Before he was sworn in as America’s 45th president, Donald Trump said he would take swift action on a number of issues, including health care and immigration, as soon as he entered the White House.
Trump set the tone by dancing with wife Melania to Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” at one of the inaugural balls. He also made it clear he would not be toning down his Twitter rants, as he continued to rail against the media and post unsubstantiated voter fraud claims from both his personal @realDonaldTrump and the official @POTUS accounts.
Here’s what Trump and his administration actually did in the first week of his presidency:
Friday, Jan. 20
Just hours after he was sworn in, Trump signed an executive order aimed at dismantling some of the provisions of the Affordable Care Act, known as “Obamacare.”
The legislation was a cornerstone of Barack Obama’s presidency, designed to regulate the health insurance industry and provide more Americans with affordable health-care coverage.
Trump’s order directs federal agencies to stop issuing regulations that would expand Obamacare. It also directs them to grant exemptions and delays of provisions in the law that would impose costs on states or individuals.
Saturday, Jan. 21
As hundreds of thousands of people descended on Washington, D.C., for the massive anti-Trump women’s march, the president’s attention was focused on media coverage of his inauguration.
Speaking in front of a memorial for fallen CIA agents, Trump slammed reports that the crowd at his inauguration was significantly smaller than his predecessor’s. Trump claimed that more than a million people showed up to watch him get sworn in, despite photographic and video evidence to the contrary.
At his first formal press briefing, White House press secretary Sean Spicer argued with reporters about attendance at the Friday ceremony, saying it was “the largest audience ever to witness an inauguration – period.”
Sunday, Jan. 22
After Trump accused the media of lying about the size of the inauguration crowd, his adviser Kellyanne Conway explained in an interview that the White House was offering “alternative facts” on the matter.
Conway’s remark was widely mocked on social media, with plenty of sarcastic #alternativefacts tweets.
Monday, Jan. 23
Trump signed a memorandum withdrawing the U.S. from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which took years to negotiate. Canada, Australia and Mexico are among the countries that had signed the trade agreement.
Trump also signed a memo to freeze most federal government hiring, except for the military. He reinstated a ban on providing federal money to international groups that perform abortions or provide information about abortions.
Tuesday, Jan. 24
Trump signed several orders related to infrastructure and construction, including one to approve the Keystone XL pipeline between Alberta and Texas. Two days later, TransCanada Corp. re-submitted its application for the project to the U.S. Department of State.
Meanwhile, Trump continued to assert his unproven claim that “millions” of people voted illegally in the election, costing him the popular vote. Sean Spicer doubled down on those claims during a White House press briefing, saying Trump “believes what he believes.”
Neither Trump nor Spicer provided any evidence of voter fraud.
The Trump administration also instituted a media blackout at the Environmental Protection Agency and barred staff from awarding any new contracts or grants.
Wednesday, Jan. 25
Fulfilling one of his most controversial campaign promises, Trump signed an order to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Throughout the election campaign, Trump has repeatedly said that Mexico will pay for the wall, although he has not explained how he expects that to happen.
In a nationally televised address Wednesday night, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto said his government will not be paying for the wall.
Trump’s order also calls for the hiring of 5,000 additional border patrol agents and 10,000 more immigration officers. He plans to cut federal grants to so-called “sanctuary cities” across America, which have promised not to co-operate with immigration authorities when it comes to rounding up residents for deportation.
The Associated Press reported that the same order is expected to suspend issuing U.S. visas for people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, all predominantly Muslim countries.
Also on Wednesday, Trump declared that he believes torture “absolutely” works and that his administration will review how the U.S. conducts the war on terror and Islamic State militants.
Trump reiterated many of his claims about immigration, the border wall and voter fraud in his first one-on-one television interview as president, which aired on ABC News.
Thursday, Jan. 26
Using his preferred mode of communication with the American people, Trump tweeted Thursday that it would be “better to cancel” his upcoming meeting with the Mexican president “if Mexico is unwilling to pay for the badly needed wall.”
In response, President Enrique Pena Nieto cancelled the Jan. 31 meeting. At a Republican Party retreat in Philadelphia, Trump characterized the cancellation as a mutual decision.
Spicer, his spokesperson, later told reporters that Trump will seek to impose a 20 per cent tax on Mexican imports to pay for the border wall. Such a move would need congressional approval.
The Associated Press also reported that U.S. Border Patrol Chief Mark Morgan was asked to leave his position and subsequently resigned.
With files from The Associated Press
