Trump to Sign Executive Orders Reshaping Military in Dark MAGA Image

Donald Trump plans to sign a new set of executive orders Monday aimed at changing the makeup of the U.S. military.

CNN reports that the president plans to sign three executive orders that would ban transgender people from serving in the military; end the military’s diversity, equity, and inclusion programs; and reinstate any service members, with backpay, who were discharged for refusing to get the Covid-19 vaccine. As of 2023, only 43 of the 8,000 service members who were discharged over refusal to get the vaccine have returned to the military.

One of Trump’s executive orders last week revoked a 2021 order from President Biden allowing transgender service members to openly serve in the military. That order in turn revoked a 2017 ban on transgender service members implemented in Trump’s first term. However, until Trump orders an outright ban, the estimated 9,000 to 14,000 transgender individuals currently serving the military are not affected.

Trump’s new executive order will go even further than his 2017 ban, according to two unnamed White House officials who spoke to CNN. It will create new military standards on gender pronouns and make a case against transgender service members based on mental and physical readiness.

“It can take a minimum of 12 months for an individual to complete treatments after transition surgery, which often involves the use of heavy narcotics. During this period, they are not physically capable of meeting military readiness requirements and require ongoing medical care. This is not conducive for deployment or other readiness requirements,” said one official, in attempts to justify the ban.

While the executive order on Covid-19 isn’t a big change, as Biden already rescinded the military’s Covid vaccine mandate in 2023, the other executive orders could hurt military recruitment numbers at a time when all three service branches are worried about future numbers. But that is of little concern to Trump and his new secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, who has made negative remarks about even women serving in the military. It seems that Trump and conservatives are more concerned with how the military looks rather than its size and strength.

After investing weeks at Mar-a-Lago to catch Donald Trump’s ear, Elon Musk has been relegated to the outskirts of Trump’s inner circle.

That separation was forced by chief of staff Susie Wiles—Trump’s so-called “ice maiden” and his 2024 campaign co-manager—who denied Musk a coveted permanent office in the White House.

Wiles is singularly focused on advancing Trump’s mission: That means reining in his chaotic Cabinet, managing staff, and limiting access to the president in order to streamline his operation.

“I don’t welcome people who want to work solo or be a star,” Wiles told Axios by email in early January. “My team and I will not tolerate backbiting, second-guessing inappropriately, or drama. These are counterproductive to the mission.”

That philosophy turned into a concrete win for Wiles hours after the forty-seventh president was inaugurated. While signing executive orders in the Oval Office, Trump told reporters that Musk would not be receiving a space in the West Wing to work on the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, despite growing attention to his influence in Trump’s administration. (DOGE is not an official department but rather a team tasked with slashing up to $2 trillion in federal spending, if Musk’s own metrics are to be believed.)

“He’s getting an office for about 20 people that we’re hiring to make sure that these [executive orders] get implemented,” Trump said last week.

Instead of a spot beside Trump, Musk and his team will be based in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. That’s still inside the White House compound, but a walk from the main complex.

It’s an essential feat for Wiles, who sought to squash rumors that the world’s richest man was morphing into a “co-president” for Trump, or the “real vice-president,” instead of JD Vance. Last week, Musk appeared to overstep after Trump announced a public-private tech initiative—Stargate—to advance the development of artificial intelligence in the U.S. Moments later, Musk wrote on X that he believed the effort was a dud from the jump, claiming that he had it on “good authority” that the finances weren’t there to back Trump’s first major achievement.

“I cannot stress teamwork and mutual support enough,” Wiles, the first woman to hold what’s commonly referred to as the world’s toughest job, told Axios. “It’s not magic: set goals and timelines for me and the team and then work to exceed them. Simple, yes, but this worked quite nicely on the campaign.”

Every single Democratic senator signed a resolution Monday condemning Trump’s mass pardon of the January 6 insurrectionists.

“The Senate disapproves of any pardons for individuals who were found guilty of assaulting Capitol Police officers,” the one-line resolution reads.

Trump pardoned Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, and multiple people who beat, tasered, and choked Capitol Police Officers that day, leading even the Fraternal Order of Police—a staunchly pro-Trump union—to condemn his decision. At least a handful of Republicans, too, were shocked by his decision.

Fetterman, who has made a habit of playing devil’s advocate for the Republican Party, was the last to sign onto the resolution, seemingly only after public confusion and pressure.

“Some people are very deserving of a second chance and get a pardon,” Fetterman told ABC News last week. “What I’m saying, though, that, that, pardons I can agree with, some that I don’t. And I think that’s really what it comes down to.” It now seems like he agrees with all of them.

This piece has been updated to note Fetterman’s late addition signing onto the resolution.

Donald Trump is apparently disappointed with how his mass deportation effort is going, and as a result, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is ramping up their daily arrest goal.

The Washington Post reports that ICE is boosting its daily arrests from a few hundred to between 1,200 and 1,500 each day. A high number of arrests by the agency means that more abuses are to be expected, and that legal immigrants and U.S. citizens are likely to get caught up in the dragnet.

The Trump administration reportedly held a phone call with senior ICE officials and told them that each of the agency’s field offices should make 75 arrests per day, with managers being held accountable for any shortfalls. This is an escalation from what “border czar” Tom Homan has told the media in recent weeks, claiming that ICE would prioritize detaining gang members and people with criminal records instead of mass detentions.

In a statement Sunday, ICE said that they had begun targeted operations in Chicago and cities across the country, claiming that 950 people were arrested across the country.

Last week, Congress passed the Laken Riley Act, which allows undocumented immigrants to be detained merely if they are suspected of committing a crime. As soon as Trump signs the bill, ICE will have expanded powers to detain undocumented immigrants and begin deportation proceedings. But the sweeps and mass arrests are already in full swing.

Meanwhile, military flights full of deportees have started going out to various countries, creating standoffs and tariff threats between Trump and foreign leaders in some cases. While Trump’s promised deportations haven’t gotten off to the start he would have liked, officials at all levels of government will be stepping up their efforts to make him and hardline conservatives happy.

Lindsey Graham is fully aware that Donald Trump’s inspectors general purge was illegal—he just doesn’t care.

The senator appeared on Meet the Press on Sunday and discussed the president’s firing of 17 crucial department watchdogs in the middle of the night, when the law states that they require a 30-day advance notice before being terminated.

“It’s a very common thing to do,” Trump told reporters in Florida. “I don’t know them … but some people thought that some were unfair or some were not doing their job. It’s a very standard thing to do.” Trump does know some of these people, as he fired multiple inspectors general who were appointed during his first term.

Graham’s media appearance just served to reaffirm the president’s lie.

“You know, I’m not overly worried about [the firings],” Graham said. “It’s not the first time people have come in and put their team in—when you win an election, you need people in your administration that reflect your views. So I’m not really worried about that.”

“But very quickly, the law says he’s supposed to give 30 days’ notice. He didn’t do that,” said host Kristen Welker. “Do you think he violated the law?”

“No, he didn’t. No, well, technically, yeah. But he has the authority to do it,” Graham said, waffling shamelessly. “So I’m not, you know, losing a whole lot of sleep that he wants to change the personnel out. I just want to make sure that he gets off to a good start. I think he has. I’m very supportive of what he wants to do with America.”

Republican leadership has made it very clear that they’ll be dutifully falling in line behind Trump, even if it means turning long-held rules into mere suggestions.

Trump reportedly doubled down on his threat to seize Greenland in a phone call with Denmark’s prime minister, sending the country’s government into a panic.

Trump spoke to Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on the phone for about 45 minutes last week. While neither leader has commented specifically on the call, officials close to the situation said it went poorly, as reported by The Financial Times. They stated that Trump was “aggressive and confrontational” on the call.

“It was horrendous,” one official said. “He was very firm,” another added. “It was a cold shower. Before, it was hard to take it seriously. But I do think it is serious, and potentially very dangerous.”

“The intent was very clear. They want it. The Danes are now in crisis mode,” another official told the publication. “The Danes are utterly freaked out by this.”

“It was a very tough conversation. He threatened specific measures against Denmark, such as targeted tariffs,” said a former Danish official.

Trump has threatened to buy Greenland since his election victory, along with vows to take back the Panama Canal and make Canada the fifty-first state. And while many took his comments in jest, the recent phone call shows that he is seriously interested in seizing Greenland, perhaps due to its unique geopolitical position, its significant U.S. air base, or its potential real estate development.

Republicans in Mississippi are considering a law to help Donald Trump with his massive deportation plans—by enlisting bounty hunters.

A new bill introduced in the Magnolia State’s legislature Wednesday would pay bounty hunters a $1,000 reward for every undocumented immigrant they help deport. House Bill 1484, proposed by Republican state Representative Justin Keen, would create the “Illegal Alien Certified Bounty Hunter Program.”

“President Trump’s administration has made it clear that deporting illegal immigrants is a priority, and we are proud to do our part here in Mississippi to help support his agenda and protect our citizens,” Keen said in a statement.

The reward money would come from the state’s general assembly and be administered by the state treasurer, according to a statement, meaning ultimately Mississippi taxpayers would foot the bill. The bill has backing from the DeSoto County District Attorney Matthew Barton, who says the whole thing was originally his idea.

Trump’s mass deportation plans, including the Laken Riley Act, which awaits his signature, will be very expensive to implement across the country. Trump wants to target every single undocumented immigrant in the U.S., estimated at 11 million people, and would need assistance from local and state law enforcement.

While Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is proposing a new slate of state laws to assist the president, it seems that Mississippi is choosing to outsource the task and create a legal nightmare as bounty hunters in the state stand to profit from targeting the marginalized.

Donald Trump’s administration issued a 90-day pause on all foreign aid, with exceptions for Israel and Egypt, according to a new State Department memo Friday.

The memo signed by new Secretary of State Marco Rubio “shall ensure that, to the maximum extent permitted by law, no new obligations shall be made for foreign assistance” until Rubio carries out a review, which will take place over the next 85 days, at which time he will make his recommendation to Trump.

According to the memo, this will ensure that America’s foreign aid obligations “are not duplicated, are effective, and are consistent with President Trump’s foreign policy.”

The memo contains a special waiver for “foreign military financing” for Egypt and Israel, “including salaries, necessary to administer foreign military financing.” Those two countries happen to guard the exits to Gaza. While Gaza is currently experiencing a reprieve from the months of endless bombings, Trump recently admitted he is “not confident” that the ceasefire agreement he helped to negotiate will hold, leaving the door open for more brutality there.

Notably, Ukraine, which has received hundreds of billions in aid from the U.S., did not receive a waiver. Earlier this week, Trump said he was interested in discussing “denuclearization” between the U.S. and Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin signaled this week that he was prepared to talk with Trump about ending the war in Ukraine. Trump has threatened sanctions if his efforts at diplomacy fail.

On Monday, Trump signed an executive order blocking all “new obligations and disbursements” of foreign aid to countries, nongovernmental organizations, international organizations, and contractors for 90 days, while the country’s commitments went under review for 90 days.

The anti-abortion movement is “entering a new era,” according to Republican leadership.

Speaking before a crowd at the March for Life in Washington, House Speaker Mike Johnson pointed to a flurry of actions by Donald Trump in the last week that have aided the right’s anti-abortion efforts. They included the pardoning of 23 anti-abortion activists who blockaded the entrance of a Washington clinic in October 2020.

And an executive order signed by Trump earlier this week also elevated fetal personhood to the national stage while simultaneously cementing language at the executive level to delegitimize transgender identities.

Meanwhile, progress against abortion rights also churned in Congress. On Thursday, House Republicans passed a “born alive” abortion bill, insisting that the effort was more akin to an anti-infanticide effort than another attempt to restrict abortions. The bill would require health care professionals to administer the “same degree of professional skill, care, and diligence” for a premature child that lives through an abortion as for a child that is carried to term. Democrats in the Senate blocked a twin bill from advancing in the upper chamber.

The effort was, of course, redundant due to a 2002 statute, the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which already prevents the “intentional killing of a child born alive”—otherwise known as murder.

Missouri Senator Josh Hawley also made a personal appeal to Trump on Thursday, asking the newly minted forty-seventh president to restore reproductive policies he had implemented during his first term. That would include requiring women to pick up their abortion medication in person, a move that could significantly impact people’s ability to acquire the abortion pill via mail in states where the procedure is currently banned.

Hawley also suggested to Trump that, with the overturning of Roe v. Wade in the rearview, states would prove to be “the most important theaters” for the fight to rid America of the procedure, according to The New York Times.

“House and Senate Republicans are committed to protecting innocent life,” Johnson told the crowd on Friday, championing his caucus’s efforts over the last five days.

Trump and JD Vance also gave remarks at the march. Speaking at the National Mall, Vance pledged to protect Christians and anti-abortion activists from federal prosecution.

“This administration stands by you, we stand with you, and most importantly we stand with the most vulnerable,” Vance said. “America is fundamentally a pro-baby, a pro-family and a pro-life country.”

Oklahoma’s state superintendent is inviting ICE to raid public schools. 

“In Oklahoma, we’re gonna work with law enforcement, we are gonna work with the Trump administration,” Ryan Walters told Oklahoma journalist Brenna Rose. “However President Trump decides to carry out the actions around his immigration policy, we’re gonna absolutely work with him on that. We’re gonna make sure that he has what he needs from us to carry those things out.”

“So you’re not completely ruling out a raid on an Oklahoma school?” Rose asked pointedly.

“No, if that’s what President Trump sees fit, as there’s [an] illegal immigrant population there that needs to have enforcement to remove them from the schools, absolutely. We will work with him to make sure that he’s able to carry that out.”  

Walters has served as Oklahoma public schools superintendent since 2020, and has been a staunch MAGA advocate in that tenure. Last year, he made the Bible required reading in public schools, saying that “without basic knowledge of it, Oklahoma students are unable to properly contextualize the foundation of our nation.” When the state opened bids for companies seeking to supply the Bible, the requirements were so narrow the Trump Bible was one of the only ones to fit the bill. (Walters is currently being sued over the entire mandate.) He has also referred to teachers as “radical leftists” who are “turning our schools into Epstein Island.” And just last month, he proposed a rule that would let the Oklahoma State Department of Education gather data on undocumented children in public schools. 

Ushering ICE agents into public schools is yet another mask-off moment for the Trump administration and all its allies.