Donald Trump uses giant Sharpie to sign executive orders on immigration, environment and gender
Donald Trump has wasted no time on day one, with a flurry of executive orders that will change America. Here’s what he has signed off on with his famed pen.
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In the first few hours of his presidency Donald Trump has already called an emergency on immigration, rolled back restrictions on oil and gas production, changed government policy to recognise just two genders and pardoned more than 1,500 people prosecuted over the Capitol riots in 2021.
Among the wide-ranging executive orders he signed was one declaring a national immigration emergency to secure the US-Mexican border, and designating cartels and migrant gangs as terrorist organisations.
Mr Trump used his famous giant Sharpie pen, which he prefers to use instead of a traditional fountain pen, to sign his first executive orders inside the packed Capital One Arena.
To cheers from the crowd, he signed nine executive orders at the arena.
Afterwards, he threw black Sharpie pens into the crowd in a celebratory fashion.
Moving on to the Oval Office, Mr Trump then signed an executive order to keep TikTok operating for 90 days.
“I guess I have a warm spot for TikTok,” he said.
As part of his push to wage war on immigration, he also declared an end to birth citizenship, which legal experts said could lead to a court battle.
“Illegal entry will immediately be halted, and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came,” Mr Trump said in his inaugural address.
Another promise to “drill, baby, drill” will be helped along after signing an order calling a national energy emergency, allowing him to unlock powers to speed permitting for pipelines, while also ditching the Biden administration’s electric vehicle mandate.
He’s also changed government policy to recognise male and female as the only two genders and ended diversity, equity and inclusion programs across government agencies.
Meanwhile, those who invaded the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, were pardoned in another executive order.
DONALD TRUMP’S DAY ONE BLITZ
IMMIGRATION AND BORDER SECURITY
– Calling a national emergency to secure US-Mexico border including with the military
– Shutting down an app used by migrants to seek asylum at the border
– Designating drug cartels as global terrorist organisations
– Declaring an end to birthright citizenship despite its constitutional guarantee
ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT
– Rolling back the Biden administration’s restrictions on oil and gas production
– Ditching the Biden administration’s electric vehicle mandate
– Withdrawing from the global Paris climate change accord
TARIFFS AND TRADE
– Creating the External Revenue Service to pursue tariffs and duties
– Assessing compliance of trading partners with major trade deals
SOCIAL AFFAIRS
– Changing government policy to recognise male and female as the only two genders
– Ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs across government agencies
OTHER
– Pardoning those who invaded the US Capitol on January 6, 2021
– Offering a 90-day lifeline to prevent a US ban on TikTok
– Renaming the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America
– Ordering federal public servants to return to the office
– Stopping all government censorship
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Originally published as Donald Trump uses giant Sharpie to sign executive orders on immigration, environment and gender
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