Donald Trump

Donald Trump's second and current tenure as the president of the United States began upon his inauguration as the 47th president on January 20, 2025. Trump, a Republican, previously served as the 45th president from 2017 to 2021. He lost re-election to Democratic nominee Joe Biden in 2020, and then won against Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in 2024. Trump is the second former U.S. president to return to office. Alongside Trump's second presidency, the Republican Party also currently holds simple majorities in the House of Representatives and the Senate, thereby attaining an overall federal government trifecta. During 2025, Trump signed 225 executive orders, the most of any president in a single year since Franklin D. Roosevelt. Many of these have been or are being challenged in court. His attempts to expand presidential power and conflict with the courts have been described as a defining characteristic of his second presidency. On immigration, Trump signed the Laken Riley Act into law, attempted to restrict birthright citizenship, and ordered mass deportations of immigrants. In January 2025, Trump launched the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), with Elon Musk briefly overseeing it. DOGE was tasked with reducing federal spending and shrinking the size of the government, and it oversaw mass layoffs of civil servants, as well as closing government agencies such as the Agency for International Development. Trump also signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act into law, which permanently extended the tax cuts introduced in the first Trump administration, while increasing the deficit by around $3 trillion by 2034. Trump has also overseen a series of tariff increases and pauses, which led to retaliatory tariffs from other countries and stock market volatility. In international affairs, Trump has further pursued a more interventionist and aggressive foreign policy, including the greater use of military force. His administration increased support for Israel in the Gaza war, authorized renewed Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip from March 2025, struck Houthi targets in Yemen from March to May 2025 and aided Israel in the June 2025 Twelve-Day War, during which he carried out strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. In early October 2025, Trump's plan for a Gaza ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas was signed. Trump has authorized a series of strikes on suspected drug traffickers in the Caribbean Sea, the legality of which is widely disputed under both U.S. and international law, and subsequently ordered a military operation to capture Nicolás Maduro, the disputed president of Venezuela. In February 2026, he launched a major attack on Iran with Israel with the stated goal of regime change, including the assassination of Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran. As in his first presidency, Trump initiated the withdrawal of the U.S. from the World Health Organization, the Paris Climate Accords, and UNESCO. The Trump administration has been criticized for its targeting of political opponents and civil society. Many of his administration's actions have been found by the judiciary to be illegal and unconstitutional, and have been criticized as authoritarian and fascistic. These actions have also been seen as contributing to democratic backsliding in the country. Trump is the first president with a felony conviction, having been convicted in 2024 for falsifying business records to conceal hush money payments. At 78 years old and seven months, he is the oldest person to become U.S. president.

Presidency

Cabinet

Trump's cabinet choices were described by news media as valuing personal loyalty over relevant experience, and for having a range of conflicting ideologies and "eclectic personalities". It was also described as the wealthiest administration in modern history, with over 13 billionaires chosen to take government posts. He nominated or appointed 23 former Fox News employees to his administration. Notably, Trump's nomination of Scott Bessent as Secretary of the Treasury made Bessent the highest ranking openly LGBTQ person to serve in the United States government. In March 2026, The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump was planning to fire Kristi Noem after a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing during which she was criticised for her actions during her term of office, including her handling of the killings of Renée Good and Alex Pretti, inappropriate relations with her advisor, Corey Lewandowski, and mismanagement of funds. On March 5, Trump announced her reassignment to a new position, "Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas", and announced Oklahoma senator, Markwayne Mullin as her successor as the Secretary of Homeland Security. Noem is the first Cabinet official to be removed from her post during Trump's second presidency.

Loyalty tests Once the second Trump presidency began, White House screening teams fanned out to federal agencies to screen job applicants for their loyalty to the president's agenda. On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order asserting to restore merit-based federal hiring practices and "dedication to our Constitution". As part of its U.S. federal deferred resignation program, the Trump administration demanded "loyalty" from federal workers. In a break from politically neutral speech, the Justice Department issued memos about "insubordination", "abhorrent conduct" and vowed to pursue opponents of Trump's cost-cutting efforts "to the ends of the Earth" in what was described by current and former law enforcement officials as a campaign of intimidation against agents insufficiently loyal to Trump. Staffers were dispatched across federal agencies to look for anti-Trump sentiment among government agencies. Some new hires were told to provide examples of what they did to help Trump's 2024 presidential campaign, when their moment of "MAGA revelation" occurred, prove their "enthusiasm", be positively referenced by confirmed loyalists, and provide access to their social media handles. The Associated Press described the intense loyalty tests as a way to separate individuals following traditional Republican orthodoxy from Trump's MAGA ideology. Candidates for top national intelligence and law enforcement positions were given Trump loyalty tests. Candidates were asked to give yes or no responses to whether or not January 6 was an "inside job" and whether or not the 2020 election was "stolen". Those that did not say yes to both answers were not hired.

Advisors Trump had assistance from Elon Musk, other political operatives, and an antisemitism task force. Advisors were Christopher Rufo in education; Stephen Miller in domestic policy and immigration; and four co-authors of Project 2025: Russell Vought, Peter Navarro, Paul S. Atkins, and Brendan Carr.