Trump’s Cabinet II, the first measures
Trump II’s Cabinet, the first measures
On January 20th, 2025, Donald J. Trump was sworn in for the second time and officially became the 47th President of the United States of America and did not take long to take his first decrees. This investiture marks the conclusion of a two-month transition period that opened following the proclamation of the results on the night of November 05th to 06th, 2024.
This latency period is often presented as essential to the peaceful transfer of power and the continuity of federal government institutions. Each elected president uses it in his own way, which often sets the tone for the administration to come.
In this case, the surprise effect is necessarily lower since President Trump is returning to the White House after a 4 year hiatus: his managerial style is known, his positions too. Some of his outings may have come as a surprise, such as the possibility of taking control of Greenland by any means, including military ones, or the slight change of position on visas for skilled workers… but on the whole, President Donald Trump seems to have decided to roll out the program on which he was elected and even acclaimed since he won both the popular and the electoral votes.
From his first inaugural speech on Capitol Hill, the tone was set, in line with his “America First” programme: increased tariffs for certain countries, a state of energy emergency, deployment of the army on the country’s southern border… the American president has signed an impressive number of executive orders.
At the international level, there were two major announcements: one about the withdrawal of the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement, a predictable withdrawal since he had already done so during his first term. The second dealt with the country’s withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO). Indeed, the White House has instructed US federal agencies to suspend any future transfer of funds to the Geneva-based institution and to identify “credible international and American partners [to] take on the activities previously undertaken by the WHO”.
China and the European Union have expressed concern about this decision. In a statement in response, the WHO regretted this decision of the American President and hoped that it could be the subject of a “constructive dialogue” with the American authorities. However, if history is a reliable indicator, hopes of a U-turn to the past will not come, at least from this administration.
Indeed, this withdrawal is not really a surprise since President Trump had already begun the process during his first term. However, upon his arrival at the White House, President Biden reversed this decision before the one-year deadline provided for in the texts. Back in charge, President Trump wants to finish what he started. The choice of Robert Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of State for Health can in retrospect be considered a major clue. The latter had decried the treatment of the Covid-19 pandemic both internationally and in his country.
This withdrawal will have a definite impact on the functioning of the WHO because the United States has so far been the institution’s leading donor. On the other hand, by withdrawing from the organization, the United States loses important access to data and breakthroughts in global health, particularly on surveillance and epidemic control, which could be important in the event of a health alert from abroad. To that effect, let’s not forget that they are hosting in conjunction with Mexico and Canada, both the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympic games. Given the latest statements of the President Trump on the free trade agreement with his neighbours, or about Canada and a possible fusion, as well as the army soon deployed on the southern border with Mexico, this should be fun!