Trump second term marked by turbulent moves. See photos

The administration has also promoted major enforcement gains: significant declines in illegal crossings, a dramatic reduction in interior releases, expanded deportation operations, and tightened border controls, according to a February 2026 White House summary of its immigration actions. More broadly, the administration continues implementing executive actions that restrict entry at the southern border and increase immigration enforcement nationwide, including policies tied to TrumpÕs 2025 proclamation invoking federal authority to suspend certain entries. [whitehouse.gov]

President Donald Trump has intensified his tariff‑driven economic strategy in his second term, expanding duties across global partners while positioning tariffs as a central tool to bolster U.S. industry. Despite broad tariff hikes, the U.S. trade deficit surged in late 2025, reaching a record goods shortfall even as the administration sought to curb imports and revive domestic manufacturing—a goal undercut by a decline in factory employment during the same period.

The White House has pursued dozens of trade‑related executive actions, including the “America First Trade Policy,” vowing to protect U.S. workers through aggressive tariff use. By early 2026, Trump had imposed or threatened multiple rounds of tariffs using authorities under trade statutes such as Section 232 and Section 301, though the Supreme Court has since ruled that he cannot rely on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to levy broad tariffs—forcing a shift to narrower tools like Section 122’s temporary 10% global tariff.

President Donald Trump has undertaken an unprecedented downsizing and restructuring of the federal government during his second term, marked by aggressive workforce reductions, major agency overhauls, and expanded executive authority over civil service rules.

Federal workforce cuts accelerated sharply in 2025, with estimates showing reductions ranging from 220,000 to more than 300,000 employees through voluntary departure incentives, pressure campaigns, buyouts, and targeted firingsÑresulting in the smallest federal workforce share recorded since the 1930s.

The Department of Government Efficiency(DOGE) was created at the start of President Trump’s second term to drive sweeping federal workforce reductions. DOGE spearheaded mass buyouts, layoffs, and restructuring across agencies, including the rollout of the Deferred Resignation Program and guidance encouraging the firing of probationary employees. Its initiatives contributed to a net loss of more than 150,000 federal workers early in Trump’s second term, with broader governmentwide workforce reductions continuing into 2026.

Elon Musk was appointed to lead DOGE and initially served as the public face of Trump’s government‑shrinkage agenda. However, his influence declined significantly after he stepped away from the department and entered a public feud with President Trump. Many DOGE staffers left government during this period, and DOGE became associated with controversial actions including the dismantling of USAID and alleged improper access to agency data. Musk originally claimed DOGE would identify $2 trillion in government savings, but the department’s website later estimated only $215 billion, a figure analysts say was overstated.

President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill”, signed July 4, 2025, reshaped federal tax law by extending lower individual tax rates from the 2017 TCJA, increasing standard deductions, and adding new temporary deductions for tips and overtime.

The law also phases out clean‑energy incentives and cuts programs like Medicaid and SNAP, with the Congressional Budget Office projecting a $4.1 trillion increase in deficits over 10 years due to the package.

President Trump has aligned many social policies with the goals of Project 2025, targeting reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ protections, DEI programs, and gender‑affirming care. His administration has signed executive orders eliminating transgender protections, removing DEI offices across federal agencies, and directing schools to deny funding if they allow transgender girls to compete in girls’ sports. He has also pursued efforts to defund Planned Parenthood and restrict reproductive‑health access—though not all proposed measures have succeeded.

Trump has moved aggressively to remake federal cultural institutions, ordering the removal of what he calls “anti‑American ideology” from museums, national parks, and research centers. Actions include restoring Confederate statues, removing slavery‑related exhibits and Native‑American history signage from national parks, and pressuring institutions like the Smithsonian and Kennedy Center while installing political allies onto boards. Civil‑rights groups warn these moves risk erasing critical historical truths and reversing decades of social progress

During his second term, President Donald Trump has systematically dismantled diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs across the federal government. Executive orders have eliminated DEI offices and policies, with agencies placing all DEI‑related staff on administrative leave and shutting down DEI programs entirely. His administration also removed DEI departments at major cultural institutions such as the Smithsonian and National Gallery of Art in early 2025. Trump has framed DEI initiatives as “anti‑American ideology,” directing agencies and cultural institutions to strip references to DEI, sexual orientation and gender identity from rules, grants, and regulations. These moves reflect a broader cultural agenda aimed at reversing equity‑focused policies across education, federal agencies, and the arts sector.

On January 3, 2026, President Donald Trump ordered a large‑scale U.S. military operation in Venezuela—Operation Absolute Resolve—resulting in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. U.S. forces conducted coordinated strikes across northern Venezuela to suppress air defenses before extracting the pair, who were flown to New York to face narco‑terrorism–related charges. The Trump administration framed the action as a law‑enforcement mission with military support, asserting inherent presidential authority, while Venezuela and several regional governments condemned it as a violation of sovereignty.