Trump Sworn In As President, Signs Record Number Of Executive Orders
Plus: Inauguration recap & Buckeyes win college football National Championship
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Good morning,
The Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 34-23 to claim the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff National Championship.
This latest victory comes full circle for the Buckeyes, as their last championship in 2014 also occurred during a historic Playoff milestone — the inaugural season of the four-team Playoff.
It’s the program’s ninth national championship and its first in a decade.
The Buckeyes also became the first team in college football history to win five games against teams that were ranked in the top five of the AP poll at the time they played Ohio State.
Have a good one!
Mosheh, Jill, Sari, & Lauren
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📌 DONALD TRUMP MAKES HISTORIC RETURN AS 47TH U.S. PRESIDENT
Donald Trump recited the 35-word presidential oath of office on Monday at 12pm ET, officially becoming the 47th president of the United States (he was already our 45th president). The oath was administered by Chief Justice John Roberts in the Capitol Rotunda – after the ceremony was moved indoors due to below freezing temps.
TRUMP’S SPEECH
In his nearly 30-minute speech, Trump painted a picture of an America that needs saving. He took aim at the Biden administration (standing just a few feet away from Biden and Harris), saying "our nation has suffered greatly" in recent years and vowed to bring about an America that is respected, admired, prosperous, and strong.
While Trump took a more positive tone at times, saying, “My proudest legacy will be that of a peacemaker and unifier,” he also attacked his predecessor: “We now have a government that cannot manage even a simple crisis at home, while at the same time stumbling into a continuing catalog of catastrophic events abroad.”
Trump spoke of ushering in a “golden age of America” – promising a new chapter of his America First agenda.
The two most popular words in his speech were “America” and “American” – said 41 times combined.
The meat of his speech was notably specific, laying out the vast number of executive orders he planned to sign on day one (see below).
THE ROOM WHERE IT HAPPENS
On stage during the ceremony were Trump’s family, close allies, and Cabinet members. Notably, some of the biggest billionaires in tech had better seats then some members of Trump’s incoming administration.
Elon Musk (Tesla/SpaceX), Sundar Pichai (Google), Jeff Bezos (Amazon), and Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook) sat in the second row. Further back were Apple’s Tim Cook, Google’s co-founder Sergey Brin, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, and OpenAI’s Sam Altman.
Trump will have an easier time governing this go-around than he did eight years ago. Republicans control the House and Senate, while the Supreme Court has a 6-3 conservative majority — including three Justices he appointed in his first term.
📌 TRUMP’S FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS: BORDER & IMMIGRATION REFORM
Trump stuck to his campaign promise and made illegal immigration his first priority in office, issuing 10 executive orders related to the matter.
In his inaugural speech, Trump declared a national emergency at the southern border, an order that allows him to finish the wall and send U.S. troops to the border.
He also committed to reinstating the controversial “Remain in Mexico” policy from his first term, which requires migrants to stay in Mexico until their U.S. immigration court date. Critics argue that the law resulted in tens of thousands of migrants waiting for extended periods in Mexico, exposed to increased levels of danger.
MORE ON THE ORDERS
Other immigration-related executive orders included designating criminal cartels as terrorists, suspending refugee resettlement for at least four months, and enhancing vetting and screening at the border.
Trump also moved to end birthright citizenship — which gives children born in the U.S. the right to claim citizenship, regardless of their parents' immigration status.
There will be a legal fight against this, as the 14th Amendment states that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.”
Just after Trump took office, his administration shut down a Biden-era app allowing migrants to schedule appointments for entry at legal U.S. ports.
Stephen Miller, Trump’s White House deputy chief of staff, posted a warning on X: “All illegal aliens seeking entry into the United States should turn back now.”
THE NUMBERS
According to a New York Times poll, 87% of Americans support deporting undocumented immigrants with a criminal record.
During the Biden administration, immigration skyrocketed to its highest levels in U.S. history.
Today in Chicago, the Trump administration plans to begin a large-scale deportation operation targeting undocumented immigrants. Hundreds of ICE agents will prioritize individuals with criminal histories, but Trump’s border czar Tom Homan has said no illegal immigrant is off the table.
📌 THE RACE TO 100 EXECUTIVE ORDERS IN FIRST 24 HOURS
On his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed more than 100 executive actions, memoranda and proclamations, undoing Biden-era policies and implementing his “America First” agenda. He signed some of them before a packed crowd at the Capitol One Arena in Washington, D.C., throwing pens to cheering supporters.
JANUARY 6 PARDONS
Trump pardoned all nonviolent Jan. 6 defendants and commuted sentences of many of those convicted of the most serious charges.
Prosecutors have charged more than 1,580 people and secured roughly 1,270 convictions related to the Capitol attack. Now, more than 1,500 of them are cleared.
Former leader of the Proud Boys, Henry ‘Enrique’ Tarrio, who was serving the longest sentence among all Jan. 6 cases, was released from federal prison last night, according to his lawyer.
About 150 police officers were injured during the riot; and five police officers died as a result (four by suicide).
CLIMATE & ENERGY
Trump pledged to leverage vast U.S. oil and gas reserves to bring down prices and enrich the nation. “We will be a rich nation again, and it is going to be that liquid gold underneath our feet that will help to do it,” he said in his inaugural address. This comes as the U.S. is already the largest producer of crude oil.
On Monday, Trump signed actions that pull the U.S. out of Paris climate agreement, promote fossil fuels, and increase mineral mining.
He said that vast areas of public land and federal waters, including fragile wilderness areas in Alaska, will be on the table for oil and mineral extraction.
Trump also vowed to put an end to the Green New Deal and rescind the Electric Vehicle mandate created under the Biden administration.
AMERICAN EXPANSION
Trump laid out his vision for American dominance in space, as well as reclaiming territory he considers to be part of the U.S.
“We will pursue our manifest destiny into the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the Stars and Stripes on the planet Mars,” Trump declared, as Elon Musk raised his fists in the air.
Trump also said he’d rename the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America;" revert the Alaskan mountain range known as Denali (its original name by Alaskan native tribes) back to Mount McKinley; and reassert U.S. control over the Panama Canal. It is not clear how he will take control of the Canal without invading Panama.
GENDER & DEI
In another executive order, Trump declared that the U.S. government will only recognize two genders: male and female. An official from his administration claimed this was to protect women from “gender ideology extremism.”
According to a 2021 study by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, 1.2 million adults in the United States identify as nonbinary.
Now, gender options like “nonbinary” or “other” will be removed from federal documents, including passports.
Trump also announced the elimination of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs within the federal government.
"I will also end the government policy of trying to socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life," Trump said in his speech, adding that he vows to create a society that is color-blind and merit-based.
⏳ SPEED READ
🚨NATION
📌 Biden pardons his family on his way out of office (AP NEWS)
📌 Trump, Vance wave as Biden departs Washington (MO NEWS)
📌 Senate confirms Marco Rubio as secretary of state in first Trump Cabinet post approval (CBS)
📌 Los Angeles under dangerous red flag warnings for extreme fire risk again this week (NBC)
📌 First lawsuits against Trump admin target DOGE (POLITICO) Ramaswamy will leave DOGE (POLITICO)
📌 Polar vortex-driven Arctic blast to yield historic southern snow (AXIOS)
🌎 AROUND THE WORLD
📌 Yemen’s Houthis signal they’ll now limit their attacks in the Red Sea corridor to Israeli ships (AP)
📌 At least 80 people killed in northeast Colombia as peace talks fail, official says (NPR)
📌 Viagra-laced ‘erectile honey’ is flooding into France, officials warn (POLITICO)
📌 X, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube sign EU pledge to tackle hate speech (VERGE)
📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH
📌 Costco's unionized workers vote to authorize nationwide strike (ABC)
📌 GOP senators prep hardline approach to Trump's stance on China, TikTok: 'Shut it down' (FOX)
🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT
📌 Melania's hat, shorts in winter and other eye-catching looks at the inauguration (BBC)
📌 Carrie Underwood performs a cappella at Trump’s inauguration after tech issues with music (MO NEWS)
📌 Taylor Swift and Caitlin Clark hang At Chiefs game (BILLBOARD)
📌 Bob Dylan's draft lyrics for Mr Tambourine Man sell for $500k (BBC)
🗓 ON THIS DAY: JANUARY 21
1975: Earth, Wind & Fire released their iconic hit "Shining Star" 50 years ago today.
1976: The first Concordes with commercial passengers took flight from London’s Heathrow Airport (to Bahrain) and Orly Airport near Paris (to Rio de Janeiro via Senegal). These supersonic planes flew at over 1,350 mph, breaking the sound barrier and cutting air travel time in half.
2010: In a landmark decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Citizens United v. FEC, allowing unlimited contributions to political campaigns by corporations and labor unions, and reshaping the influence of money in politics.