The Trump Administration’s First-Day Executive Orders

Jacob Montag

On Monday (January 20), President Trump handed down 26 executive orders, greater than all previous 21st century U.S. presidents combined. This is a reflection of the deepening crisis of liberal democracy in the United States, manifesting in the reactionization of the state, the concentration of power in the hands of the executive branch, and the restriction of democratic rights.

One of the Trump administration’s first actions was to increase prescription drug costs for Medicare and Medicaid patients. This is only the beginning of Trump’s broader plans for austerity, through which he seeks to deepen the exploitation of the workers, reducing wages and lining the pockets of the monopoly capitalists.

Trump signed orders declaring a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border, ending the “Catch and Release” policy, reinstating the “Remain in Mexico” policy, banning refugees, and attempting to end birthright citizenship in the U.S. These orders will facilitate the deployment of military forces to the border, the imprisonment of asylum seekers, and the deportation of children.

U.S. imperialism uses the southern border as a pressure valve to manipulate the labor market in favor of the bosses. While the Biden administration has thus far been more accomplished in terms of cruelty towards migrants, Trump promises to exacerbate oppression on the U.S.-Mexico border further, facilitating increased exploitation of workers while mobilizing the backwards against the oppressed rather than the oppressor.

Another order requires “enhanced screening and vetting” of visa holders and applicants. Certain provisions of this order are likely to be used against the Palestinian solidarity movement in the U.S., calling for “actions necessary to protect the American people from the actions of foreign nationals (…) who provide aid, advocacy, or support for foreign terrorists”. While the Palestinian armed resistance has won a ceasefire in Gaza, Trump has indicated the possibility of breaking the ceasefire and thundering ahead in the West Bank.

On foreign policy, Trump’s rhetoric regarding contention with Russian imperialism has been relatively tame compared to the Democratic war hawks, instead focusing on China. He’s made several gestures toward pursuing various objectives in the U.S. “Back Yard” of the Americas, including reclaiming U.S. jurisdiction over the Panama Canal, which he says has been taken over by China, and annexing Greenland, a militarily significant land.

As part of Trump’s chauvinist “border invasion” rhetoric, he signed an order designating Mexican drug cartels as terrorist organizations. While the drug trade is a serious problem and cartel bosses are enemies of the people, the truth is that they are merely middle managers for the true cartel boss, which is U.S. imperialism. Any U.S. military intervention in Mexico under the pretext of combating drug cartels will violate Mexico’s sovereignty, police the growing revolutionary movement in Mexico, and deepen imperialism’s migration crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Further, the Trump administration has signed an order granting general amnesty to those being prosecuted for their participation in the 2021 Capitol riot, with pardons for many and clemency for others, a sweeping act of presidential absolutism. Whereas Biden used the riot to introduce a new legal apparatus of repression, the Trump administration not only reversed the charges but will use the same means to deepen repression. On top of the increased state violence that will ensue, the amnesty will encourage more ultra-right and fascist violence, just as his first administration saw a wave of fascist violence with the targeted killings of protesters, mass shootings, and other acts of terror against the people.

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