What major domestic policies did Donald Trump enact while president?
Executive summary
Donald Trump’s most-cited domestic actions from his first presidency (2017–2021) include the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, major deregulatory moves and tariffs on trade, and a hard-line immigration agenda that produced the “zero-tolerance” policy and family separations [1] [2] [3]. Coverage of his second-term (2025– ) domestic agenda in these sources emphasizes an expansive use of executive orders across immigration, energy, federal hiring and other areas, with some orders described as rescinding prior policies and provoking legal challenges [4] [5] [6].
1. Tax cuts, deregulation and an economic thrust that defined his first term
Trump’s signature domestic legislative achievement in his first term was the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, together with an administration-wide emphasis on deregulation intended to spur growth and bolster manufacturing [2] [1]. Analysts cited in the record found the administration cut corporate and individual tax burdens and rolled back Obama-era regulations; critics warned the tax cuts widened deficits and that tariffs undercut some of the benefits of the tax law [2] [1] [7]. Reuters and BBC reporting noted both the stimulus to jobs in some sectors and the concerns that tariffs functioned like tax increases for many households [7] [2].
2. Immigration policy and border enforcement: “zero tolerance” and family separation
A central domestic priority for Trump was restricting immigration. The administration changed asylum rules, pursued “zero-tolerance” prosecution at the border that led to thousands of family separations, and promoted a broader hard-line stance including border-wall construction and tougher vetting [3] [8]. PBS and Ballotpedia summarize these actions and note policy changes that made asylum claims harder and produced high political and legal controversy [3] [9].
3. Public health and the pandemic: emergency actions plus controversy
When Covid-19 arrived, Trump declared a national emergency and signed the CARES Act, a $2.2 trillion stimulus in 2020, and established a White House Coronavirus Task Force; public-health observers credited the administration with accelerating vaccine development while criticizing messaging and adherence to scientific guidance [10]. The Miller Center documents both the large fiscal relief and the heated debates over the administration’s public communications and policy choices during the pandemic [10].
4. Rollbacks on climate, environmental and regulatory fronts
Trump’s administration rescinded or weakened major Obama-era climate rules, most notably actions that undercut the Clean Power Plan and vehicle fuel-efficiency targets, and prioritized domestic energy production and deregulation—moves praised by energy and industry supporters and criticized by environmentalists and some economists [7] [8]. Ballotpedia and Reuters note these reversals as central to his domestic energy agenda and to tensions with states and international climate commitments [8] [7].
5. Courts, criminal justice, and “law and order” positioning
Trump emphasized “law and order” politically and used appointments (including three Supreme Court justices in his first term) and Justice Department actions to shape criminal-justice priorities; reporting links his rhetoric and policy signals to debates over policing, civil-rights consent decrees, and federal oversight [1] [3]. Sources show this messaging was a persistent feature of his domestic approach and sparked both support among law-enforcement advocates and pushback from civil-rights groups [1] [3].
6. Executive orders and a managerial strategy in the second term
The new-term record in 2025 shows a heavy reliance on executive actions: the Federal Register records hundreds of orders and White House and policy trackers say early days featured many directives reversing prior administration policies, targeting immigration, trade, energy and federal hiring, and instituting programmatic changes [6] [5] [11]. Wikipedia-style tracking characterizes many orders as rescissions of prior rules and notes that some have faced court challenges or legal questions [4].
7. Political context, policy blueprints and critiques (Project 2025 / Mandates)
Analysts and advocacy documents point to Project 2025 and allied planning as a blueprint influencing many Republican policy aims and some of the second-term executive activity; critics argue the project outlines sweeping institutional changes (reclassifying civil-service roles, reversing gender and civil-rights policies) while supporters frame it as implementing an “America First” governance overhaul [12] [13] [14]. Congressional Democrats’ materials and watchdog reporting flagged these proposals as radical policy shifts with long-term institutional impact [14] [15].
Limitations and disagreements in the sources: the provided items combine contemporaneous reporting, White House fact sheets and compilations (which highlight accomplishments) with critical analysis and tracking pages that emphasize rescissions, legal disputes and controversy; sources disagree about effects (e.g., economic gains vs. tariff harms) and about the legality or constitutionality of some second-term orders [7] [4] [6]. Available sources do not mention a comprehensive, bipartisan assessment reconciling all claimed outcomes across both administrations.