Trump’s “Golden Age” pledge and his domestic agenda since January 2025
When Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, he promised Americans a “Golden Age” of safety, sovereignty and law and order, and on his first day signed orders withdrawing the United States from the Paris climate agreement, declaring a national emergency at the US-Mexico border and reversing nearly 80 Biden-era policies. His domestic drive then centred on spending, immigration and what he calls “wokeness,” including an aggressive crackdown on DEI programmes and transgender rights.
To cut federal spending he appointed Elon Musk to lead the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which initially targeted $2 trillion in savings. DOGE oversaw widespread agency cuts, including the closure of USAID and thousands of job losses. Musk left after about four months, in May 2025; by November a senior official told Reuters the department “no longer existed as a centralised entity.” It claimed $215 billion in savings, but in August the US Government Accountability Office found some entries on its public “Wall of Receipts” incorrect or unsupported and criticised its methodology, including credit for leases already being phased out. There is no independently verified total. DOGE formally ended on 4 July 2026, with Trump calling a smaller government a gift for America’s 250th birthday.
On immigration, the administration increased deportation flights, including to El Salvador, which received millions of dollars to detain more than 200 Venezuelan men Trump accused of gang membership. ICE expanded raids in Los Angeles, Minneapolis and New Orleans, with arrests at traffic stops, schools and churches drawing protests. Six people have been killed in ICE-related shootings since 2025, including three US citizens. The Migration Policy Institute estimates about 980,000 deportations in the first 18 months, below the target of one million a year. The Department of Homeland Security says more than three million unauthorised immigrants have left since January 2025, including through self-deportation, a figure that cannot be independently verified.
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