It has been breathtaking. The quantity and quality of activity emanating from the White House in the last few weeks of January has astounded observers of every political stripe.
It’s as if the new administration, armed with a mandate for a fresh start, spent the last years of the Biden Administration planning the things to be done in the first weeks of the second Trump term. And, there is evidence to suggest that may not be far off the mark. Glenn Reynolds, writing in the New York Post on January 28th summarized what has transpired so far:
He [Trump] banned DEI throughout the federal government, closed the borders to illegal immigrants (according to Customs and Border Protection, illegal crossings dropped 97% by Trump’s second day in office), halted government censorship efforts, refocused the Defense Department from social issues to warfighting, and started a massive cleanup at the corrupt Department of Justice.
Reynolds’ list is only partial. Trump also visited two disaster areas on either side of the country (North Carolina and California), shepherded his nominees for government positions, directed diplomatic efforts on a variety of topics, gave multiple interviews, and, talked with multiple heads of state about multiple subjects
Importantly, every working day since the Inauguration, Trump has issued multiple executive orders (“EOs”) on a myriad of topics, the most important being a series of EOs that killed affirmative action and elevated meritocracy in its place.
One of the EOs laid the groundwork for defending future litigation by stating the action was taken so as to be in compliance with the Civil Rights Act of 1964, prohibiting discrimination. Civil rights attorneys will view these EOs as among the most important civil rights action taken since the Civil Rights Act was first passed.
If the many changes Trump is making are to endure, it will be important to codify them. Given legislative procedural requirements and the slim Republican majorities in both houses of Congress, that will be no easy task.
Change has occurred so fast that critics have had a hard time keeping up. That won’t last. Inevitably, lawsuits, inertia and legislative gridlock will catch up. But the strategy of doing much in as short a time as possible, is strategic, wise and, it’s working.
The whirlwind of activity that has characterized the first weeks of the new administration has been supervised by a “whirling dervish” of energy and passion (not emotion), an apt description of President Trump’s schedule and activities since taking office. A lot has been accomplished in a very short period of time. They call it, “Trump Time”.
Between the time Trump first rode down the escalator at Trump Tower and January 20, 2025, it is obvious he has learned a lot. Gone are the daily insults and criticisms of the Press, the emotional reaction to adversity. In their place are reflection, calm and measured words. Gloria Romero, former Democratic Majority Leader in the California State Senate characterized Trump’s meeting last week with Democrat Los Angeles officials as, “conciliatory and inspirational”.
Everything has not been perfect. There are mistakes that have been made and actions taken that should not have been (pulling the security detail from former Trump officials threatened with assassination by Iran, blanket pardon of violent January 6th offenders and the Matt Goetz Attorney General nomination come immediately to mind). However, for the most part Trump’s actions have been in furtherance of his mandate and well executed in “Trump time”.
Much of the Administration’s activity and certainly many of the executive orders, are far-reaching and consequential. It’s as if the President and his planners decided that in order to change anything, everything would have to be dismantled. And, they weren’t wrong. A “fresh start” requires a fresh start.
In the aforementioned Post column, Reynolds quoted Internet pioneer Marc Andreessen: Soon after November’s election, I suggested that if Donald Trump were smart, he’d move fast, break things and precipitate change across many fronts all at once, subjecting the Democrats, the media and the left (but I repeat myself) to shock and awe.
Trump must have heard Andreessen, for that is exactly what has happened.
Trump is off to the most incredible start of any president in my lifetime and unlike his first term, he knows what he is doing and how to do it.
Promises have been made and they are being kept.
Ray Hunkins, a distinguished alumnus of the University of Wyoming and its College of Law, is retired from the practice of law and from his ranching, farming and livestock businesses. He has been active in Republican politics and was the Republican nominee for Governor of Wyoming in 2006.
Ray Hunkins can be reached at: Ray.Hunkins@RayHunkins.com
