The third week of Donald Trump’s second term has been marked by more major action from the US president and his team.

From announcing US goals on the future of Gaza and massively slashing the US agency for foreign aid to intervening in a golf dispute and banning transgender women from female sports competitions, Trump, his adviser Elon Musk and the rest of his team have pressed on with their agenda.

There’s a lot to keep up with – so here’s a reminder of 16 moves this week.

1. Proposed the US ‘take over’ Gaza

At a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Tuesday, Trump said the US would “take over” and “own” Gaza, resettling its Palestinian population in the process.

Trump proposed developing the territory, devastated after 15 months of war between Israel and Hamas, into the “Riviera of the Middle East”.

“The Gaza Strip would be turned over to the United States by Israel at the conclusion of fighting,” Trump repeated on social media on Thursday, reiterating the idea would mean resettling Palestinians who currently live there.

Trump suggested the displacement would be permanent, but administration officials later suggested any relocation would be only temporary.

Any forced deportation of civilians would be a violation of international law.

2. Planned to put thousands of USAID staff on leave

Thousands of employees at the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the government’s main foreign aid agency, were expected to be placed on leave at midnight on Friday.

That was until a judge temporarily blocked President Trump’s plan, hours before it was due to happen.

Judge Carl Nichols issued a “limited” temporary restraining order, in response to a last-minute lawsuit filed by two unions trying to save the agency.

The proposed cuts will affect the vast majority of the agency’s workforce, leaving only a few hundred essential staff out of a total of about 10,000 employees globally.

The move comes after workers were asked to stay out of the agency’s Washington DC headquarters earlier this week.

Cutbacks at the agency have upended the global aid system, with hundreds of programmes already frozen in countries around the world.

The Trump administration reportedly intends to merge the agency, which distributes billions of dollars in aid globally, with the State Department, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters he was now the acting head of the agency.

READ ALSO: Trump Sues New York Over Immigration Enforcement

3. Imposed tariffs on China and pulled back threats on neighbours

Trump imposed a 10% tariff on Chinese imports on Tuesday, but held off on his threat of implementing 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico for 30 days, after those countries’ leaders pledged to beef up border security.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau agreed to reinforce the US-Canada border to clamp down on migration and the flow of the deadly drug fentanyl.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum agreed to bolster the country’s northern border with troops, and in return the US would limit the flow of guns into Mexico.

The tariffs, which some experts suggest could exacerbate inflation, were part of Trump’s campaign platform ahead of November’s election.

4. Pressed ahead with plan to incentivise federal workers to resign

The Trump administration had offered incentives to federal workers to voluntarily resign by a Thursday midnight deadline – part of an effort to slash the size of the government.

However, a US judge temporarily halted the plan hours before the deadline, pausing it until a hearing on Monday to determine the merits of a lawsuit filed by federal employee unions, CBS News, the BBC’s US partner, reported.

Some of the federal government’s more than two million civilian workers have voiced confusion about the terms of the deal, which the administration says would allow them to receive pay and benefits through September in exchange for resigning.

Critics have questioned the legality of the offer and some federal employee unions have advised members to exercise caution around accepting the deal.

5. Sanctioned the International Criminal Court

On Thursday, Trump signed an order to impose sanctions on some staff of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The sanctions place financial and visa restrictions on individuals and their families who assist in ICC investigations of American citizens or allies.

The Hague-based court brings global prosecutions for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Recently, it issued arrest warrants for a Hamas commander and Israel’s Netanyahu over alleged war crimes in Gaza, which Israel denies.

Trump’s announcement came as Netanyahu was visiting Washington DC.

More than 120 countries, including the UK, are members of the ICC, though the US and Israel are not.

6. Ordered strikes against the Islamic State group in Somalia

Trump said he ordered military air strikes on a senior attack planner and others from the Islamic State (IS) group in north-east Somalia on 1 February.

He said “many terrorists” were killed “without, in any way, harming civilians”. The BBC could not independently verify reports of casualties.

The office of Somalia’s president on social media welcomed the “unwavering support of the United States in the fight against international terrorism”.

READ ALSO: Gaza Isn’t Part Of Your Country – China Blasts Donald Trump Over ‘Clear Out’ Threat

7. Withdrew from United Nations institutions

Trump also took action to end US involvement in several UN institutions.

On Tuesday, Trump signed an executive order withdrawing the US from the main UN agency for Palestinian refugees, or UNRWA, of which Israel has been highly critical.

The same order said the US would no longer participate in the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), and the US would conduct a review of its membership in the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) within 90 days.

8. Sent first plane of deportees to Guantanamo

The US sent the first group of migrants to Guantanamo Bay on Tuesday, after Trump announced plans to expand migrant detention at the US Navy base in Cuba.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the detainees were part of the Tren de Aragua – a gang that originated in Venezuela’s prisons. Ten detainees were sent, CBS reported, citing multiple US officials.

The move came after Trump ordered that an existing migrant detention facility at the base be expanded to hold some 30,000 people.

The Naval base has been used to house a small number of migrants – a few dozen at a time, in recent years – for decades.

Separately, nearly 800 people – most held on suspicions of terrorism – have been jailed at the base’s detention centre since it opened in 2002. About 15 people are still held there now, according to US media.

Deportation flights also carried migrants back to India this week.

READ ALSO: USAID: He Should Be Fired Immediately — Trump Blasts Washington Post Columnist

9. Demanded Ukraine provide rare earth resources

On Monday, Trump said he wanted Ukraine to guarantee the supply of more rare earth metals in exchange for $300bn (£240bn) to support its fight against Russia.

“We want what we put up to go in terms of a guarantee… we’re looking to do a deal with Ukraine where we’re going to secure what we’re giving them with their rare earth (minerals) and other things,” Trump said.

Ukraine has large deposits of uranium, lithium and titanium, which can be used for defence and electronics manufacturing, CBS reported.

In response, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country was open to investment by American companies.

10. Banned transgender competitors from women’s sports

Trump signed an executive order on Wednesday that prevents transgender women from competing in female categories of sports.

The order outlines guidance, regulations and legal interpretations largely around high school, university and grassroots sports.

However, Trump said the order would include the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, adding he would deny visas for transgender Olympic athletes trying to visit the US to compete.

11. Released water from dams in California

Trump on Monday ordered the Army Corps of Engineers to release billions of gallons of water from two reservoirs in California’s Central Valley after deadly wildfires in Los Angeles in January.

Trump had claimed California withheld water supplies that could have made a difference in fighting the fires, which the state’s Governor Gavin Newsom and other officials disputed, CBS reported.

The water was released into a dry lakebed more than 100 miles (160km) away from the fires. Experts and officials told CBS the water could not flow to Los Angeles and would likely go to waste.

US Congressman Ted Lieu, a Democrat from California, said that before the water in the dams was released, it was being “saved for the farmers for the summer season when they needed the water” in the state’s agricultural region.

READ ALSO: Why I’m Revoking Ex-President Biden’s Security Clearance — Trump

12. Announced taskforce to tackle ‘anti-Christian bias’

Trump on Thursday signed an executive order that aimed “to protect the religious freedoms of Americans and end the anti-Christian weaponization of government”.

He appointed newly confirmed Attorney General Pam Bond to lead a task force to eradicate what he called “anti-Christian bias” in the federal government.

Trump signed the order after giving remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington DC. 13. Intervened in a dispute in the golf world

Trump, an avid golf player who owns courses around the world, reportedly intervened in a dispute between championship organiser PGA Tour and its rival series LIV Golf.

After the launch of LIV Golf led to a rift, the rivals entered negotiations and announced a “framework agreement” for a merger, but a deadline to complete that deal passed.

This week, PGA Tour said it was “closer to a deal” with LIV Golf after calling on Trump to step in.

“We asked the president to get involved for the good of the game, the good of the country, and for all the countries involved,” said the statement. “We are grateful that his leadership has brought us closer to a final deal, paving the way for reunification of men’s professional golf.”

13. Removed climate change mentions from government websites

Starting last week, the Trump administration reportedly ordered some US government agency websites to remove references to climate change.

It has affected the websites of the departments of transportation, defence, state and agriculture, which manages the forest service, the Guardian reported.

Some climate content remained on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Nasa and Energy Department’s sites.

This week, some employees at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) were also ordered to temporarily stop communicating with foreign nationals, US media reported.

The change came after reports that staff from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) – which is not an official government department – entered the offices of NOAA and took over the agency’s internal websites, removing pages devoted to diversity-focused employee affinity groups.

READ ALSO: Netanyahu To Meet Trump As Israel, Hamas Eye Gaza Truce Talks

14. Increased access for Musk’s Doge

President Donald Trump said on Friday that he had directed Musk’s Doge, a cost-cutting initiative to shrink the federal government, to “check out” spending at the Defence Department among other agencies.

“Pentagon, education, just about everything,” Trump said during a news conference with visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

The Trump administration also gave members of Doge access to a US treasury department payments system that controls the flow of trillions of dollars in funds every year, US media reported.

But on Saturday, a federal judge blocked Doge from accessing the personal financial data of millions of Americans in Treasury Department records.

US District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer issued a preliminary injunction to prohibit access, ordering Musk and his team to immediately destroy any copies of records.

Musk’s newly created Doge, which is not an official federal department, has been heavily involved in government upheaval.

15. Joe Biden’s security clearance revoked

Trump revoked Joe Biden’s security clearance and access to daily intelligence briefings on Friday – something Biden did to Trump four years ago.

“There is no need for Joe Biden to continue receiving access to classified information,” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform.

“JOE, YOU’RE FIRED,” the Republican added in a reference to his catchphrase on the reality TV show, The Apprentice.

It came among a flurry of other announcements on Friday, which included an executive order freezing financial assistance to South Africa and announcing that he would fire the board of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington DC and name himself chairman.

16. Scraps task force that seized assets of Russian oligarchs

Trump’s Attorney General Pam Bondi this week disbanded a force designed to combat foreign interference in elections, as well as another initiative which targeted Russian oligarchs.

In an order signed on Bondi’s first day in office, she disbanded the FBI’s Foreign Influence Task Force – which aimed to prevent foreign meddling in US elections – to reassign its staff to focus instead on drug cartels and transnational criminal organisations.

The order stated it would “free resources to address more pressing priorities, and end risks of further weaponization and abuses of prosecutorial discretion”.

Bondi also disbanded Task Force KleptoCapture, which was launched after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It had been tasked with seizing yachts and other assets from Russian oligarchs.
(Tribune)