change management

Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism
1/29/25 | Executive Order | Category/Industry: Community Relations | Agencies: Department of Education, State Department, Departent of Homeland Security

Directs the heads of executive departments or agencies to submit a report identifying "civil and criminal authorities" that may be used to curb or combat antisemitism and to include an inventory and analysis of pending administrative complaints and court cases involving institutions of higher education. It also seeks to familiarize institutions of higher education with the law regarding inadmissibility for national security reasons, so that the institutions can monitor and report activities by alien students and staff to investigate and potentially remove them.

Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling
1/29/25 | Executive Order | Category/Industry: DEI, Education | Agencies: Department of Education

Calls for an "Ending Indoctrination Strategy" to eliminate federal funding for "illegal and discriminatory treatment and indoctrination in K-12 schools" including gender and equity ideologies. The strategy will also aim to protect parental rights and coordinate enforcement against K-12 teachers and school officials who violate federal anti-discrimination laws. The order also re-establishes the "1776 Commission" for patriotic education from Trump's first term.

Dorsey Insights:

• Weekend Law: Funding Confusion, Climate & Culture Wars (Bloomberg Law Podcast)

Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness
1/27/25 | Executive Order | Category/Industry: DEI | Agencies: Department of Defense

Prohibits identification-based pronoun usage and the Armed Forces from permitting males from using female sleeping, bathing, and changing facilities, and females from using respective male facilities. It also revokes Executive Order 14004, which enabled qualified Americans to serve in uniform.

Dorsey Insights:

• Bloomberg Law: Freeze Rescinded & 'Two Sexes' Order (Bloomberg Law Podcast)

Restoring America's Fighting Force
1/27/25 | Executive Order | Category/Industry: DEI | Agencies: Department of Defense

Terminates DEI offices within the Defense and Homeland Security departments and cancels engagement in other DEI-related initiatives.

Dorsey Insights:

• Trump doesn't only want to end DEI. He's also voiding a Civil Rights-era anti-discrimination rule (CBS News)
  
• Trump Order Tees Up False Claims Act As Anti-DEI Weapon (Law360)
  
• Bloomberg Law: Trump Takes Aim at DEI Programs (Bloomberg Law Podcast)
  
• Department of Labor halts discrimination investigations and enforcement of federal contractors (HR Brew)

Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity
1/21/25 | Executive Order | Category/Industry: DEI | Agencies: Department of Labor

Asserts that "'diversity, equity, and inclusion' (DEI) or 'diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility' (DEIA) ... violate the civil-rights laws of this Nation." To that end, it orders all executive departments and agencies to terminate all "DEI preferences, mandates, policies, programs, and activities." It revokes: "(i) Executive Order 12898 of February 11, 1994 (Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations); (ii) Executive Order 13583 of August 18, 2011 (Establishing a Coordinated Government-wide Initiative to Promote Diversity and Inclusion in the Federal Workforce); (iii) Executive Order 13672 of July 21, 2014 (Further Amendments to Executive Order 11478, Equal Employment Opportunity in the Federal Government, and Executive Order 11246, Equal Employment Opportunity); and (iv) The Presidential Memorandum of October 5, 2016 (Promoting Diversity and Inclusion in the National Security Workforce)" as well as Executive Order 11246 of September 24, 1965 (Equal Employment Opportunity).  It also orders the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to immediately cease promoting diversity or "holding Federal contractors and subcontractors responsible for taking affirmative action" and requires agencies to certify that recipients do not run DEI programs. 

Dorsey Insights:

• Trump doesn't only want to end DEI. He's also voiding a Civil Rights-era anti-discrimination rule (CBS News)
  
• Trump Order Tees Up False Claims Act As Anti-DEI Weapon (Law360)
  
• Bloomberg Law: Trump Takes Aim at DEI Programs (Bloomberg Law Podcast)
  
• Department of Labor halts discrimination investigations and enforcement of federal contractors (HR Brew)
  
• Trump's DEI Order Creates Murky Fraud Risks for Contractors (Bloomberg Law)

Keeping Americans Safe in Aviation
1/21/25 | Memorandum | Category/Industry: DEI | Agencies: Federal Aviation Administration

Orders the Secretary of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administrator to apply merit-based hiring and rescind all DEI initiatives.

Dorsey Insights:

• Trump doesn't only want to end DEI. He's also voiding a Civil Rights-era anti-discrimination rule (CBS News)
  
• Trump Order Tees Up False Claims Act As Anti-DEI Weapon (Law360)
  
• Bloomberg Law: Trump Takes Aim at DEI Programs (Bloomberg Law Podcast) 
  
• Department of Labor halts discrimination investigations and enforcement of federal contractors (HR Brew)
  
• Trump's DEI Order Creates Murky Fraud Risks for Contractors (Bloomberg Law)

Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government
1/20/25 | Executive Order | Category/Industry: DEI | Agencies: Department of Justice

Asserts the policy of the U.S. to recognize two sexes: male and female. It specifies that "these sexes are not changeable" and refutes gender identity as "a meaningful basis for identification." Orders that "government-issued identification documents, including passports, visas, and Global Entry cards, accurately reflect the holder’s sex." Orders agencies to remove and cease all related statements about gender ideology, stop forms from requesting gender identity, and cancel Federal funding of gender ideology. Asserts that the Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton County (2020) does not apply to Title IX. Orders that males are not detained in women’s prisons or housed in women’s detention centers and that single-sex shelters are available.

Dorsey Insights:

• Bloomberg Law: Freeze Rescinded & 'Two Sexes' Order (Bloomberg Law Podcast)

Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing
1/20/25 | Executive Order | Category/Industry: DEI | Agencies: Office of Management and Budget, Office of Personnel Management, Department of Justice

Deems DEI programs to be illegal, unlawful, and discriminatory, and it orders a termination of all DEI programs, policies, initiatives, positions, and "environmental justice" offices and positions.

Dorsey Insights:

• Trump doesn't only want to end DEI. He's also voiding a Civil Rights-era anti-discrimination rule (CBS News)
  
• Trump Order Tees Up False Claims Act As Anti-DEI Weapon (Law360)
  
• Bloomberg Law: Trump Takes Aim at DEI Programs (Bloomberg Law Podcast)
  
• Department of Labor halts discrimination investigations and enforcement of federal contractors (HR Brew)
  
• Trump's DEI Order Creates Murky Fraud Risks for Contractors (Bloomberg Law)

Reforming the Federal Hiring Process and Restoring Merit to Government Service
1/20/25 | Executive Order | Category/Industry: DEI | Agencies: N/A

Directs various officials to "develop and send to agency heads a Federal Hiring Plan that brings to the Federal workforce only highly skilled Americans dedicated to the furtherance of American ideals, values, and interests." Requires that the plan "prevent the hiring of individuals based on their race, sex, or religion, and prevent the hiring of individuals who are unwilling to defend the Constitution or to faithfully serve the Executive Branch."

Dorsey Insights:

• Trump’s First Week Back in Office Marked by Racist Actions, Rollback of Worker Protections (Black Press USA)
  
• How Trump Policy Shifts Will Affect Employers’ Relationship With Their Employees (Dorsey Webinar)

America First Trade Policy
1/20/25 | Memorandum | Category/Industry: Economy | Agencies: Department of Commerce, Treasury Department, U.S. Trade Representative

Calls for investigation into U.S. trade deficits and the development of an External Revenue Service to collect tariffs and related revenues. It also orders "a full economic and security review of the United States’ industrial and manufacturing base" to assess whether to investigate "imports that threaten the national security."

Dorsey Insights:

• Webinar Playback: Trump 2.0: Expected Impacts on U.S. Trade Policy (Dorsey Webinar)
• Trump Declares National Emergency to Impose Tariffs on Chinese Origin Products, Defers Tariffs on Canadian and Mexican Products (Dorsey eUpdate)
• Trump Cites National Emergency to Launch Trade War Against Canada, China, and Mexico (Dorsey Cross-Border Counselor Blog)

Delivering Emergency Price Relief for American Families and Defeating the Cost-of Living Crisis
1/20/25 | Memorandum | Category/Industry: Economy | Agencies: N/A

Demands emergency price relief, including: lowering the cost of housing and expanding housing supply; eliminating unnecessary administrative expenses and healthcare costs; eliminating requirements that raise home appliance costs; creating employment opportunities; and eliminating certain climate policies.  

Dorsey Insights:

• Weekend Law: Funding Confusion, Climate & Culture Wars (Bloomberg Law Podcast)

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Global Tax Deal
1/20/25 | Memorandum | Category/Industry: Economy | Agencies: U.S. Trade Representative

"The OECD Global Tax Deal supported under the prior administration not only allows extraterritorial jurisdiction over American income but also limits our Nation’s ability to enact tax policies that serve the interests of American businesses and workers."  Declares that the OECD "Global Tax Deal" will have no effect unless approved by Congress. Calls for options for protective measures or other actions the U.S. should take in response to foreign non-compliance with tax treaties or tax rules. 

Expanding Educational Freedom and Opportunity for Families
1/29/25 | Executive Order | Category/Industry: Education | Agencies: Department of Education

Supports school choice and directs the Secretary of Education to have "education freedom" within discretionary grant programs. It aims to expand opportunities for low-income, working, or military families as well as Children Eligible for Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) Schools.

Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling
1/29/25 | Executive Order | Category/Industry: Education, DEI | Agencies: Department of Education

Calls for an "Ending Indoctrination Strategy" to eliminate federal funding for "illegal and discriminatory treatment and indoctrination in K-12 schools" including gender and equity ideologies. The strategy will also aim to protect parental rights and coordinate enforcement against K-12 teachers and school officials who violate federal anti-discrimination laws. The order also re-establishes the "1776 Commission" for patriotic education from Trump's first term.

Dorsey Insights:

• Weekend Law: Funding Confusion, Climate & Culture Wars (Bloomberg Law Podcast)

Declaring a National Energy Emergency
1/20/25 | Executive Order | Category/Industry: Energy | Agencies: Environmental Protection Agency

Declares a national energy emergency and calls for analysis of energy resources. It also orders the EPA to "consider issuing emergency fuel waivers to allow the year-round sale of E15 gasoline to meet any projected temporary shortfalls in the supply of gasoline across the Nation." Also directs agencies to use the Army Corps "to facilitate the Nation's energy supply."

Dorsey Insights:

• Energy Law: Month in Review - January 2025 (Dorsey eUpdate)

Putting America First in International Environmental Agreements
1/20/25 | Executive Order | Category/Industry: Energy | Agencies: N/A

"The United States Ambassador to the United Nations shall immediately submit formal written notification of the United States’ withdrawal from the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change." 

Temporary Withdrawal of All Areas on the Outer Continental Shelf from Offshore Wind Leasing and Review of the Federal Government's Leasing and Permitting Practices for Wind Projects
1/20/25 | Executive Order | Category/Industry: Energy | Agencies: N/A

"This withdrawal temporarily prevents consideration of any area in the [Outer Continental Shelf] for any new or renewed wind energy leasing for the purposes of generation of electricity or any other such use derived from the use of wind.  This withdrawal does not apply to leasing related to any other purposes such as, but not limited to, oil, gas, minerals, and environmental conservation."

Dorsey Insights:

• Energy Law: Month in Review - January 2025 (Dorsey eUpdate)

Unleashing Alaska's Extraordinary Resource Potential
1/20/25 | Executive Order | Category/Industry: Energy | Agencies: N/A

"The State of Alaska holds an abundant and largely untapped supply of natural resources including, among others, energy, mineral, timber, and seafood." Order takes several actions to encourage exploitation of natural resources in Alaska, particularly liquified natural gas (LNG), including by instructing executive departments and agencies to rescind, revise, or grant exemptions from regulations.

Dorsey Insights:

• Energy Law: Month in Review - January 2025 (Dorsey eUpdate)
• ANC Shareholder Preferences Should Continue Despite Executive Order Revoking Affirmative Action and DEI Initiatives in Federal Contracting (Dorsey eUpdate)

Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation
1/28/25 | Executive Order | Category/Industry: Healthcare | Agencies: Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Justice

Defines gender affirming care as “chemical and surgical mutilation,” including puberty blockers, sex hormones, or surgical procedures. It directs agencies funding medical institutions to ensure institutions “end the chemical and surgical mutilation of children” and orders agencies responsible for Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, and federal and postal service health benefits programs to exclude coverage for pediatric transgender surgeries or hormone treatments. It also calls for protections against female genital mutilation; to investigate misinformation about long-term side effects of these treatments; to develop legislation for “children and the parents of children whose healthy body parts have been damaged by medical professionals practicing chemical and surgical mutilation”; and to block sanctuary states for this purpose.

Dorsey Insights:

• Bloomberg Law: Freeze Rescinded & 'Two Sexes' Order (Bloomberg Law Podcast)

Enforcing the Hyde Amendment 

1/24/25 | Executive Order | Category/Industry: Healthcare | Agencies: Office of Management and Budget

Enforces the Hyde Amendment to "end the forced use of Federal taxpayer dollars to fund or promote elective abortion." Revokes Executive Order 14076 and Executive Order 14079 that protected access to reproductive healthcare. 

Dorsey Insights:

• Federal Grant and Loan “Temporary Pause” to Have a Significant Impact on the Health Care Industry (Dorsey Health Law Blog)

Memorandum for the Secretary of State the Secretary of Defense the Secretary of Health and Human Services the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development

1/24/25 | Memorandum | Category/Industry: Healthcare | Agencies: Department of Health and Human Services

Directs that U.S. taxpayer dollars will not fund organizations or programs that support coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization. It also revokes the Presidential Memorandum of January 28, 2021, and reinstates the Presidential Memorandum of January 23, 2017, ordering the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Secretary of Health and Human Services to "implement a plan to extend the requirements of the reinstated Memorandum to global health assistance furnished by all departments or agencies."

Dorsey Insights:

• Federal Grant and Loan “Temporary Pause” to Have a Significant Impact on the Health Care Industry (Dorsey Health Law Blog)
• Has Uncle Sam Terminated Your Federal Grant? You Have Rights (and Maybe a Financial Claim) (Dorsey eUpdate)

Withdrawing the United States from the World Health Organization
1/20/25 | Executive Order | Category/Industry: Healthcare | Agencies: Office of Management and Budget

Withdraws the U.S. from the World Health Organization (WHO), including cutting funding and withdrawing U.S. personnel. Directs the Secretary of State and the Office of Management and Budget to "identify credible and transparent United States and international partners to assume necessary activities previously undertaken by the WHO." 

Expanding Migrant Operations Center at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay to Full Capacity
1/29/25 | Memorandum | Category/Industry: Immigration | Agencies: Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security

Directs the Secretaries of Defense and Homeland Security to expand the migrant detention facility at Guantanamo Bay to full capacity to imprison people unlawfully present in the U.S. 

Clarifying the Military's Role in Protecting the Territorial Integrity of the United States 
1/20/25 | Executive Order | Category/Industry: Immigration | Agencies: Department of Defense

Requires a plan to "seal the borders" and repel "unlawful mass migration, narcotics trafficking, human smuggling and trafficking, and other criminal activities."

Dorsey Insights:

• Trump Cites National Emergency to Launch Trade War Against Canada, China, and Mexico (Dorsey Cross-Border Counselor Blog)
• Trump Declares National Emergency to Impose Tariffs on Chinese Origin Products, Defers Tariffs on Canadian and Mexican Products (Dorsey eUpdate)

Declaring a National Emergency at the Southern Border of the United States 
1/20/25 | Declaration| Category/Industry: Immigration | Agencies: Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security

Declares that "a national emergency exists at the southern border of the United States." To secure the border, it calls for the deployment of Armed Forces and "the provision of appropriate detention space, transportation (including aircraft), and other logistics services," along with the construction of physical barriers.

Dorsey Insights:

• Trump Cites National Emergency to Launch Trade War Against Canada, China, and Mexico (Dorsey Cross-Border Counselor Blog)
• Trump Declares National Emergency to Impose Tariffs on Chinese Origin Products, Defers Tariffs on Canadian and Mexican Products (Dorsey eUpdate)

Guaranteeing The States Protection Against Invasion 
1/20/25 | Proclamation | Category/Industry: Immigration | Agencies: Department of Homeland Security

Asserts that "the current situation at the southern border qualifies as an invasion under Article IV, Section 4 of the Constitution of the United States." Invokes Article II of the Constitution of the United States to suspend entry as well as repel, repatriate, or remove aliens from the United States until the invasion has concluded. 

Dorsey Insights:

• Trump Cites National Emergency to Launch Trade War Against Canada, China, and Mexico (Dorsey Cross-Border Counselor Blog)
• Trump Declares National Emergency to Impose Tariffs on Chinese Origin Products, Defers Tariffs on Canadian and Mexican Products (Dorsey eUpdate)

Protecting the American People Against Invasion
1/20/25 | Executive Order | Category/Industry: Immigration | Agencies: Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security

States that "[i]t is the policy of the United States to faithfully execute the immigration laws against all inadmissible and removable aliens, particularly those aliens who threaten the safety or security of the American people.  Further, it is the policy of the United States to achieve the total and efficient enforcement of those laws, including through lawful incentives and detention capabilities." Among other things, it states that certain authorities "shall take all appropriate action to prioritize the prosecution of criminal offenses related to the unauthorized entry or continued unauthorized presence of aliens in the United States."

Dorsey Insights:

• Trump’s First Week Back in Office Marked by Racist Actions, Rollback of Worker Protections (Black Press USA)
• Trump doesn't only want to end DEI. He's also voiding a Civil Rights-era anti-discrimination rule (CBS News)

Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship
1/20/25 | Executive Order | Category/Industry: Immigration | Agencies: Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security

States that the U.S. shall not issue documents recognizing citizenship to persons "(1) when that person’s mother was unlawfully present in the United States and the person’s father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth, or (2) when that person’s mother’s presence in the United States was lawful but temporary, and the person’s father was not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth." It purports to apply to persons born after February 19, 2025. As of February 2025, the order has been blocked by Federal courts. 

Protecting the United States From Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats
1/20/25 | Executive Order | Category/Industry: Immigration | Agencies: State Department

Orders the Secretary of State to implement vetting and screening of all foreign nationals seeking entry to, or already present, in the U.S. to ensure they do not harbor hostile attitudes toward U.S. "citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles, and do not advocate for, aid, or support designated foreign terrorists and other threats to our national security." 

Realigning the United States Refugee Admissions Program
1/20/25 | Executive Order | Category/Industry: Immigration | Agencies: State Department, Department of Homeland Security

Proclaims that "entry into the United States of refugees under the [U.S. Refugee Admissions Program] USRAP would be detrimental to the interests of the United States." Further directs that "entry into the United States of refugees under the USRAP be suspended," subject to limited exceptions on a case-by-case basis. 

Securing Our Borders 
1/20/25 | Executive Order | Category/Industry: Immigration | Agencies: Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security

"The Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall take all appropriate action to deploy and construct temporary and permanent physical barriers to ensure complete operational control of the southern border of the United States." Includes directives relating to physical barriers, personnel, detention of certain aliens, resumption of Migrant Protection Protocols, etc.

Dorsey Insights:

• Trump Cites National Emergency to Launch Trade War Against Canada, China, and Mexico (Dorsey Cross-Border Counselor Blog)
• Trump Declares National Emergency to Impose Tariffs on Chinese Origin Products, Defers Tariffs on Canadian and Mexican Products (Dorsey eUpdate)

The Iron Dome for America
1/27/25 | Executive Order | Category/Industry: National Security and Government Affairs| Agencies: Secretary of Defense

Directs the U.S. to defend its citizens and nation by "deploying and maintaining a next-generation missile defense shield" against next-generation aerial attacks. It also directs a review of all allied and theater missile defense to "increase bilateral and multilateral cooperation on missile defense technology development, capabilities, and operations." 

Council to Assess the Federal Emergency Management Agency
1/24/25 | Executive Order | Category/Industry: National Security and Government Affairs| Agencies: Federal Emergency Management Agency

Creates a FEMA Review Council to evaluate prior disaster responses including its staffing, timeliness, services, and supplies, as well as the history of national disaster relief, and to recommend improvements to FEMA's structure and operations.

Emergency Measures to Provide Water Resources in California and Improve Disaster Response in Certain Areas
1/24/25 | Executive Order | Category/Industry: National Security and Government Affairs| Agencies: Secretary of Defense, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Secretary of Agriculture, Office of Management and Budget

Aims to ensure adequate water supply and response in Southern California following the recent fires in Los Angeles. It directs a review of all federal activities and agencies related to water and disaster preparedness and response. It demands a plan for "additional actions to help Los Angeles Families" with housing relief, waste removal, and fire preparedness. It also seeks help for North Carolina families to repair roads and house displaced families following destruction from Hurricane Helene.

Dorsey Insights:

• Weekend Law: Funding Confusion, Climate & Culture Wars (Bloomberg Law Podcast)
• Energy Law: Month in Review - January 2025 (Dorsey eUpdate)

America First Policy Directive to the Secretary of State
1/20/25 | Executive Order | Category/Industry: National Security and Government Affairs| Agencies: State Department

Establishes that the foreign policy of the U.S. is to "champion core American interests and always put America and American citizens first." 

Dorsey Insights:

• Webinar Playback: Trump 2.0: Expected Impacts on U.S. Trade Policy (Dorsey Webinar)

Application of Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act to TikTok 
1/20/25 | Executive Order | Category/Industry: National Security and Government Affairs| Agencies: Department of Justice

Orders the Attorney General to not enforce the "TikTok ban" for 75 days to determine the appropriate course forward that "protects national security while avoiding an abrupt shutdown of a communications platform used by millions of Americans." 

Ending the Weaponization of the Federal Government
1/20/25 | Executive Order | Category/Industry: National Security and Government Affairs| Agencies: Department of Justice, Office of Director of National Intelligence

Directs the Attorney General to review activities of all departments and agencies exercising civil or criminal enforcement authority of the U.S. over the last four years to identify politically motivated misconduct and recommend appropriate remedial measures.

Dorsey Insights:

• Goodbye Affirmative Action Plan? President Trump Revokes Long-Standing Federal Contractor and Grantee Practices and Targets Private Sector DEI Initiatives with New Enforcement Initiative (Dorsey eUpdate)

Establishing and Implementing the President's "Department of Government Efficiency
1/20/25 | Executive Order | Category/Industry: National Security and Government Affairs| Agencies: U.S. Digital Service, U.S. DOGE Service

Establishes the Department of Government Efficiency to (DOGE) to modernize "Federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity."  It also renames the United States Digital Service (USDS) as the United States DOGE Service (USDS) and places it in the Executive Office of the President. 

Initial Rescission of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions
1/20/25 | Executive Order | Category/Industry: National Security and Government Affairs| Agencies: N/A

Revokes numerous executive orders of the Biden administration related to DEI, Covid-19, climate change, early childhood education, Medicaid, voting access, and border security. 

Dorsey Insights:

• Trump doesn't only want to end DEI. He's also voiding a Civil Rights-era anti-discrimination rule (CBS News)
  
• Trump Order Tees Up False Claims Act As Anti-DEI Weapon (Law360)
  
• Bloomberg Law: Trump Takes Aim at DEI Programs (Bloomberg Law Podcast)

Memorandum to Resolve the Backlog of Security Clearances for Executive Office of the President Personnel 
1/20/25 | Memorandum | Category/Industry: National Security and Government Affairs| Agencies: N/A

Gives the White House Counsel authority to identify a list of personnel granted interim Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) security clearances for up to six months.   

Organization of the National Security Council and Subcommittees
1/20/25 | Memorandum | Category/Industry: National Security and Government Affairs| Agencies: N/A

Identifies a "system for national security policy development, decision-making, implementation, and monitoring" by identifying the roles of presidential national security advisors. 

Putting People Over Fish: Stopping Radical Environmentalism to Provide Water to Southern California
1/20/25 | Memorandum | Category/Industry: National Security and Government Affairs| Agencies: Department of Commerce, Department of the Interior

Directs certain authorities to restart work from the first Trump Administration to "route more water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to other parts of the state for use by the people there who desperately need a reliable water supply."

Dorsey Insights:

• Energy Law: Month in Review - January 2025 (Dorsey eUpdate)

Reevaluating and Realigning United States Foreign Aid
1/20/25 | Executive Order | Category/Industry: National Security and Government Affairs| Agencies: N/A

Imposes a "90-day pause in United States foreign development assistance for assessment of programmatic efficiencies and consistency with United States foreign policy."

Dorsey Insights:

• Federal Assistance in Jeopardy? What to Know about OMB Guidance About Hundreds of Billions in Federal Research and Loans to Research Institutions, Universities, and Private Organizations (Dorsey eUpdate)
• Federal Grant and Loan “Temporary Pause” to Have a Significant Impact on the Health Care Industry (Dorsey Health Law Blog)
• Has Uncle Sam Terminated Your Federal Grant? You Have Rights (and Maybe a Financial Claim) (Dorsey eUpdate)
• Trump pauses federal grants, loans, other assistance: What it means for Colorado (The Denver Gazette)

Regulatory Freeze Pending Review
1/20/25 | Memorandum | Category/Industry: National Security and Government Affairs| Agencies: N/A

Instructs all executive departments and agencies to halt proposing or issuing new rules until reviewed by a department or agency head appointed or designated by the President. Grants the Director of the Office of Management and Budget authority to approve exceptions. Requires withdrawal of rules submitted but not published in the Federal Register. 

Restoring Accountability to Policy-Influencing Positions Within the Federal Workforce 
1/20/25 | Executive Order | Category/Industry: National Security and Government Affairs| Agencies: Office of Personnel Management, Office of Management and Budget

"Reinstatement of Prior [Trump] Administration Policy.  Executive Order 13957 of October 21, 2020 (Creating Schedule F in the Excepted Service), is hereby immediately reinstated with full force and effect….." Addresses what is characterized as the need to restore accountability to the career civil service, beginning with positions of a confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating character." Affects hiring and removal procedures. 

Restoring the Death Penalty and Protecting Public Safety
1/20/25 | Executive Order | Category/Industry: National Security and Government Affairs| Agencies: Department of Justice

Requires steps to return to more robust use of the death penalty.  "The Attorney General shall pursue the death penalty for all crimes of a severity demanding its use." Includes language regarding seeking evaluation of imprisonment and conditions of confinement on prisoners for whom death sentences were commuted by President Biden, and possibly seek further state action.

President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology
1/23/25 | Executive Order | Category/Industry: Technology | Agencies: N/A

Noting the necessity for the U.S. to achieve "unchallenged global technological dominance," the order calls to "harness the full power of American innovation by empowering entrepreneurs, unleashing private-sector creativity, and reinvigorating our research institutions" and establishes a President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) to "advise the President on matters involving science, technology, education, and innovation policy" and provide scientific and technical information to inform public policy relating to the American economy, national security, and other topics.

Dorsey Insights:

• Launching Agentic AI in an Uncertain U.S. Regulatory Landscape (Dorsey eUpdate)

Revokes certain existing AI policies and directives related to AI innovation "to promote human flourishing, economic competitiveness, and national security."

Dorsey Insights:

• Launching Agentic AI in an Uncertain U.S. Regulatory Landscape (Dorsey eUpdate)

Strengthening American Leadership in Digital Financial Technology
1/22/25 | Executive Order | Category/Industry: Technology | Agencies: Treasury Department

Supports the growth and use of digital assets, blockchain technology, and related technologies. This includes protecting and promoting open public blockchain networks, the sovereignty of the U.S. dollar, and fair and open access to banking services, while protecting Americans "from the risks of Central Bank Digital Currencies." It also establishes the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets to "propose a Federal regulatory framework governing the issuance and operation of digital assets" and "evaluate the potential creation and maintenance of a national digital asset stockpile."

Celebrating America’s 250th Birthday
1/29/25 | Executive Order | Category/Industry: Miscellaneous | Agencies: N/A

Establishes a White House Task Force on Celebrating America's 250th Birthday to plan and execute a celebration of the 250th Anniversary of American Independence on July 4, 2026. The order also reinstates a National Garden of American Heroes and aims to protect monuments from vandalism.

Calls for a release of all records related to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by the Federal Government. 

Hiring Freeze

1/20/25 | Memorandum | Category/Industry: Miscellaneous | Agencies: N/A

Imposes a hiring freeze of Federal civilian employees throughout the executive branch, except for military personnel, immigration enforcement, national security, public safety roles, and political appointments.

Dorsey Insights:

• Minnesota’s more than 20,000 federal workers fear for their jobs after Trump’s first week (The Minnesota Star Tribune)