The US news networks described it as a “flurry” of executive orders. Avalanche might be a better word.
The 100+ executive orders issued by President Donald Trump on day one will drastically reshape the political landscape.
They span a diverse range of policy areas – from justice to immigration, from climate to health, from gender to the ban on TikTok.
In his inaugural speech, Mr Trump hailed “a Golden Age for America”.
Words the Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer quoted back at him when he pardoned those involved in the 6 January raid on the Capitol.
Follow the latest on Trump’s first day as 47th president
Mr Trump reacts as he signs an executive order during the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena. Pic: Reuters
“Donald Trump is ushering in a Golden Age for people that break the law and attempt to overthrow the government,” Mr Schumer said.
Declaring a national emergency at the US-Mexico border to justify mass deportations plays well with his base.
Reclassifying civil service positions, to hire and fire federal employees, allows Mr Trump to argue that he’s dismantling “the deep state”.
But the breadth and immediacy of the orders fuels debate about the balance of power between the White House and Congress.
His circumventing of the legislative process brings apprehension that such unilateral actions could undermine democratic norms.
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The potential for legal challenge underscores that tug-of-war between Mr Trump’s ambition and constitutional constraints.
But it’s America’s withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement and from the World Health Organization that sends a signal around the globe.
America is going back to the future, back to the “America first” isolationist position adopted during his first term in the White House.
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Pic: Reuters
Pic: Reuters
As usual, much of it was about the optics – signing executive orders on a stage to rapturous applause, the Oval Office desk littered with many more.
“This is a big one,” he kept repeating, before signing each of the documents in turn in his inimitable style – a bold, flowing signature.
There is much tradition associated with an inauguration, but the 47th President of the United States is far from conventional.
Unfiltered, unscripted, ever the showman, not terribly interested in the norms of politics at home or abroad.
Delivering a truckload of executive orders to remind us that he is both entirely predictable and entirely unpredictable.
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