List of Select Day-One Executive Orders Affecting Working People

On Day One (January 20, 2025), President Trump signed scores of Executive Orders. Below is a brief description of some of those orders affecting working people. Not every EO is listed. All the Executive Orders can be found on the White House website.

The AFL-CIO has already issued press releases regarding the federal sector and immigration-related Executive Orders.

Federal Sector Workforce

1. Federal Hiring Freeze – Halts any new federal hiring until the Trump administration has full control over the government. See OPM Guidance.The hiring freeze does not apply to the U.S. military, immigration enforcement, national security, public safety, Presidential appointments, non-career positions, SES or Schedule A or C positions in the Excepted Service. Also, action is not intended to override CBA provisions.
2. Change Federal Hiring Process – Forbids hiring based on race, sex, etc. and requires that only individuals committed to serving the executive branch be hired.
3. Return to Work In-Person – Agencies must terminate remote work arrangements and require employees to return to in-person work at their duty stations. Federal workers covered by a collective bargaining agreement would continue to follow those terms. NOTE: This action covers “remote work arrangements” and not “telework” which was not mentioned in the action.
4. End SES Protections – Effectively takes away civil service protections from career senior executives in government (those in the Senior Executive Service, SES, e.g., NLRB Regional Directors) - allowing removal of top civil servants whose performance is inconsistent with the principles of the executive order.
5. Terminate DEI Programs – Terminates all DEI programs in the government, including “environmental justice” offices, all “equity” initiatives, “equity-related” grants or contracts.
6. Schedule F – Requires the placement of employees in “confidential, policy-determining, policy making, and policy-advocating position” be placed in the new schedule and be exempt from adverse action procedures and other Title 5 protections. (This is the reinstatement of EO 13957 creating Schedule F in the Excepted Service with amendments. Note that the new EO renames “F” as “Policy/Career.”)
7. Rescission of Biden EOs related to Federal workforce
   1. Rescinds Biden 14003 which promoted collective bargaining by federal agencies and protected union official time
   2. Rescinds Biden 14018 which rescinded Trump’s January 29, 2020 memo delegating authority to Sec of Defense to exclude employees from collective bargaining on national security grounds
8. Establishing and Implementing the President’s DOGE – Renames the existing US Digital Service as the US DOGE Service and directs the creation of DOGE Teams at each federal agency to modernize federal technology and software.

Immigration

1. Protecting The American People Against Invasion – Threatens the temporary status and work authorization of millions of people, increases detention mandates, and directs the federal government to deny federal funding for cities and states that do not comply with the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda.
2. Securing Our Borders – Ends the use of humanitarian parole for certain groups and closes the border to asylum seekers, forcing them to wait in Mexico for processing.
3. Protecting The Meaning And Value Of American Citizenship – Reverses the birthright citizenship protections enshrined in the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, stripping citizenship from people born in the U.S. to certain foreign-born parents.
4. Clarifying The Military’s Role In Protecting The Territorial Integrity Of The United States – Orders the U.S. military to provide constant security to seal the southern border and repel “forms of invasion,” including "unlawful mass migration.”
5. Guaranteeing the States Protection Against Invasion – Suspends all entry into the U.S. through the southern border and forecloses the right to seek asylum.
6. Designating Cartels And Other Organizations As Foreign Terrorist Organizations And Specially Designated Global Terrorists – Orders federal agencies to designate various cartels and gangs as “foreign terrorist organizations” or “specially designated global terrorists”, and suggests possible need to invoke the Alien Enemies Act.
7. Declaring A National Emergency At The Southern Border Of The United States – Declares the Southern Border a “national emergency” under federal law and directs the Defense Department to deploy the military at the border, and orders revision of use of force policies
8. Realigning The United States Refugee Admissions Program – Suspends refugee admissions into the U.S. indefinitely, subject to review every 90 days.
9. Protecting The United States From Foreign Terrorists And Other National Security And Public Safety Threats – Requires “maximum vetting” prior to visa issuance and cues up, within 60 days, the possible ban of issuance of visas to people from certain countries for which “vetting and screening information is so deficient as to warrant a suspension on admission” (i.e. future Muslim bans)
10. Restoring the Death Penalty and Protecting Public Safety – Instructs the AG to seek the death penalty for any capital crime committed by an alien in the country illegally, regardless of other factors
11. Rescission of Biden EOs related to Immigration:
    1. Executive Order 13986 of January 20, 2021 (Ensuring a Lawful and Accurate Enumeration and Apportionment Pursuant to the Decennial Census).
    2. Executive Order 13993 of January 20, 2021 (Revision of Civil Immigration Enforcement Policies and Priorities).
    3. Executive Order 14010 of February 2, 2021 (Creating a Comprehensive Regional Framework To Address the Causes of Migration, To Manage Migration Throughout North and Central America, and To Provide Safe and Orderly Processing of Asylum Seekers at the United States Border).
    4. Executive Order 14011 of February 2, 2021 (Establishment of Interagency Task Force on the Reunification of Families).
    5. Executive Order 14012 of February 2, 2021 (Restoring Faith in Our Legal Immigration Systems and Strengthening Integration and Inclusion Efforts for New Americans).
    6. Executive Order 14013 of February 4, 2021 (Rebuilding and Enhancing Programs To Resettle Refugees and Planning for the Impact of Climate Change on Migration).

Additional Executive Orders of Note Energy Workforce

1. Declaring a National Energy Emergency – Authorizes the federal government to expedite permits and approve infrastructure, energy, environmental, and natural resources projects.
2. Unleashing American Energy - Rescinds various Biden EOs, takes steps to expedite permitting, eliminates federal environmental justice programs, reverses policies intended to bring down emissions from vehicles and encourage a transition to EVs, and pauses the disbursement of funds appropriated through the IRA or the IIJA.
3. Temporary Withdrawal from Wind Projects - Temporarily stops new or renewed leasing of the Outer Continental Shelf for offshore wind projects.

Health and Safety

1. Withdrawing the US from the WHO – States intent of U.S. to withdraw from WHO. Directs the Secretary of State and head of OMB to take steps to pause fund transfers to WHO, recall WHO personnel, identify partners to take over the U.S.'s role at WHO.
2. Regulatory Freeze – Freezes all pending proposed rules not approved by a Trump appointee, withdraws any rules sent to OFR but not yet published, directs agencies to “consider” 60-day period delaying implementation of rules that have not taken effect and reopening comment period.
3. Rescission of Biden EO 13992 - Rescinds Biden’s revocation of 6 Trump I EOs that were designed to slow and obstruct the rulemaking process.

Trade and Labor Standards

1. America First Trade Policy – Directs Commerce to investigate what is causing trade imbalances and directs USTR to begin the process for public consultation on USMCA and review other trade agreements for any recommended changes. Directs agencies to explore feasibility of establishing an “External Revenue Service.”
2. Rescission of Biden EO 14055 - Rescinds requirement of non-displacement of employees when contracts turn over under Service Contract Act.
3. Rescission of Biden EO 14052 - Rescinds Biden EO requiring agencies to prioritize IIJA projects with high labor standards (relating to wages, neutrality, and Made in America)