The following is a timeline of the second presidency of Donald Trump during the first quarter of 2025. The timeline begins with Trump's January 20, 2025 inauguration as the 47th president of the United States and ends March 31, 2025. For information on President-elect Trump's activities between his 2024 election and his 2025 inauguration, see the second presidential transition of Donald Trump. For a detailed account of Trump's first months in office in 2025, see First 100 days of the second Trump presidency. For a complete itinerary of Trump's presidential travels, see List of presidential trips made by Donald Trump (2025). To navigate between quarters, see timeline of the Donald Trump presidencies. For a timeline regarding the second quarter of 2025, see timeline of the second Trump presidency (2025 Q2).
Timeline
Overview
After winning the 2024 election, Trump returns to office for a second term, as the 47th president. His broad and extensive use of executive orders tested the limits of presidential authority and drew significant conflicts with the courts. Other topics Trump focused on included immigration reform, deportations, tariffs, cutting federal spending, reducing the federal workforce, and implementing a non-interventionist foreign policy.
January 2025
Date Events Photos/videos MondayJanuary 20 Donald Trump takes the oath of office as the 47th president of the United States and JD Vance takes the oath of office as the 50th vice president. The inaugural parade is held at the Capital One Arena, with President Trump signing executive orders after speaking to supporters. The Trump administration shuts down the CBP One program. Susie Wiles assumes office as White House Chief of Staff, the first woman to hold the position. The Senate confirms Marco Rubio as the 72nd U.S. Secretary of State in a vote of 99–0, making him the first Cabinet pick in President Trump's second term to be approved. President Trump formally pardons approximately 1,500 defendants who had been criminally charged with involvement in the 2021 Capitol attack including more than 600 who were convicted of assaulting or resisting police officers, and nearly 175 who used a weapon. President Trump signs 26 executive orders, repealing 67 Biden-era EOs and 11 presidential memoranda, issuing new directives expanding border enforcement, reversing climate initiatives, eliminating DEI programs, changing the federal designation for the Gulf of Mexico to "Gulf of America", reverting Denali’s federal name to its pre-2015 one, Mount McKinley, attempting to end birthright citizenship and instituting a federal hiring freeze. President Trump revokes the security clearances of 50 people, including former National Security Advisor John Bolton and signatories of the Hunter Biden laptop letter. He also revokes Bolton's security detail. During his inaugural address, President Trump states that the United States will expand its territory during his second term in office. These remarks are consistent with Trump's previous remarks about annexing the territory of other nations, including Canada. While speaking at an inauguration rally, Elon Musk twice makes a gesture interpreted by many as a Nazi or a fascist Roman salute. TuesdayJanuary 21 President Trump and Vice President Vance attend the inaugural prayer service at the National Cathedral.President Trump attends National Prayer Service on first full day of second term in office USA Today. January 21, 2025 Vice President Vance swears in Rubio as Secretary of State.Vice President JD Vance swears in Marco Rubio as secretary of state January 21, 2025 USA Today President Trump announces Stargate, a new AI infrastructure company expected to invest up to $500 billion in the sector. President Trump pardons Ross Ulbricht, founder of the darknet market Silk Road. President Trump orders the closure of all federal DEI offices, with existing employees placed on indefinite leave and special orders to prevent them from being protected through reclassification or deceptive wording. Vice President Vance swears in Jon Husted and Ashley Moody to the U.S. Senate, filling the vacancies of Vance and Rubio respectively. The Trump administration instructs federal health agencies to pause all external communications until February 1 or until communication is approved by a political appointee. WednesdayJanuary 22 President Trump orders an additional 1,500 active-duty troops to the U.S.–Mexico border. President Trump re-designates the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization.Trump redesignates Houthis as foreign terrorist organization The Hill January 22, 2025 President Trump revokes the security details of former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former diplomat Brian Hook. The Trump administration announces the rolling back of an Obama era directive that had protected immigrants in sensitive areas such as hospitals, places of worship, courtrooms, funerals, weddings and schools. President Donald Trump's national security advisor on Wednesday sidelined about 160 National Security Council aides, sending them home while the administration reviews staffing and tries to align it with Trump's agenda. President Trump nominates Sean M. Curran, the leader of Trump's protective detail before his second inauguration, as the Director of the United States Secret Service. ThursdayJanuary 23 Senior Judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington John C. Coughenour blocks Trump's executive order attempting to end birthright citizenship, calling it "blatantly unconstitutional".US judge temporarily blocks Trump's order restricting birthright citizenship Reuters. January 23, 2025Judge Temporarily Blocks Trump's Plan to End Birthright Citizenship The New York Times President Trump speaks at a virtual event at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland.Trump: ‘We have to get Democrats’ to approve tax cuts The Hill The Senate confirms John Ratcliffe as the Director of the CIA in a vote of 74–25, who is sworn in later that day by Vice President Vance.Senate confirms John Ratcliffe as Trump's CIA director Al Weaver. The Hill. President Trump signs an executive order to declassify files related to the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr. President Trump signs an executive order that backs federal recognition of the Lumbee Tribe in North Carolina.Trump backs federal recognition for Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina Reuters. January 23, 2025 President Trump revokes an executive order on AI safety initially signed by former president Biden. Biden's order, introduced in 2023, aimed to establish safeguards for the rapidly advancing AI technology. Trump's repeal is seen as a symbolic gesture to differentiate his administration's approach, focusing on what he describes as "AI innovation free from ideological bias." President Trump revokes the security detail of former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci. High-profile ICE deportations occur in Boston, Denver, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Seattle, Miami, Washington DC, New York City, and Newark, detaining 538 undocumented immigrants. FridayJanuary 24 Ignoring a federal law that requires giving Congress 30 days notice and a reason for their firing, President Trump fires the inspectors general from more than a dozen federal agencies. In his first trip as the 47th president, President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump visit parts of North Carolina to survey the damage caused by Hurricane Helene in September 2024. President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump travel to Southern California to monitor the progress of fire rescue services for the January 2025 Southern California wildfires. The Senate confirms Fox & Friends Weekend co-host Pete Hegseth as the 29th U.S. Secretary of Defense in a vote of 51–50. Vice President Vance, in the capacity as President of the Senate, becomes the second vice president in history to cast a tie-breaking vote to confirm a Cabinet member. President Trump reinstates the Mexico City Policy. During a press conference in North Carolina, President Trump reaffirms his stance that Canada should become the 51st state. SaturdayJanuary 25 Vice President JD Vance swears in Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense. He is the first Defense Secretary who did not come from a senior position either in politics, industry or the military. The Senate confirms Kristi Noem as the 8th U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security in a vote of 59–34. President Trump delivers remarks on No Tax on Tips Policy in Las Vegas. President Trump states that he wants the United States to acquire Greenland. Trump's appointees for the United States Environmental Protection Agency include several officials who have served as lawyers or lobbyists for oil and chemical industries. SundayJanuary 26 Secretary of State Marco Rubio announces the release of American citizen Anastasia Nufer from a prison in Belarus. The Trump administration announces that the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire will be extended to February 18. President Trump announces retaliatory tariffs on Colombia after its president blocked US military deportation flights from landing. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announces that he was authorizing the visa restrictions on Colombian government officials and their families “who were responsible for the interference of U.S. repatriation flight operations.” MondayJanuary 27Ed Martin, the interim US attorney for DC, opens an internal review of the Justice Department's decision to charge hundreds of Jan. 6 defendants with felony obstruction offenses in connection with the Capitol attack. Several career lawyers who worked on the criminal investigations into Donald Trump are fired by Acting Attorney General James McHenry, on the grounds that he "do[es] not believe that the leadership of the Department can trust you to assist in implementing the President’s agenda faithfully." The Office of Management and Budget instructs federal agencies to "temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance, and other relevant agency activities that may be implicated by [President Trump's] executive orders", so that "each agency [can] complete a comprehensive analysis of all of their Federal financial assistance programs to identify programs, projects, and activities that may be implicated by any of the President’s executive orders." President Trump attends a retreat of House Republicans at his Doral golf resort in Miami. Denmark announces it will spend 14.6 billion kroner (£1.6bn; $2.05bn) to boost security in the Arctic and North Atlantic in response to President Trump's expressed interest in acquiring Greenland. The Senate confirms Scott Bessent as the 79th U.S. Secretary of the Treasury in a vote of 68–29. President Trump signs an executive order ending diversity programs in the nation's military. President Trump signs an executive order banning transgender individuals from serving in the nation's military. President Trump signs an executive order reinstating service members who refused to take COVID-19 vaccination. President Trump signs an executive order to develop “the Iron Dome for America." President Trump fires National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo, and NLRB Board Member Gwynne Wilcox. TuesdayJanuary 28 The Senate confirms former representative and cast member of The Real World: Boston, Sean Duffy as the 20th U.S. Secretary of Transportation in a vote of 77–22. GLAD Law and the National Center for Lesbian Rights file a federal lawsuit challenging President Trump's executive order barring transgender people from serving and enlisting in the military.