This article encompasses the domestic policy of Donald Trump as the 45th president of the United States.

Trump had mixed success in delivering on his domestic policy campaign promises, which included limiting immigration, fortifying public infrastructure, cutting taxes, and repealing the Affordable Care Act. He also worked to encourage space exploration, implement the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, work on deregulation, address economic growth and unemployment, and work on trade.

Trump was also in office during COVID-19, and directed responses to the pandemic. President Trump also handled relief for three severe hurricanes and several large wildfires and signed the Disaster Recovery Reform Act.

Agriculture

Due to Trump's trade tariffs combined with depressed commodities prices, American farmers faced the worst crisis in decades. Trump provided farmers $12billion in direct payments in July 2018 to mitigate the negative impacts of his tariffs, increasing the payments by $14.5billion in May 2019 after trade talks with China ended without agreement. Most of the administration's aid went to the largest farms. Politico reported in May 2019 that some economists in the United States Department of Agriculture were being punished for presenting analyses showing farmers were being harmed by Trump's trade and tax policies, with six economists having more than 50 years of combined experience at the Service resigning on the same day. Trump's fiscal 2020 budget proposed a 15% funding cut for the Agriculture Department, calling farm subsidies "overly generous".

Consumer protections The administration reversed a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) rule that had made it easier for aggrieved consumers to pursue class actions against banks; the Associated Press characterized the reversal as a victory for Wall Street banks. Under Mick Mulvaney's tenure, the CFPB reduced enforcement of rules that protected consumers from predatory payday lenders. Trump scrapped a proposed rule from the Obama administration that airlines disclose baggage fees. Trump reduced enforcement of regulations against airlines; fines levied by the administration in 2017 were less than half of what the Obama administration did the year before.

Criminal justice

The New York Times summarized the Trump administration's "general approach to law enforcement" as "cracking down on violent crime", "not regulating the police departments that fight it", and overhauling "programs that the Obama administration used to ease tensions between communities and the police". Trump reversed a ban on providing federal military equipment to local police departments and reinstated the use of civil asset forfeiture. The administration stated that it would no longer investigate police departments and publicize their shortcomings in reports, a policy previously enacted under the Obama administration. Later, Trump falsely claimed that the Obama administration never tried to reform the police.

In December 2017, Sessions and the Department of Justice rescinded a 2016 guideline advising courts against imposing large fines and fees on poor defendants.

Despite Trump's pro-police rhetoric, his 2019 budget plan proposed nearly fifty percent cuts to the COPS Hiring Program which provides funding to state and local law enforcement agencies to help hire community policing officers. Trump appeared to advocate police brutality in a July 2017 speech to police officers, prompting criticism from law enforcement agencies. In 2020, the inspector general of the Department of Justice criticized the Trump administration for reducing police oversight and eroding public confidence in law enforcement.

In December 2018, Trump signed the First Step Act, a bipartisan criminal justice reform bill which sought to rehabilitate prisoners and reduce recidivism, notably by expanding job training and early-release programs, and lowering mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug offenders.

The number of prosecutions of child-sex traffickers has showed a decreasing trend under the Trump administration relative to the 2nd term of Obama administration. Under the Trump administration, the SEC charged the fewest number of insider trading cases since the Reagan administration.

Presidential pardons and commutations

During his presidency, Trump pardoned or commuted the sentences of 237 individuals. Most of those pardoned had personal or political connections to Trump. A significant number had been convicted of fraud or public corruption. Trump circumvented the typical clemency process, taking no action on more than ten thousand pending applications, using the pardon power primarily on "public figures whose cases resonated with him given his own grievances with investigators".

Drug policy

In a May 2017 departure from the policy of the Department of Justice under Obama to reduce long jail sentencing for minor drug offenses and contrary to a growing bipartisan consensus, the administration ordered federal prosecutors to seek maximum sentencing for drug offenses. In a January 2018 move that created uncertainty regarding the legality of recreational and medical marijuana, Sessions rescinded a federal policy that had barred federal law enforcement officials from aggressively enforcing federal cannabis law in states where the drug is legal. The administration's decision contradicted then-candidate Trump's statement that marijuana legalization should be "up to the states". That same month, the VA said it would not research cannabis as a potential treatment against PTSD and chronic pain; veterans organizations had pushed for such a study. In December 2018, Trump signed the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, which included de-scheduling certain cannabis products, leading to a rise in legal Delta-8—a step which resembled legalization.

Capital punishment Between July 2020 and the end of Trump's term, the federal government executed thirteen people; the first executions since 2002. In this time period, Trump oversaw more federal executions than any president in the preceding 120 years.

Disaster relief

Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria

Three hurricanes hit the U.S. in August and September 2017: Harvey in southeastern Texas, Irma on the Florida Gulf coast, and Maria in Puerto Rico. Trump signed into law $15billion in relief for Harvey and Irma, and later $18.67billion for all three. The administration came under criticism for its delayed response to the humanitarian crisis on Puerto Rico. Politicians of both parties had called for immediate aid for Puerto Rico, and criticized Trump for focusing on a feud with the National Football League instead. Trump did not comment on Puerto Rico for several days while the crisis was unfolding. According to The Washington Post, the White House did not feel a sense of urgency until "images of the utter destruction and desperationand criticism of the administration's responsebegan to appear on television." Trump dismissed the criticism, saying distribution of necessary supplies was "doing well". The Washington Post noted, "on the ground in Puerto Rico, nothing could be further from the truth." Trump cited Puerto Rico's remote location as an impediment to providing prompt relief, saying "This is an island surrounded by water. Big water. Ocean water." Trump also criticized Puerto Rico officials. A BMJ analysis found the federal government responded much more quickly and on a larger scale to the hurricane in Texas and Florida than in Puerto Rico, despite the fact that the hurricane in Puerto Rico was more severe. A 2021 HUD Inspector General investigation found that the Trump administration erected bureaucratic hurdles which stalled approximately $20 billion in hurricane relief for Puerto Rico.

At the time of FEMA's departure from Puerto Rico, one third of Puerto Rico residents still lacked electricity and some places lacked running water. A New England Journal of Medicine study estimated the number of hurricane-related deaths during the period September 20 to December 31, 2017, to be around 4,600 (range 793–8,498) The official death rate due to Maria reported by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is 2,975; the figure was based on an independent investigation by George Washington University commissioned by the governor of Puerto Rico. Trump falsely claimed the official death rate was wrong, and said the Democrats were trying to make him "look as bad as possible".

Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló wrote that as he and Trump were in a helicopter surveying damage from the hurricane, Trump said, "Nature has a way of coming back. Well, it does until it does not. Who knows with nuclear warfare what will happen. But I tell you what. If nuclear war happens, we won't be second in line pressing the button." Citing insiders, Axios reported that Trump suggested using nuclear bombs to disintegrate hurricanes.Trump denied these reports. According to the NOAA, a nuclear bomb would barely affect a hurricane, which emits far more energy.

California wildfires

Trump misleadingly blamed the destructive wildfires in 2018 in California, on "gross" and "poor" "mismanagement" of forests by California, saying there was no other reason for these wildfires. The fires in question were not "forest fires"; most of the forest was owned by federal agencies; and climate change in part contributed to the fires. Trump mentioned Finland as a model, saying, "they spend a lot of time on raking and cleaning and doing things, and they don't have any problem. And when it is, it is a very small problem. So I know everybody is looking at that—to that end. And it's going to work out. It's going to work out well."

In September 2020, California's worst wildfires in history prompted Trump to visit the state. In a briefing to state officials, Trump said that federal assistance was necessary, and again baselessly asserted that the lack of forestry, not climate change, is the underlying cause of the fires.

Economy

+ Economic indicators and federal finances under the Obama and Trump administrations $ represent U.S. trillions of unadjusted dollarsYearUnemploy-ment GDP Real GDPgrowthFiscal data Receipts Outlays Deficit Debt endingDec 31 (calendar year)Sep 30 (fiscal year) 2016* 4.9% $18.695 1.7% $3.268 $3.853 – $0.585 $14.2 2017 4.4% $19.480 2.3% $3.316 $3.982 – $0.665 $14.7 2018 3.9% $20.527 2.9% $3.330 $4.109 – $0.779 $15.8 2019 3.7% $21.373 2.3% $3.463 $4.447 – $0.984 $16.8 2020 8.1% $20.894 –3.4% $3.421 $6.550 – $3.129 $21.0

Trump's economic policies have centered on cutting taxes, deregulation, and trade protectionism. Trump primarily stuck to or intensified traditional Republican economic policy positions that benefitted corporate interests or the affluent, with the exception of his trade protectionist policies. Deficit spending, combined with tax cuts for the wealthy, caused the U.S. national debt to sharply increase. Trump oversaw the third-biggest deficit growth (5.2% of GDP) of any president, behind only George W. Bush (11.7%) and Abraham Lincoln (9.4%).

One of Trump's first actions was to indefinitely suspend a cut in fee rates for federally-insured mortgages implemented by the Obama administration which saved individuals with lower credit scores around $500 per year on a typical loan. Upon taking office, Trump halted trade negotiations with the European Union on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, which had been underway since 2013.

The administration proposed changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps), which if implemented would lead millions to lose access to food stamps and limit the amount of benefits for remaining recipients.