Donald J. Trump was elected president of the United States on Nov. 8, 2016. Here is an overview of his first month in office.
Jan. 20, 2017 — Donald Trump is inaugurated as the 45th president of the United States.
Jan. 20, 2017 — President Trump signs an executive order to freeze pending regulations until they are approved by his administration. This includes regulations put forth by President Obama in his final weeks of office, some of which deal with global climate change and energy efficiency.
Jan. 20, 2017 — President Trump signs an executive order to “minimize the economic burden of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act [ACA] pending repeal.” Trump’s administration has promised to “repeal and replace” the ACA, but have not yet released a plan to replace the health care law.
Jan. 21, 2017 — The Women’s March on Washington takes place, with an estimated 3,600,000 – 4,600,000 people participating worldwide.
Jan. 22, 2017 — After Press Secretary Sean Spicer’s claim that “this was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period” was proved false, Kellyanne Conway claimed Spicer employed “alternative facts”.
Jan. 23, 2017 — President Trump signs an executive order to reinstate “ The Mexico City Policy”, removing federal funding from organizations that “support or participate” in abortion, such as Planned Parenthood. Abortions have not been federally funded since the 1976 Hyde Amendment, except in cases of rape, incest, or life-threatening pregnancy.
Jan. 23, 2017 — President Trump signs a memorandum to withdraw the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The TPP was never ratified, and cannot currently be ratified due to US withdrawal.
Jan. 23, 2017 — President Trump signs a memorandum ordering a federal hiring freeze on the executive branch, including vacant jobs that existed at noon on Jan. 22. This does not apply to military personnel. This memorandum will expire once the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) determines and implements a long-term plan to “reduce the size of the federal government’s workforce”.
Jan. 24, 2017 — President Trump signs memorandums reviving construction of the Keystone XL pipeline and the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL).
Jan. 24, 2017 — President Trump tweets, “if Chicago doesn’t fix the horrible ‘carnage’ going on… I will send in the Feds!” citing statistics previously heard on “The O’Reilly Factor” and echoing a sentiment from one of the guests on the show. This tweet was originally from Trump’s personal account, @realdonaldtrump, and retweeted to the @POTUS account.
Jan. 25, 2017 — President Trump signs an executive order ordering the construction of a wall along the United States/Mexico border. Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto has repeatedly reiterated that Mexico will not be paying for the wall, despite what President Trump has said.
Jan. 26, 2017 — Mexican President Peña Nieto cancels a meeting with President Trump after the latter signed an executive order mandating a border wall. The morning prior, Trump took to Twitter, stating that “if Mexico is unwilling to pay for the badly needed wall, then it would be better to cancel the upcoming meeting.”
Jan. 27, 2017 — President Trump signs an executive order denying entry to the United States from seven Muslim-majority countries. Refugee admissions are deferred for 120 days; Syrian refugees are banned indefinitely. There was confusion on whether or not the ban included permanent residents, green card holders, or visa holders.
Jan. 27, 2017 — Protests against President Trump’s travel ban begin in airports across the country as travelers are detained, with crowds in the thousands and immigration lawyers working pro-bono.
Jan. 27, 2017 — President Trump releases a statement for International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which is criticized for having no mention of the Jewish people or antisemitism. Trump aide, Hope Hicks, forwarded CNN a Huffington Post article describing others killed by the Nazis for their sexuality, political views, or ethnicity, and said, “we are an incredibly inclusive group and we took into account all of those who suffered.”
Jan. 28, 2017 — President Trump signs a memorandum reorganizing the National Security Council, giving Steve Bannon a permanent seat.
Jan. 28, 2017 — President Trump calls multiple foreign leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. In his call with Turnbull, Trump criticized an Obama-era deal in which the US pledged to take in 1,250 refugees from Australia as “the worst deal ever,” and then hung up 25 minutes into a scheduled hour-long call.
Jan. 30, 2017 — President Trump signs an executive order stating that for every new regulation the executive branch proposes, two other must be repealed.
Jan. 30, 2017 — President Trump fires attorney general Sally Yates after she instructed the Justice Department to not defend Trump’s travel ban.
Jan. 31, 2017 — President Trump nominates Neil Gorsuch to succeed Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court. Multiple comparisons have been drawn between Gorsuch and Scalia, and Republicans praised the choice after refusing President Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland in 2016.
Feb. 2, 2017 — At the National Prayer Breakfast, President Trump promised to repeal the Johnson Amendment, which prohibits tax-exempt groups (such as religious organizations) from contributing to political campaigns. The president does not actually have the power to annul the amendment; only congress can repeal the law.
Feb. 3, 2017 — Federal Judge James Robart ordered a temporary nationwide halt on President Trump’s travel ban.
Feb. 3, 2017 — President Trump signs an executive order calling for review of the Dodd-Frank Act, an Obama-era financial regulation on Wall Street signed in response to the 2007-2008 financial crisis, known especially for ending “too big to fail.”
Feb. 3, 2017 — President Trump signs a memorandum stopping a federal rule that mandates financial advisors act in their client’s best interest.
Feb. 4, 2017 — Airlines begin allowing travel for those previous affected by Trump’s travel ban. Trump responded multiple times on Twitter, including a tweet which refers to Judge James Robart as a “so-called judge”.
Feb. 7, 2017 — Majority Leader Mitch McConnell interrupted Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s speech against confirming Jeff Sessions as Attorney General, saying that she “impugned the motives and conduct” of Sessions. Republicans then voted to formally silence Sen. Warren. McConnell further defended this, stating: “Sen. Warren was giving a lengthy speech. She had appeared to violate the rule. She was warned. She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted.”
Feb. 7, 2017 — Betsy Devos is confirmed as Secretary of Education after Vice President Mike Pence cast an unusual tie-breaking vote, bringing the end vote to 51-50.
Feb. 8, 2017 — Jeff Sessions is confirmed as Attorney General in a 52-47 vote, following controversy surrounding Session’s previous comments on race and his prosecution of a 1985 voter fraud case against black civil rights activists. Many Democrats spoke out against Session’s nomination, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Rep. John Lewis, and Sen. Cory Booker, who broke senate tradition by testifying against another senator.
Feb. 8, 2017 — After Nordstrom announced they would no longer sell Ivanka Trump’s clothing line, citing poor sales, President Trump tweeted from the @RealDonaldTrump account, “Ivanka has been treated so unfairly by Nordstrom.” This tweet was then retweeted to the @POTUS account, sparking controversy over whether the president was using the account to promote personal family interests.
Feb. 9, 2017 — President Trump tweets “SEE YOU IN COURT!” [sic] after the 9th Circuit Court unanimously ruled to not to reinstate the travel ban for now. Trump’s administration has suggested they are looking into other ways to get a travel ban implemented.
Feb 13, 2017– Mike Flynn, Trump’s National Security Advisor, resigns after a report in the Washington Post stated that he had discussed sanctions with Russian ambassadors. In his resignation, Flynn says he “inadvertently briefed the vice president-elect and others with incomplete information regarding [his] phone calls with the Russian ambassador.”
Feb. 14, 2017 — Press Secretary Sean Spicer claims that the president fired Mike Flynn as national security advisor, in contrast with previous reports of his resignation.
Feb. 14, 2017 — Senior Advisor Kellyanne Conway appears on “Fox and Friends” and tells viewers to “go buy Ivanka’s stuff,” referencing Nordstrom’s recent decision to drop Ivanka Trump’s clothing label. The Office of Government Ethics Director, Walter Shaub Jr. calls for an investigation and potential disciplinary action be taken against her for violating the Standards of Conduct.
Feb. 15, 2017 — The Senate votes 57-43 to repeal an Obama-era regulation designed to keep severely mentally ill people from purchasing firearms. President Trump must sign the measure before the regulation is officially rolled back, and he is widely expected to do so.
Feb. 15, 2017 — In a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Trump appears to back off of a two-state solution, in contrast with long-standing US policy.
Feb. 16, 2017 — President Trump holds his first press conference since the inauguration, continuing to call the information leaks from White House aides “fake news,” and claiming that he “inherited a mess.” Trump also slammed the press, calling reporters “dishonest.”
Feb. 16, 2017 — After April Ryan, a reporter of color, asks if President Trump will include the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), Trump responds, “do you want to set up the meeting? Are they friends of yours? Set up a meeting.”
Feb. 17, 2017 — Scott Pruitt, a longtime critic of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), is confirmed as head of the EPA.
Feb. 17, 2017 — In response to a Jewish reporter’s question of how the administration plans to respond to a wave of bomb threats on Jewish Community Centers nationwide, President Trump claims the question was “unfair” before telling the reporter that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Trump a “great friend of Israel” and that the reporter should rely on that indorsement.
Feb. 19, 2017 — At a rally in Melbourne, Fl. President Trump states, “we’ve got to keep our country safe…you look at what’s happening last night in Sweden — Sweden, who would believe this?” suggesting that there was a terror attack related to the large amount of refugees the country took in. There hasn’t been a recent terrorism incident in Sweden.
Feb. 21, 2017 — After being criticized for not speaking out against anti-semitism in America, including desecration of a Jewish cemetery in St. Louis, Trump calls anti-semitic violence “horrible” and “a very sad reminder of the work that still needs to be done to root out hate.”
Feb. 22, 2017 — The Trump Administration rescinds guidance originally put into place by President Obama securing the rights of transgender students to use bathrooms that match their gender identity, according to protections under Title IX.
Feb. 24, 2017 — President Trump signs an executive order directing each federal agency to identify regulations that could be reduced or cut to save money. Opponents of this action say overzealously cutting regulations would harm the environment and put citizen’s safety at risk.
Feb. 25, 2017 — President Trump announces on Twitter that he will not attend the White House Correspondents Dinner. He is the first president to skip the dinner since Ronald Reagan in 1981– although Reagan was recovering from an assassination attempt. Jimmy Carter also skipped in the dinner in 1980.
Feb. 25, 2017 — Tom Perez is elected Chairman of the DNC, naming Keith Ellison as deputy chair. Trump tweets, “I could not be happier for him [Tom Perez], or for the Republican Party!”
Feb. 25, 2017 — Certain media organizations are barred from attending Sean Spicer’s off-camera press briefing, including The New York Times, CNN, Politico, and the Los Angeles Times. News organizations that are seen as “friendlier” to the administration, such as Breitbart, were allowed in.
Feb. 27, 2017 — In a meeting with America’s governors, President Trump announced that he will propose a budget with a $54 billion increase for defense, while cutting domestic programs. Trump has said that this is a plan that will “put America first” and sends “a message to the world…of American strength.”
Feb. 28, 2017 — President Trump signs documents calling for review of President Obama’s “Waters of the United States” rule, saying that he is moving towards eliminating it entirely.
Feb. 28, 2017 — Weeks after senate passed Obama’s rule barring certain mentally ill people from purchasing firearms, President Trump signs a rescinding measure for the rule
Feb. 28, 2017 — President Trump addresses a joint session of Congress, taking on a noticeably more optimistic and uplifting tone in contrast to his inaugural address.
Mar. 1, 2017 — The Justice Department reports that Attorney General Jeff Sessions spoke with Russia’s United States Ambassador twice during the campaign, despite Sessions’ statement during his senate confirmation hearing that he “did not have communications with the Russian.” Sessions recused himself from investigations involving the Trump campaign.
