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President Trump has signed a flurry of executive orders that have upended the federal government, implementing the most sweeping cuts in the federal workforce in decades.
He made it clear before he was sworn in for a second time that he wanted to move rapidly in his first 100 days in the White House.
His supporters — and his opponents — agree there is no doubt he’s done that.
Within weeks of taking office, he has signed more than 60 executive orders.
The executive orders, many of which are now being challenged in federal court, have already led to major changes in numerous federal agencies.
DOGE purge
The president’s creation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is led by billionaire Elon Musk, has become a focal point for members of Congress.
Congressional Republicans support DOGE and have defended Musk’s efforts to quickly take control of the levers of spending in various government agencies.
They argue that Americans are fed up with government waste and that it needs to be rooted out without delay.
Democrats in Congress have been railing against the DOGE cuts in rallies outside of federal agencies, where employees have been locked out.
A large rally was held recently in Senate Park near the U.S. Capitol, where Democratic lawmakers sharply criticized the administration, accusing the president of trying to politicize and punish the civil service.
“We’re not going to let them unwind the progress that you and others have fought to accomplish,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
Musk has said he has been transparent in his work. But Democrats counter that he hasn’t released information about what his team is actually doing within agencies and that it hasn’t provided specific rationales for how funding is cut off.
What’s ahead for federal workers
Many federal workers have already lost their jobs or feel like their positions are in legal limbo.
A federal judge in Massachusetts ruled on Feb. 12 that the Trump administration’s offer to federal employees to submit a deferred resignation could proceed.
The White House has indicated close to 75,000 federal employees accepted the offer, which pledges to pay them — without working — through Sept. 30.
After the ruling, the Office of Personnel Management said the program had been closed to new applicants.
Democratic lawmakers and federal unions, such as the American Federation of Government Employees, had urged people not to accept the offer due to numerous unanswered questions about it.
But many federal workers, worried they would be fired or let go anyway, decided to take the offer.
OPM has advised agencies to fire those known as “probationary employees” with less than a year on the job.
Senate swiftly approves Trump nominees
As federal agencies and workers grapple with the latest reductions, the U.S. Senate has been rapidly approving President Trump’s cabinet nominees.
The Senate approved former congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services one day after another on Feb. 12 and 13.
They had been two of the president’s most controversial nominees.
Earlier, the Senate confirmed Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense, just weeks after his nomination appeared to be in trouble.
When it is all said and done, not one of the president’s nominees will have failed a confirmation vote.
Former Florida congressman Matt Gaetz, who withdrew his nomination for attorney general after various allegations of personal misconduct resurfaced in a House Ethics Committee investigation, is the only one of the president’s picks who didn’t make it across the finish line.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune has pointed out that the confirmation process has been moving along at a historically face pace.
That is what President Trump hoped, as he speeds ahead in the midst of his first 100 days in office.
