President Donald Trump continues to take sweeping executive actions in his second term, including an order this week targeting a senior official from his first administration who became one of his critics.
Focus continues on the legal battle regarding Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a migrant who was living in Maryland when he was wrongfully deported by the administration.
Trump signs memorandum on using tech for environmental reviews
President Donald Trump signed a memorandum that directs the federal government to leverage "modern technology" to evaluate environmental reviews and permits, according to the fact sheet about the action.
The memo directs agencies to make such applications online, leaving behind paper copies, and to form a plan to digitize the review process.
The White House said that current environmental review and permitting processes are "inefficient, unpredictable, and counterproductive to the growth of the American economy."
-ABC News' Michell Stoddart, Molly Nagle and Hannah Demissie
Apr 15, 2025, 6:59 PM EDT
Trump signs order on imported critical minerals, possible precursor to tariffs
President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order launching an investigation into the "national security risks posed by U.S. reliance on imported processed critical minerals and their derivative products," according to a fact sheet on the order.
The president has used Section 232 investigations as a precursor to implementing tariffs, as he did with aluminum and steel. On Monday, the White House acknowledged it had ongoing Section 232 investigations into pharmaceuticals and semiconductors.
President Donald Trump participates in the Commander-in-Chief Trophy Presentation to the Navy Midshipmen - the United States Naval Academy, in the East Room at the White House in Washington, April 15, 2025.
Yuri Gripas/Pool/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
The White House notes that critical minerals play an important role in our defense industrial base, and are required for everything from radar systems to jet engines, to secure communications.
However, the U.S. relies on foreign sources for many of these materials.
“Foreign producers have engaged in price manipulation, overcapacity, and arbitrary export restrictions, using their supply chain dominance as a tool for geopolitical and economic leverage over the United States,” The White House said in the fact sheet on the order.
The order calls on the secretary of commerce to submit a final report and recommendations to the president within 180 days of the investigation getting underway.
-ABC News' Michell Stoddart, Molly Nagle and Hannah Demissie
Apr 15, 2025, 6:39 PM EDT
Trump signs order rescinding executive actions from Carter and Clinton
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday rescinding two executive actions issued by former Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton that constrain federal office locations.
According to a fact sheet provided by the White House, Trump’s executive order allows "federal agencies to select office space and facilities based on cost-effectiveness, mission suitability, and the needs of the American people."
The administrator of the General Services Administration will be tasked with updating federal office space management regulations to conform with the order.
The White House argues in its fact sheet that by eliminating the executive actions from Carter and Clinton the Trump administration is making it easier to bring federal services to Americans.
-ABC News' Michell Stoddart, Molly Nagle and Hannah Demissie
Apr 15, 2025, 5:52 PM EDT
Trump signs wide-ranging executive order aimed at lowering prescription drugs
Trump signed an executive order Tuesday aimed at lowering healthcare and prescription drug costs.
The order included a directive to improve the program for Medicare to negotiate drug prices, plans to create a program to get better prices for the most expensive drugs, including insulin and directed the FDA to approve state importation programs and approvals for generic drugs.
According to a fact sheet about the order, the government is looking to "eclipse the 22% in savings achieved" by the first year of Medicaid's program to negotiate drug prices. The order also says that the government plans to align the payment with what hospitals pay for them, which the White House says is sometimes "35% lower than what the government" pays.
The order also aims to standardize Medicare costs of drugs regardless of care facility, which the White House says can lower prices by as much as 60%.
