Trump, at the pinnacle of his authority, swiftly assumes control of Washington

After only five days in office, Donald Trump has already used his brutal speed and efficiency to impose his will on Washington, demonstrating that even his most extreme campaign pledges were more than just empty rhetoric.

By simultaneously reassigning or terminating hundreds of civil officials across a wide range of departments, the Republican president has taken the first steps toward implementing his promise to reform a federal bureaucracy that he feels was antagonistic to him throughout his 2017–2021 reign.

With 26 executive orders issued within hours of taking office, he has challenged decades of constitutional law, hurried the military to the southern border, and dismissed the head of the U.S. Coast Guard. His orders cover everything from environmental regulations to the rules governing American citizenship.

Perhaps the boldest of all, he pardoned over 1,500 followers who participated in the attack on the U.S. Capitol, the world’s most iconic representation of American democracy, on January 6, 2021.

Trump’s supporters have likened his first, shock-and-awe strategy to a special force raid, which has taken government employees, unions, advocacy organizations, and even the media by surprise.

They give credit to the painstaking, years-long efforts of Trump’s conservative friends, who have devoted a significant portion of his post-election period to creating comprehensive policy blueprints that would enable him to get started right away.

“This is the beachhead team taking over the federal government,” Steve Bannon, who was close to several of Trump’s key policy advisors and was the White House chief strategist during his first term, told Reuters.

Trump’s opponents claim that he is stretching the executive branch’s authority beyond what the Constitution intended and misinterpreting the document.

Additionally, they claim that Trump’s initial actions demonstrate his desire to drastically alter the nation and, frequently, take revenge rather than bring it together.

Several former intelligence officers who claimed that negative media reports about former President Joe Biden’s son Hunter were the result of a Russian influence campaign had their security credentials revoked by Trump as one of his first actions.

Despite Iran’s genuine threats, Trump also revoked the security details of three former national security officials. The image of General Mark Milley, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and one of his most vehement detractors, was taken down from a Pentagon corridor by his assistants.

He removed professional staffers from the White House National Security Council who Trump’s team believed lacked enough loyalty to the president. He may now hire loyalists for more than 100 national security positions thanks to this decision.

William Galston, a senior scholar at the Brookings Institution with more than 40 years of experience in and out of government, stated, “He is obviously not a man who throws his grudges away easily.”

A request for comment on this article was not answered by the White House.

YEARS OF DEVELOPMENT

The past five days, according to Trump’s opponents, are a dramatic contrast to his first term, when a number of his most ambitious policy plans were thwarted by infighting and inadequate planning.

“In terms of just the scope of all this and the speed, his team has shown the results of extraordinary preparation,” said former Nixon presidential library director and presidential historian Timothy Naftali.

A number of Trump’s plans align with those promoted by “Project 2025,” a coalition of conservative groups that has been formulating policies for over two years in preparation for Trump’s potential comeback.

Despite the fact that numerous former advisers were heavily involved, Trump disassociated himself from the initiative last year, claiming he had no knowledge of it. Its impact on his new White House organization, however, is too evident.

At the National Security Council, Project 2025 promoted the removal of professional personnel.

Trump has already embraced another project-pushed idea that would make it easier to dismiss hundreds of thousands of government workers by establishing a new class of federal employees known as “Schedule F.”

Another Project 2025 concept that Trump has floated is a reorganization of the Federal Emergency Management Agency that would transfer much of FEMA’s responsibilities to the states.

“There’s been hardcore policy and political people that have believed in Trump … and started working immediately in 2021 for Trump’s return to the White House,” Bannon stated. “And that’s what you’re seeing come to fruition.”

POWER HEIGHT?

There are obstacles in the way of Trump’s objectives. Some supporters admit that Trump’s power may have peaked in the first few weeks of his presidency.

Trump’s executive directives frequently push the boundaries of constitutional law. A federal judge has previously blocked an order to abolish birthright citizenship, which is a constitutional notion that states that nearly everyone born in the United States is immediately a citizen.

The initial shock and awe of his first week might become entangled in litigation that lasts for a large portion of his tenure, since states and advocacy groups have already filed challenges against a number of other pledges and orders.

In two years, Trump could find it difficult to hold onto the Republicans’ slim political majority in the House of Representatives. In midterm elections, the incumbent president’s party frequently loses seats. Should that occur, Trump’s already limited legislative options will completely close.

“Trump has a decisive mandate from the American voters to bring dramatic reforms to Washington,” stated Mike Davis, a close adviser to Trump on the legal system.

“That political mandate will fade if he doesn’t deliver – and deliver fast.”