One as he flew to New Orleans for the Super Bowl, Trump said he would impose new 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports into the US.
Trump also declared Sunday to be “Gulf of America Day”, the latest step in his effort to rename the Gulf of Mexico.
8 February 2025
Day 20
In an interview with the New York Post, Donald Trump announced he would revoke the security clearances of more top Democrats, including Joe Biden’s former secretary of state, Antony Blinken, and the New York attorney general, Letitia James. “Bad guy. Take away his passes,” Trump said of Blinken. He added: “This is to take away every right they have [revoking security clearances] including they can’t go into [federal] buildings.”
Also on Saturday:
Russ Vought, Trump’s new director of the office of management and budget, announced he had cut off the budget of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
7 February 2025
Day 19
Donald Trump moved to revoke Joe Biden’s security clearance and end the former president’s daily intelligence briefings as retaliation for Biden doing the same to him in 2021. Biden indicated he would end his predecessor’s intelligence briefings after the House impeached Trump for inciting the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.
Also on Friday:
Trump halted a key piece of his proposed tariffs against China.
A federal judge blocked Trump from placing thousands of USAid employees on leave, dealing a blow to the president’s efforts to dismantle the agency.
Trump announced he would appoint himself chair of the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and fire multiple members of its board of trustees. A spokesperson for the Kennedy Center said it had “received no official communications from the White House regarding changes to our board of trustees”.
Trump signed an executive order to cut financial assistance to South Africa due to “unjust racial discrimination” against white Afrikaners, as he offered them asylum in the US.
6 February 2025
Day 18
A federal judge temporarily blocked a deadline for government employees to decide whether to take a buyout offer as legal challenges play out. The deadline, which was initially set at 6 February at 11.59pm ET, was extended to at least Monday to allow parties to file legal briefings in a lawsuit over the policy.
Also on Thursday:
The US Senate voted along party lines to confirm Russell Vought, a key architect of Project 2025, as the new director of the office of management and budget.
Trump called for the “termination” of 60 Minutes in the latest escalation of his fight against the US media, writing in a Truth Social post: “CBS should lose its license, and the cheaters at 60 Minutes should all be thrown out, and this disreputable ‘NEWS’ show should be immediately terminated.”
5 February 2025
Day 17
Donald Trump’s suggestion that the US would “take over” Gaza sparked outrage among Democrats, who slammed the “insane proposal” as a “dangerous” threat to 2 million Palestinians. Congressman Al Green, a Democrat of Texas, even announced plans to bring articles of impeachment against Trump over the proposal.
Meanwhile, Republicans reacted to the intense backlash with muted concern. The Republican speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, told CNN: “We have to back Israel 100%. So whatever form that takes, we’re interested in having that discussion. It’s a surprising development, but I think it’s one that we’ll applaud.”
Also on Wednesday:
Trump imposed tariffs on China, sparking intense retaliation from Beijing.
A US military plane carrying 104 deported people landed in India, marking the latest development in Trump’s efforts to use the armed forces to help advance his immigration agenda.
4 February 2025
Day 16
Donald Trump sent shockwaves around the world when he suggested the US would “take over” Gaza and “own it”, a pronouncement that was interpreted as a potential endorsement of the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. “If it’s necessary, we’ll do that,” Trump said at a press conference alongside the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. “We’re going to take over that piece; we’re going to develop it, create thousands and thousands of jobs, and it’ll be something that the entire Middle East can be very proud of.”
Also on Tuesday:
The Senate confirmed Pam Bondi as the next US attorney general in a vote of 54 to 46.
The Senate finance committee advanced Robert F Kennedy’s nomination to serve as the next secretary of health and human services, despite concerns over his past anti-vaccine comments and his flip-flopping on abortion access.
3 February 2025
Day 15
Donald Trump announced a one-month delay in his proposed tariffs against Canada and Mexico after phone calls with the Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, and the Mexican president, Claudia Sheinbaum. Trump’s threat had rattled global financial markets, as the EU braced for tariffs as well.
Meanwhile, the clash over the future of USAid intensified, as the White House confirmed plans to merge the foreign aid agency with the state department. The secretary of state, Marco Rubio, declared himself the acting administrator of USAid as Elon Musk declared his wish to shutter the agency.
Also on Monday:
Trump signed an executive order aimed at creating a sovereign wealth fund, suggesting the fund may be used to purchase the social media platform TikTok.
Week 2
2 February 2025
Day 14
Two senior security officials at the US Agency for International Development (USAid) were reportedly placed on administrative leave after a confrontation with personnel from Elon Musk’s newly created “department of government efficiency” (Doge). The incident occurred when Doge officials demanded access to USAid security systems and personnel files at the agency’s Washington headquarters, eventually gaining entry despite initial resistance from security staff.
Musk publicly declared USAid “a criminal organization” following reports of the confrontation.
Also on Sunday:
The administration terminated temporary protected status for more than 300,000 Venezuelans, giving recipients just 60 days to leave the country after the official notice is published.
1 February 2025
Day 13
In what has been the most far-reaching move of his presidency thus far, Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China in a series of executive orders that threaten to set global trade on fire.
The orders set 25% tariffs on most Mexican and Canadian imports and 10% on Chinese goods, with energy products from Canada facing a reduced 10% duty. The move prompted retaliation from Mexico and Canada, with Justin Trudeau, Canada’s prime minister, announcing reciprocal tariffs on C$155bn (US$107bn) worth of US products and Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, preparing similar countermeasures ranging from 5% to 20% on select US imports.
China said it will be challenging the new US tariffs at the World Trade Organization and would take unspecified countermeasures.
Also on Saturday:
Trump announced military strikes against Isis targets in Somalia via Truth Social, claiming the operation eliminated a senior attack planner.
Six Americans previously detained in Venezuela were released following a meeting between Trump’s envoy Richard Grenell and President Nicolás Maduro.
31 January 2025
Day 12
The Trump administration initiated a sweeping round of cuts at the justice department targeting potentially hundreds of FBI agents and others who worked on cases related to the January 6 Capitol attack. According to an internal memo, the acting FBI director, Brian Driscoll, instructed bureau leaders to provide the justice department with information about all current and former employees who “at any time” worked on January 6 investigations.
FBI leadership was given until noon on Tuesday to provide information about all current and former employees involved in Capitol riot cases.
Also on Friday:
While the White House announced it would be celebrating Black History Month, the Defense Intelligence Agency ordered an immediate halt to all activities and events related to historical and cultural observances, including Martin Luther King Jr Day, Black History Month and Holocaust Remembrance Day, according to an internal memo obtained by NBC News.
30 January 2025
Day 11
Trump linked Wednesday night’s fatal plane and helicopter collision just outside of Washington DC to diversity and equity initiatives at the Federal Aviation Administration implemented under previous administrations, making the claims during a White House briefing room appearance even as investigations into the crash were just beginning.
The incident marked the first major commercial airline crash in the United States since 2009. Following his remarks, Trump signed executive orders appointing Christopher Rocheleau, a 22-year veteran of the FAA, as acting commissioner and directing the removal of what he termed “DEI and woke policies” from the agency.
Also on Thursday:
Trump signed an executive order dubbed “additional measures to combat anti-semitism” citing increased discrimination since 7 October 2023. The order directs federal agencies to identify additional legal tools for prosecuting what could be deemed as antisemitic acts and requires higher education institutions to monitor and report certain activities by foreign students that could constitute grounds for removal.
29 January 2025
Day 10
The office of management and budget rescinded its controversial memo freezing federal spending on loans and grants, less than 48 hours after its issuance sparked widespread confusion and legal challenges nationwide. The rapid reversal came after states, schools, and organizations dependent on federal funding expressed serious concerns about the freeze’s impacts.
Also on Wednesday:
Trump ordered the expansion of the migrant operations center at Guantánamo Bay to accommodate what the administration termed “high-priority criminal aliens”.
An executive order targeting K-12 education sought to eliminate what it described as “radical indoctrination”, re-establishing the 1776 Commission and mandating federal review of school funding.
28 January 2025
Day 9
The administration issued a directive requiring all federal employees to return to in-person work by 6 February, ending remote work arrangements with an option for buyouts for those unwilling to comply.
The memo offered federal workers a choice: return to offices or submit pre-written “deferred resignation letters” with a buyout worth seven months’ salary. The document warned of impending “restructurings, realignments, and reductions in force” across federal agencies, suggesting widespread changes that could include furloughs and the reclassification of many federal employees to at-will status.
Also on Tuesday:
A federal judge temporarily blocked the administration’s freeze on federal financial assistance.
The White House announced new media access rules welcoming independent journalists and content creators to briefings.
Trump fired two Democratic officials at the National Labor Relations Board, potentially stalling hundreds of labor practice cases.
27 January 2025
Day 8
Trump signed an executive order prohibiting people who are transgender from serving in the military, reversing Obama-era policies that had allowed their service and Biden-era policies that allowed for serving openly. The order was accompanied by a broader directive to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs within the military.
Also on Monday:
A separate EO looked to reinstate and offer potential back pay for service members discharged under the military’s previous Covid-19 vaccine mandate, though implementation faces various legal and logistical hurdles.
Week 1
26 January 2025
Day 7
Trump announced retaliatory sanctions on Colombia after its president, Gustavo Petro, said his country would not accept deportation flights from the United States unless the Trump administration ensured the repatriated migrants were treated with “dignity that a human being deserves” and not “like criminals”.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said he was imposing 25% tariffs on all Colombian goods, a travel ban and immediate visa revocations for Colombian government officials, their allies and their supporters, as well as visa sanctions on all party members, family members and supporters of the Colombian government.
Also on Sunday:
JD Vance endorsed immigration raids on schools, telling CBS’s Face the Nation in his first interview since taking office that he hoped they would have a “chilling effect on illegal immigrants coming to our country”.
Republican senators Tom Cotton, the chair of the intelligence committee, and Lindsey Graham urged Trump to reconsider his decision to strip security details from three members of his first administration who are under threat.
25 January 2025
Day 6
Trump defended his removal of 15 inspectors general of nearly every cabinet-level agency in a Friday night purge as lawmakers in both parties raised concerns about the legality of firings that first require a notice to Congress. “It’s a very common thing to do,” Trump claimed to reporters on Air Force One while traveling to Florida, although he added that he would not be firing the justice department inspector general Michael Horowitz, because he had been by impressed by Horowitz’s report that criticized the former FBI director James Comey for releasing memos that described Trump’s attempts to get him to end the criminal investigation into his then national security adviser Mike Flynn.
Also on Saturday:
Trump told reporters onboard Air Force One that he wanted Jordan and Egypt to house Palestinians from Gaza, adding he mentioned it during his call with the king of Jordan.
24 January 2025
Day 5
Trump proposed shutting down the Federal Emergency Management Agency, saying that the states could do a better job at responding to disasters, even though he lacks the power to unilaterally dissolve the agency and would need congressional action. “I think we’re going to recommend that Fema go away and we pay directly – we pay a percentage to the state,” Trump said, while he toured Asheville, North Carolina, which was devastated by the remnants of Hurricane Helene last year. “The state should fix it.” Trump also inaccurately characterized Fema’s role, which intervenes only if a state governor requests it.
Also on Friday:
The Trump administration summarily fired 15 inspectors general in a late-night purge that could clear the way for Trump to install loyalists in the crucial roles on identifying fraud and working on whistleblower allegations in the government.
Pete Hegseth was confirmed by the US Senate as Trump’s defense secretary in the narrowest vote for the role in the modern era. Hegseth was confirmed 51-50 with JD Vance acting as the tiebreaker after the Republican senators Mitch McConnell, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski voted against his nomination.
23 January 2025
Day 4
A federal judge temporarily blocked Trump’s executive order trying to end automatic citizenship for babies born on US soil, calling the attempt “blatantly unconstitutional”. The US district judge John Coughenour issued a 14-day restraining order, after siding with the states of Washington, Arizona, Illinois and Oregon, which brought the lawsuit. Trump later said he would appeal the decision as he pushes ahead with his executive order to end birthright citizenship.
Also on Thursday:
John Ratcliffe was confirmed by the US Senate to be the next CIA director.
22 January 2025
Day 3
The Trump administration threatened tens of thousands of federal workers with “adverse consequences” if they failed to report on colleagues who defy directives to cease diversity, equity and inclusion efforts from their agencies. The directives gave employees 10 days to report instances of efforts to continue the programs under alternative guises to a special email account to avoid disciplinary action. The warnings, based on an email template from the office of personnel management, marked a dramatic escalation of Trump’s war on diversity programs that were introduced to reverse decades of systemic inequities.
Also on Wednesday:
Trump said in an interview with Fox News’s Sean Hannity in the Oval Office that he might withhold federal funding from cities that do not cooperate with his deportation plans.
Trump’s political appointees ordered US attorneys to investigate and prosecute state and city law enforcement officials if they refused to carry out the administration’s immigration crackdown.
21 January 2025
Day 2
Attorneys general from 22 states sued the Trump administration in two federal district courts to block Trump’s executive order seeking to stop children born to unauthorized immigrants on US soil from automatically becoming citizens, decrying the order as unconstitutional. The lawsuits argued that the 14th amendment is “automatic” and neither the president nor Congress has the authority to revise it. Trump’s executive order flew in the face of more than 100 years of legal precedent, the lawsuits added, and babies born in the US have long been guaranteed citizenship regardless of their parents’ immigration status.
Also on Tuesday:
The bishop at Trump’s inaugural prayer service implored him to “have mercy” on gay, lesbian and transgender children, as well as undocumented immigrants – which Trump told reporters he did not appreciate.
Pete Hegseth, Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, faced new allegations that he denied from his ex-sister-in-law that his second wife once hid from him in a closet and had a safe word to call for help if she needed to get away from him.
20 January 2025
Day 1
Trump was sworn in as the 47th commander in chief under the dome of the US Capitol in a made-for-television ceremony that saw him stick to the script in his official speech but unleash his true feelings in his second speech that attacked the January 6 committee as “political thugs” and the pardons Joe Biden granted the members on the panel. Meanwhile at the Capital One Arena, where Trump had his inaugural parade, the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, briefly shocked the news cycle by twice doing what resembled a Hitler salute. Trump wasted no time starting his agenda to dramatically reshape the political and cultural landscape of the nation, signing executive orders at the arena and then at the White House while he gave a freewheeling commentary to reporters.
The executive orders included:
Pardoning more than 1,500 people convicted on January 6 Capitol riot charges.
Withdrawing the US from the Paris climate accords.
Withdrawing from the World Health Organization.
Renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America.
Attempting to end birthright citizenship.
Preparing to investigate prosecutors who charged him.
Directing the justice department to not enforce the TikTok ban for 75 days.