Trump’s ‘shock and awe’ is Washington’s new normal — again

Welcome to Washington’s new normal.

President Trump promised shock and awe when he was elected, and his Inauguration Day at times felt like an effort to overwhelm his critics, his opponents and a media trying to keep up.

The day started around 8:30 a.m. EST with a church service and ended with an inaugural ball after midnight. In between, Trump signed dozens of executive orders and quickly set about remaking swaths of the federal government.

The change Trump is seeking to implement is at times breathtaking, and some of it has already bred legal challenges less than 24 hours in office. For his supporters, it was a sight to behold.

“The Trump train rolled into town and flawlessly unpacked,” said Dan Eberhart, a GOP donor who used the phrase “shock and awe” to describe the first day of the new administration.

“Unlike 2017, yesterday felt like a well-oiled machine ready to take the reins,” he added.

Trump’s first day in office was a reminder of the breakneck pace of a Trump administration. Even some of his aides marveled at how quickly he settled back in as he fielded questions for nearly an hour behind the Resolute Desk while he signed a slew of executive actions in the Oval Office.

The president signed executive orders pausing refugee admissions; activating Pentagon resources for the southern border; asserting more presidential control over the federal workforce; recognizing only two sexes, male and female; delaying a ban on TikTok; and attempting to end birthright citizenship.

He took questions as he inscribed his name in black Sharpie on each order. He relayed that he was thinking of imposing 25 percent tariffs on Mexico and Canada starting Feb. 1. He was critical of Russia and its war in Ukraine. And when Trump was asked if Biden had left him a letter, he spontaneously opened up a desk drawer and whipped out an envelope with “47” scrawled on it.

It was enough to cause a case of whiplash after four years of the Biden White House, which on any given day featured one, maybe two, – and oftentimes no public appearances a day from the president, let alone unscripted remarks. Biden rarely involved the kind of unscripted exchanges with reporters that Trump relishes.

But Trump’s team knows there is a purpose to the blitz of early action.

Trump is a lame-duck president. That means he won’t get another term to take action, but he also doesn’t have to worry about political repercussions if he pushes the envelope of presidential power.

Aides are also aware of the reality that the president’s party typically endures losses in the midterms, giving Trump a little less than two years to push his agenda with a unified GOP government that he can bend to his will.

“The mindset within the administration is go big or go home,” said one Republican with ties to Trump World. “They know they’ve got two years, and they’ve got to put W’s up right out of the gate.

Legal challenges inbound

While Trump is getting back into the rhythm of governing, civil rights groups, watchdogs and democratic attorneys general are getting back into the swing of waging legal battles against Trump policies.

Trump’s executive order seeking to end birthright citizenship was expected to face legal challenges, and already it has. The American Civil Liberties Union sued late Monday over the order. Nearly two dozen Democrat-led states and two cities filed suit on Tuesday asking federal judges to rule that the order contradicts the Constitution, which under the 14th Amendment bestows citizenship on anyone born in the United States.

Trump’s new “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) was sued multiple times just minutes after he was sworn in in the Capitol rotunda, with the lawsuits alleging DOGE doesn’t comply with the Federal Advisory Committee Act.

The Trump White House did not respond to requests for comment about the legal challenges.

But the lawsuits are unlikely to stop there. Legal scholars and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have argued Trump’s order to delay a ban on TikTok is on shaky legal footing since it’s in direct conflict with a law passed by Congress.

Trump's comms strategy

When it comes to getting the president’s message out, it’s the Trump show.

Trump’s team knows the president is his own best messenger, able to capture the news cycle and spar with reporters in a way that tends to overshadow the substance of what he’s saying.

But for all the talk of shaking up the briefing room seating arrangement and displacing traditional outlets, Trump has relied on mainstream anchors and the same journalists who covered his first term to communicate his message.

The president has been texting and calling some reporters directly, like when he messaged NBC’s Kristen Welker his reaction to last-minute pardons by then-President Biden on Anthony Fauci and members of the House Jan. 6 committee.

Trump fielded questions for roughly an hour from the pool of journalists covering his movements on inauguration day.

His first sit-down interview of his second term will be with Fox News opinion host Sean Hannity which will air in prime time Wednesday at the White House.

In a nod to the new media landscape that helped put Trump in the White House, podcasters Theo Von and Logan Paul, both of whom hosted Trump on their shows during the campaign, were in attendance at the Capitol for his inauguration.

As for when the public will see press secretary Karoline Leavitt at the podium for the first time?

“To be announced,” she said Tuesday.

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