1 year into Trump’s 2nd term, here are some of the seismic shifts in foreign and domestic policies

When President Donald Trump capped a historic political comeback on Inauguration Day final Jan. 20, he proclaimed the “Golden Age of America” had arrived, and in his first 12 months, the nation has skilled a whiplash of home and overseas coverage adjustments, and political disputes which have stirred intense nationwide debate.

Inside hours of taking workplace, the president signed greater than 200 government actions, together with rescinding almost 80 actions beneath President Joe Biden, and pardoning 1,500 folks convicted of crimes stemming from the Jan. 6 revolt on the U.S. Capitol.

“From at the present time ahead, our nation will flourish and be revered once more everywhere in the world. We would be the envy of each nation, and we won’t permit ourselves to be taken benefit of any longer. Throughout each single day of the Trump administration, I’ll very merely put America First,” Trump vowed throughout his inaugural address. 

A take a look at Trump’s first 12 months exhibits a combination of fulfilled guarantees, dramatic actions and ongoing controversies that present his political ambitions and the divided response from People.

International coverage

Trump ran on an agenda of “peace by way of power,” promising to be a world peacemaker. 

“My proudest legacy can be that of a peacemaker and unifier. That is what I need to be, a peacemaker and a unifier,” Trump stated throughout his handle on the inauguration.

Since taking workplace, the president has made vital overseas coverage choices, from an on-the-ground operation to seize the leader of Venezuela, ratcheting tensions with Europe in an effort to seize Greenland and efforts to attain peace in world conflicts from Ukraine to the Center East. 

The president achieved a type of targets by securing a ceasefire within the Israel-Hamas warfare that raged in Gaza. The fragile peace deal has held and just lately moved into its second section. The deal got here after months of statecraft by Trump and plenty of of his closest allies. 

Trump has additionally formulated what he calls the “Donroe Doctrine,” a play on phrases of the Monroe Doctrine that reimagines the American position within the Western Hemisphere. That change in imaginative and prescient was punctuated by an on-the-ground operation in Venezuela to seize then-President Nicolas Maduro and produce him to the U.S. to face expenses for allegedly supporting cartels that introduced narcotics into the U.S. 

That effort got here after the administration carried out strikes on boats that had been allegedly carrying medication, killing greater than 100 folks. These strikes have confronted main questions from Democrats.

The president has additionally referred to as for the U.S. to personal Greenland and is ratcheting up stress with European allies as he tries to make good on his promised efforts to personal Denmark’s semiautonomous territory. These tensions have reached a fever pitch round Trump’s one-year mark in workplace because the president has not dominated out taking Greenland by drive. 

Trump vowed on the marketing campaign path to finish the warfare in Ukraine on Day 1 of his time period in workplace. Nevertheless, after many conferences with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and a historic summit on American soil with Russian President Vladimir Putin, that promise has did not materialize. The warfare between Russia and Ukraine continues to rage on and Trump has repeatedly stated that ending the battle is extra advanced than he anticipated it could be. 

Immigration

Trump has adopted by way of on his marketing campaign pledge to aggressively crack down on unlawful immigration.

In 2025, the USA skilled detrimental web migration for the primary time in at the very least 50 years because of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, in line with a report by the Brookings Establishment, which added that the quantity is usually resulting from a major drop in entries into the U.S.

The Division of Homeland Safety claims greater than 622,000 folks have been deported because the president took workplace.

All year long, the administration considerably expanded Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations nationwide, with the White Home publicly celebrating rising ICE arrests in a number of states, regardless of their controversial techniques, lethal drive, authorized pushback and protests.

A Quinnipiac University poll discovered 57% of voters disapproving of how ICE is imposing immigration legal guidelines, with 40% approving, largely unchanged from Quinnipiac’s earlier polling in July. Most Democrats and independents disapprove of how ICE is imposing legal guidelines; most Republicans approve.

The president surged federal legislation enforcement and even troops into cities reminiscent of Los Angeles, New Orleans and presently Minneapolis, Minnesota, to assist perform immigration enforcement there. Nevertheless, many native officers have spoken out in opposition to the enforcement operations. 

Federal restructuring (DOGE)

Trump has additionally made main adjustments to the federal authorities, executing on one other of his main adjustments to the dimensions and powers of the federal authorities. Trump labored alongside billionaire Elon Musk for the primary months of his presidency to enact the coverage of the Division of Authorities Effectivity (DOGE). 

DOGE took a chainsaw to much of the government, together with shuttering the U.S. Company for Worldwide Growth (USAID) and firing or shedding hundreds of federal staff. 

In Could, after months working to reshape the federal workforce and authorities, Musk stated that the DOGE effort, which he promised on the marketing campaign path would minimize $2 trillion in federal spending, saved about $160 million after about 5 months. 

“I feel we have been efficient, not as efficient as I might like, I feel we may very well be simpler, however we made progress,” Musk said in May.

Financial insurance policies

Trump enacted considered one of his greatest marketing campaign guarantees throughout his first 12 months in workplace: widespread tariffs on items introduced into the U.S. The aim of the tariffs was to onshore manufacturing and slash commerce deficits. 

On April 2, which Trump dubbed “Liberation Day,” the president introduced sweeping tariff insurance policies on virtually all of America’s buying and selling companions and went far past what many consultants anticipated his tariff coverage to appear like. Simply sooner or later later, the inventory market tanked in response, with shares dropping almost $3.1 trillion in worth. 

A number of days later, the president paused these sweeping tariffs to provide time for the administration to as an alternative minimize offers with nations. Trump stated that buyers had gotten “the yips,” which is why he pulled again. The administration set to work, promising to strike 90 offers in 90 days with America’s buying and selling companions.

They fell wanting that aim, however the White Home has since reached offers or frameworks with dozens of America’s buying and selling companions. The White Home has additionally made vital carve-outs for some items that can’t be produced or grown within the U.S. reminiscent of espresso and bananas. 

The president got here into workplace promising a “manufacturing increase” and that his insurance policies would create “hundreds of thousands and hundreds of thousands of blue-collar jobs and jobs of each sort,” however the remaining jobs report of 2025 confirmed hiring within the American financial system is cooling.

Roughly 50,000 new jobs had been added to the workforce in December, barely under expectations, however the unemployment fee did drop to 4.4%. Roughly two thirds of general job positive aspects final 12 months had been within the well being care sector, whereas manufacturing, tech and authorities all misplaced extra jobs than they added, in line with the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The newest CPI report exhibits inflation up 2.7% from a 12 months in the past. Prices proceed to rise for vitality, medical care and meals reminiscent of espresso and floor beef, whereas wholesale egg costs have dropped to their lowest ranges since 2019, in line with the USDA.

The standard American family is now spending $184 extra a month to buy the identical items and providers as a 12 months in the past, and $590 extra a month than three years in the past, in line with Moody’s Analytics.

The president kicked off a tour in December to speak to People immediately about his administration’s efforts to carry down prices. Trump has continued to insist that “affordability” is a “hoax” that was invented by Democrats. 

Trump unveiled a health care plan, which he had promised for almost a decade in early 2026. The administration unveiled his “nice healthcare plan,” however the particulars are sparse, with high administration officers calling it “broad” and a “framework.”

Trump says he desires to provide cash on to People to allow them to purchase their very own insurance coverage, however it’s unclear how that might work, how a lot they’ll get or whether or not it could cowl their well being care prices. A current ballot discovered 52% of voters saying Trump has “damage” the price of well being care.

The president has additionally deliberate to unveil a plan that might decrease housing prices throughout an upcoming journey to Davos, Switzerland. It is unclear what precisely the plan will entail, however the president has floated “steps to ban giant institutional buyers from shopping for extra single-family properties” in an effort to enhance housing prices.

Adjustments to the White Home

Trump has additionally made his mark on the physical space of the White House. From decorative adjustments to main tear downs, the president has made his mark on the historic house of the commander in chief. 

What began with gilded additions to the Oval Workplace and the same old redecorating shortly grew to become extra long-lasting adjustments to the White Home. The president repaved the historic Rose Backyard with white stone and added what he dubbed the “Presidential Stroll of Fame” which incorporates portraits and politically charged plaques about American presidents by way of historical past. 

One of many greatest strikes got here in October of 2025, when Trump tore down the White Home East Wing to make manner for a 90,000 square foot ballroom. The main development and fast tempo of the tear-down confronted main criticism from many Democrats. 

The president has made his mark on different D.C. landmarks too. The president’s hand-picked board of the Kennedy Performing Arts Middle voted in mid-December to rename the structure the “Trump-Kennedy Center.”

The president has adopted by way of of a lot of his marketing campaign guarantees. But a current Reuters-Ipsos ballot finds that on each concern measured, Trump doesn’t get pleasure from majority approval. With the midterm elections looming, it stays to be seen whether or not the president can have the political capital to push by way of his agenda all through his historic second time period.