President Trump Starts His Second Tenure On Expected Lines

The first directives signed by Trump covered matters ranging from the security of borders to the thrust on bringing the governance totally under the President's control. He terminated all arrangements of remote functioning for federal employees and ordered their return to in-Person work

The series of directives issued by President Donald Trump within hours of his swearing-in was -- as expected -- unambiguous, assertive and geopolitically important. They seemingly confirmed that the new US President was determined to take complete control of the governance, bring the 'America First' call into play and give priority to building the economic strength of the US to fulfil that mandate.

The first of the ten executive orders signed by him even before moving to the Oval Office suspended 78 notifications issued by the Biden Presidency. His directives included a freeze on the hiring of Federal employees except for the military, immigration control, national security and public safety, stoppage of issue of any further notifications by Federal officials and restoration of complete freedom of speech, ending the 'weaponisation' of the instruments of governance in the previous regime.

There was also the declaration of withdrawal from the Paris Climate Treaty to save American aid of $3 billion given annually to the climate fund. This and the pull-out from the WHO that would deprive the UN agency of the annual US contribution of $130 million will have international repercussions. Trump's long-held antipathy towards WHO is rooted in his perception that the UN agency was influenced by China, which was responsible for Covid 19 virus, and that WHO had mishandled the pandemic.

Trump's announced mission of 'Making America Great Again' seems to be the prompt behind many of these early declarations in the spheres of foreign policy, domestic handling of inflation and unemployment, as well as of economy and trade. President Trump, in his second innings, is driven by a desire to transform the US and leave behind a legacy of decision-making that no other President could measure up to.

The first directives signed by Trump covered matters ranging from the security of borders to the thrust on bringing the governance totally under the President's control. He terminated all arrangements of remote functioning for federal employees and ordered their return to In-Person work. He asked for a plan for downsizing the Federal government's workforce through improvement of efficiency and attrition. At the same time, he directed executive departments and agencies to implement 'emergency price relief measures' to lower the cost of housing, health care, food and fuel and also create employment opportunities.

In an extraordinary executive order, President Trump renamed the US Digital Service as the Department of Government Efficiency(DOGE) and proposed to place it under Elon Musk for maximising the government's 'efficiency and productivity'. Trump has directed his Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, to implement the 'America First' foreign policy, in which the US and US citizens will be the sole priority.

He ordered the rechristening of the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America and the return of the name of Denali, the highest peak in North America, to the former Mount McKinley-named after the 25th President of the US in the 19th century. At home, the new President has called for tightening immigration laws, interestingly, the concerned directive captioned 'Protecting the American people against Invasion' introduces a slew of policies aimed at curbing immigration.

Trump, in fact, declared a 'national emergency' for checking immigration and directed military personnel to help secure the southern border through the use of additional physical barriers as well as drones. The Homeland Security Secretary has been asked by Trump to establish Homeland Security Task Forces in all states to assist in the faithful execution of immigration laws.

In another directive, Trump has ended birthright citizenship for children born in the US to immigrant parents who were in the country illegally as well as those born to parents who were there on a temporary basis. He has threatened mass deportations of illegal migrants including those whose birthright citizenship was revoked.

President Trump has designated some of the Drug cartels as 'foreign terrorist organisations' on the grounds that they had engaged in a campaign of violence and terror throughout the hemisphere and flooded the US with crime thus posing a security risk to the country. Designation of cartels as 'foreign terrorist organisations' could facilitate military action against targets in Mexico and other countries. Trump's focus on the challenge of countering terrorism will be appreciated by India.

In an executive order, the new President has put curbs on visa seekers from certain countries to protect the US from potential foreign terrorists. Vetting and screening will be intensified in regard to visa applicants from 'regions and nations with identified security risks'.

Apart from Trump's stand against global terror, his policy towards China would facilitate Indo-US friendship. Trump seems to discount Human Rights campaigns on social media while favouring a peaceful world order. His past record of friendship with President Putin of Russia and a lack of enthusiasm for the European Union as such, and his full support to Israel against the violence of Hamas might have a moderating effect on the Ukraine-Russia 'war' on one hand and help the process of release of hostages by both Hamas and Israel, on the other.

India should have a cautious approach to the 'America First' call and Trump's handling of tariffs, immigration and security of borders particularly after his declaration that "we will forge a society that is colour blind and merit-based." India is a major power in a multipolar world order and is a votary of global peace, fairness in international trade and bilateral relations based on mutual security and economic interests. It can deal with Trump's Presidency on merit, too.