Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the US yesterday, and he didn’t take long after removing the “-elect” from his title to unleash a number of actions intended to reshape the country’s economy while under his watch.

Hours removed from taking the oath of office, Trump issued dozens of executive orders on areas ranging from immigration to trade to maps, some of which could face legal challenges. Here’s a rundown.

Immigration: Acting on a campaign promise to end illegal immigration and conduct mass deportations, Trump declared a national emergency at the US–Mexico border as part of 10 executive orders related to immigration he signed yesterday. Trump also said he planned to end birthright citizenship, restore his “Remain in Mexico” policy, and designate drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. The actions come as migrant crossings along the border are near a 4-year-low.

Energy/climate: Trump will once again remove the US from the Paris climate agreement as part of a series of actions promoting fossil fuel use and reducing government support of renewable energy. In his first term, Trump withdrew the US from the agreement, which was signed by nearly 200 countries in 2015 to keep warming of the planet under control, before former President Biden reinstated it in 2021. The United States is the only country to have removed itself from the Paris accords.

Trade: Trump declined to issue new tariffs through an executive order on Day 1, instead instructing federal agencies to conduct a broad examination of the US’ trade practices with other countries, with a focus on China, Canada, and Mexico. Markets are on edge over Trump’s plans to impose steep tariffs on the US’ trading partners, fearing they could spark a trade war that reignites inflation. While tariffs didn’t happen on Day 1, they could be coming soon: Trump did say he would enact 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico starting on Feb. 1.

DOGE: Trump signed an executive order establishing the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, as a task force that aims to identify areas of government waste. But the group is already facing leadership turnover: Vivek Ramaswamy, who was tapped to co-lead DOGE with Elon Musk, will leave that role to presumably run for governor of Ohio. DOGE was also hit with three lawsuits challenging its constitutionality almost instantly after Trump became president.

DEI: Trump will end diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives across the federal government, which would eliminate things like environmental justice programs and equity-related grants across agencies.

Renaming landforms: Trump said that he’d change the name of America’s tallest mountain, Denali in Alaska, back to Mount McKinley. Former President Obama had changed the name from Mckinley to Denali in 2015 to reflect what Native Alaskans had long called it. Trump also pledged to rename the Gulf of Mexico as Gulf of America, which would lead to edits of US federal maps but puts no burden on other countries to change how they refer to the body of water.—NF

Biden preemptively pardons family members, Fauci, and other public officials. Hours before leaving the White House, former President Biden issued preemptive pardons for five family members and public servants President Trump has threatened with prosecution, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, retired Gen. Mark Milley, and personnel who worked on the House Jan. 6 Committee. Biden said the actions “should not be mistaken as an acknowledgment that any individual engaged in any wrongdoing.” One of those pardoned, Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D–MS) said, “We have been pardoned today not for breaking the law but for upholding it.”

Ohio State won the national championship. The Buckeyes held off Notre Dame 34–23 for their seventh college football title and their first in 10 years. Come next season, the sport will embark on a new era. The Wild West NIL period of deep-pocketed donors paying players at blue blood programs will be replaced by a more-regulated system. As part of an antitrust lawsuit settlement, schools can share at least $20.5 million with athletes under a pseudo-salary cap—athletes would still be able to land endorsement deals with third parties that would not count against this cap, but the new system could result in lost spots for walk-ons and players on partial scholarships.

Wild weather stalks the United States. In Southern California, where progress had been made corralling the devastating wildfires, the National Weather Service warned of dangerous fire conditions through this morning due to a renewed gust of Santa Ana winds and low humidity. Other parts of the country have the opposite problem: An arctic blast is freezing the Central and Eastern US with temperatures in the teens and below, while lake effect snow could dump 1 to 2 feet on parts of western New York state.

Houston, we have a problem…with a lack of snowplows. The city that experiences snowfall about once every four years and last saw it in 2021—an inch, to be exact—is expecting as much as six inches today, which would be the most in the area in 65 years. The problem for a city that almost never gets snow is that it doesn’t have any snowplows, which Houston tries to make up for by spraying a brine mixture on its roads to prevent snow and ice from sticking to the pavement. It’s unclear whether that’ll be sufficient ahead of this icy stretch.

Houston isn’t the only city bracing for a rare heavy snowfall, because a winter storm is forecast to hit eight states in the South between yesterday and tomorrow. It could be historic: New Orleans, a city that hasn’t had measurable snowfall since 2009, and has never had more than 2.7 inches, is expecting 3–6 inches today. Florida issued its first winter storm watch in 11 years with record snowfall predicted in the state’s panhandle.—DL