If you thought the first time around was chaotic, 2025 was a whole different beast. Honestly, the first 100 days of the second Donald Trump presidency felt less like a traditional honeymoon period and more like a high-speed demolition derby in D.C.
People expected sparks. They got a blowtorch.
By the time April 29, 2025, rolled around, the scorecard was staggering: 143 executive orders, a total shutdown of the CBP One app, and the birth of a weirdly named "department" run by the world's richest man. It wasn't just about the "America First" slogan anymore; it was about moving so fast that the courts and Congress couldn't keep up. You've probably heard the headlines, but the actual mechanics of how the federal government was reshaped in those first three months are kinda wild once you look at the data.
The "Shock and Awe" Immigration Blitz
On January 20, 2025, the ink wasn't even dry on the oath of office before the orders started flying. Within minutes, the CBP One app—which thousands of migrants were using to schedule asylum appointments—was nuked. Just gone. This created an immediate bottleneck in Northern Mexico, but for the Trump team, that was exactly the point.
They didn't stop there.
Trump signed a proclamation titled "Guaranteeing the States Protection Against Invasion," effectively declaring a second national emergency. This wasn't just for show. It allowed the administration to start moving National Guard troops to the southern border almost immediately.
💡 You might also like: Wisconsin Judicial Elections 2025: Why This Race Broke Every Record
The Numbers on Mass Deportation
Everyone talked about "mass deportations" during the campaign, but the reality in the first 100 days was more of a "self-deportation" squeeze combined with targeted raids.
- Arrests jumped almost immediately. On January 26 alone, there were 956 arrests, a 334% spike from the day before.
- Total removals by early February hit over 8,200.
- The "VOICE" office (Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement) was reopened by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem on Day 1.
The strategy was basically "make it so difficult and scary to stay that people leave on their own." By December 2025, the administration would claim 2.5 million people had left, but in those first 100 days, it was all about the "shock" factor.
DOGE and the War on the "Deep State"
You can't talk about the first 100 days without mentioning DOGE. No, not the cryptocurrency. The Department of Government Efficiency.
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy were basically given a digital sledgehammer. They set up teams in every federal agency, usually consisting of a team leader, an engineer, an HR specialist, and an attorney. Their goal? Slash $2 trillion.
Remote Work Ended Overnight
One of the most immediate "efficiency" moves was a memorandum requiring all federal employees to return to the office. No exceptions. No more Zoom from the couch. This was designed to trigger "voluntary" resignations from federal workers who didn't want to move back to D.C. or commute. It worked. Headcounts started dropping in the first 60 days, especially in agencies like the EPA and the Department of Education.
📖 Related: Casey Ramirez: The Small Town Benefactor Who Smuggled 400 Pounds of Cocaine
The Tariff Wall and Economic Shifts
If immigration was the social focus, tariffs were the economic engine. Trump didn't wait for trade deals. He just started hitting buttons.
He signed an executive order imposing a 10% universal baseline tariff on all U.S. imports. Then he went further. 57 specific countries were hit with rates ranging from 11% to 50%. Canada and Mexico weren't spared either, eventually seeing 25% to 35% duties as leverage to stop fentanyl trafficking.
The Penn Wharton Budget Model projects these tariffs will raise about $5.2 trillion over a decade, but the immediate effect in the first 100 days was... messy. The stock market had several "heart attack" days, and consumer confidence took a dip as people worried about the price of everything from iPhones to avocados.
Tariffs as a Weapon
- China: Hit with 145% tariffs on specific goods almost instantly.
- Canada: 25% tariffs imposed in February as a "fentanyl tax."
- Exemptions: By the end of the 100 days, Trump started offering "carve-outs" for things like coffee, cocoa, and bananas to prevent a total breakfast revolt.
Reshaping the Cabinet and the Courts
The Senate was on a war footing. With a 53-seat Republican majority, the "obstruction" Trump complained about in his first term was largely gone.
Pete Hegseth was confirmed as Secretary of Defense (with J.D. Vance breaking a 50-50 tie), and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took over Health and Human Services. The focus was "loyalists only." By April 29, Trump had 41 confirmed appointees, more than double what he had at the same point in 2017.
👉 See also: Lake Nyos Cameroon 1986: What Really Happened During the Silent Killer’s Release
The War on "DEI" and Gender Ideology
On Day 1, an executive order stripped "gender identity" from all federal policies. It defined sex as strictly biological male or female. It also banned transgender people from serving in the military (again) and required transgender women in federal prisons to be moved to male facilities.
What Most People Get Wrong
People think the first 100 days were just about Tweets and rallies. They weren't. They were about Schedule F and the administrative state.
The administration began reclassifying thousands of civil service jobs as "political," meaning they could be fired at will. This effectively ended the era of the "unfireable" career bureaucrat. It’s a massive shift in how the American government actually functions, and it happened largely behind the scenes while the media was busy arguing about the border.
The first 100 days of the second Donald Trump presidency proved that the learning curve from 2016 was gone. They knew which levers to pull this time. Whether you love the direction or hate it, the "slow and steady" approach to governance was officially buried in the backyard of the White House.
Actionable Insights for the "New Normal"
If you're trying to navigate this landscape, here's what actually matters for your wallet and your business:
- Supply Chain Audits: If you import anything, you need to assume a 10-25% "tax" is the baseline. Diversify away from the 57 "targeted" nations immediately.
- Federal Contracting Changes: If you work with the government, the "Warfighter Priority" order means performance standards are now tied to your ability to issue dividends or stock buybacks. Underperformers are being purged.
- Regulatory Watch: The "10-for-1" rule means for every new regulation, ten must die. If there's a specific federal rule strangling your business, now is the time to petition for its removal through the new agency "DOGE" portals.
- AI Integration: The "Genesis Mission" and the "Make America Healthy Again" commission are pouring federal money into AI for clinical trials and data systems. If you're in tech or healthcare, follow the federal grant money shifting toward these "minimally burdensome" AI frameworks.
Stay flexible. The speed of executive action means a policy that exists on Tuesday might be gone by Friday. In this administration, the only constant is the chaos of the next signature.