WASHINGTON (AP) — As President Donald Trump approaches the first-month mark in his second term, he has moved with dizzying speed and blunt force to reorder American social and political norms and the economy while redefining the U.S. role in the world.
At the same time, he has empowered Elon Musk to help engineer the firing of thousands of federal employees and potentially shutter entire agencies created by Congress. It’s an effort to root out wasteful spending and fraud.
Those actions have largely overshadowed Trump’s crackdowns on immigration and the U.S.-Mexico border, and his efforts to remake social policy getting rid of diversity, equity and inclusion programs and rolling back transgender rights.
The president has also imposed scores of new tariffs against U.S. trade partners and threatened more.
Here’s a look at the first four weeks:
Mass federal firings begin
The Trump administration fired thousands of workers who were still in probationary periods common among new hires.
At the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, employees say the administration not only wants to cut nearly the entire workforce but also erase all its data from the past 12 years. The administration agreed to pause any further dismantling of the agency until March 3, under a judge’s order.
It is worth noting that on the campaign trail Donald Trump promised to turn Washington upside down.
Legal challenges mount
Court challenges to Trump’s policies started on Inauguration Day and have continued at a furious pace since Jan. 20. The administration is facing some 70 lawsuits nationwide challenging his executive orders and moves to downsize the federal government.
The Republican-controlled Congress is in lock-step with Trump’s MAGA agenda, so the court system is ground zero for pushback. Judges have issued more than a dozen orders at least temporarily blocking aspects of Trump’s agenda, ranging from an executive order to end U.S. citizenship extended automatically to people born in this country to giving Musk’s team access to sensitive federal data.
The administration has notched a few wins, too, most significantly when a judge allowed it to move forward with a deferred resignation program spearheaded by Musk.
The economic outlook worsens
Amid the policy upheaval, the latest economic data could prompt some White House worries.
Inflation rose at a monthly rate of 0.5% in January, according to the Labor Department. Over the past three months, the consumer price index has increased at an annual rate of 4.5% — a sign that inflation is heating up again after having cooled for much of 2024.
Trump told voters he could lower inflation and do so almost immediately after taking office. But Leavitt, while blaming Trump’s predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden, acknowledged the latest inflation indicators were “worse than expected.”
More trouble signs came when the Commerce Department reported that retail sales slumped 0.9% on a monthly basis in January. A drop that large could signal a weakening in consumer confidence and economic growth.
These could all be blips, which means the monthly data in February will really matter.
In addition, the Trump team is bullish on the energy section as an economic driver in the days ahead.
‘fair trade’
After previously imposing tariffs on China and readying import taxes on Canada and Mexico, Trump rolled out what he called the “big one.” He said his administration would put together new tariffs in the coming weeks and months to match what other countries charge.
On top of that, Trump plans separate additional tariffs on autos, computer chips and pharmaceuticals, in addition to the 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum that he announced on Monday.
It is not clear whether these trade penalties are mainly negotiating tools or ways for Trump to raise revenues. So far, he has suggested that they are both.
Congress watches closely
Congress finds itself confounded by the onslaught and force of the Trump presidency.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said he finds the work of Musk’s team “very exciting.” Johnson said Trump is “taking legitimate executive action.”
But even among congressional Republicans there were small signs of protest emerging — letters being written and phone calls being made — to protect their home-state interests and constituents as funding for programs, services and government contracts is being dismantled.
Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., urged the Homeland Security Department not to issue blanket deportations for Venezuelan migrants who fled their country and now call the Miami-area home. “I’m not powerless. I’m a member of Congress,” he said.
Democratic lawmakers have joined protesters outside shuttered federal offices, arguing Trump and Musk had gone too far.
Trump wants a new world order
With his phone call to Russian President Vladimir Putin this past week, Trump is hoping he initiated the beginning of the end of the Kremlin’s war on Ukraine.
The leaders agreed to have their teams “start negotiations immediately.” After getting off the phone with Putin, Trump called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss getting both sides to the negotiating table.
The Putin call is a monumental development in a war that has left hundreds of thousands dead or seriously wounded.
But the way ahead remains complicated.
Zelenskyy said he will not meet with Putin until a plan for peace is hammered out by Trump. Trump has gotten blowback when European leaders sharply criticized him and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for suggesting that NATO membership was not in the cards for Ukraine.
The White House faces a further quandary with Zelenskyy wanting the U.S. and other countries to provide security guarantees for Ukraine, and Zelenskyy insisting that he and Trump iron out an agreement on the contours of any peace deal.