The week that felt like a lifetime
Zander's Weekend Facts #154 - Sunday, January 26, 2025
Remember when Elon Musk decided it would be appropriate to express his love with a nazi salute not once, but twice? Seems like ages ago. But that was Monday.
So goes life in the age of another Donald Trump administration; hours that feel like weeks, days that feel like years, and weeks that some wish hadn’t taken place.
Trump 2.0 began on Monday with a flurry of actions, orders, and initiatives. Here are some of the most notable events from the past week:
President Trump signed a total of 42 executive actions on the first day of his presidency, including several focused on immigration. Trump declared a national emergency at the U.S. border with Mexico, which will allow for the continuation of construction of a border wall. Trump reversed several initiatives from the Biden administration, including signing an order to end asylum.
Trump also signed an order that seeks to end birthright citizenship, which gives citizenship to anyone born in the United States regardless of the citizenship of their parents. A federal judge blocked the order on Thursday, declaring it a violation of the 14th Amendment of the Constitution.
The orders continued in a hurry with Trump pardoning nearly 1,500 individuals who have been charged with crimes in connection to the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. 14 sentences were also commuted, including the leaders of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers far-right groups.
Other notable executive orders included the removal of the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement as well as the World Health Organization. Trump also instituted a hiring freeze for the federal government, while requiring all federal employees to return to the office full-time, and ended diversity, equity, and inclusion programs at the federal level. There are many more that are detailed at the link below.
On Tuesday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement began to prepare for increased enforcement as the Department of Homeland Security revoked a policy that prevented ICE agents from detaining undocumented individuals at churches, hospitals, and schools. Through the first several days of the administration, it did not appear that any large raids had been conducted and that routine operations had continued.
On foreign policy, new Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a temporary pause on any foreign aid, with the exceptions of Egypt and Israel. The order appears to have stopped aid from being received by U.S. allies such as Jordan, Taiwan, and Ukraine.
The war between Russia and Ukraine has continued, despite Trump’s campaign pledge to have the conflict resolved within 24 hours of taking office. Trump has proposed tariffs and sanctions against Russia if its president, Vladimir Putin, does not make efforts to negotiate an end to the war. Putin has said publicly that he is ready for negotiations and attempted to appease Trump by saying the conflict could have been prevented had Trump been in office. Trump appeared to claim in a Fox News interview that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a mistake by fighting back when attacked by Russia in 2022.
NBC News - Trump suggests Ukraine shouldn't have fought back against Russia
Associated Press - Putin echoes Trump’s claim that conflict in Ukraine could have been avoided had he been in office
And while Trump may be president once again, that doesn’t mean his social media tendencies have taken a back seat. After the bishop of the Diocese of Washington, Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde had the audacity to ask the president to show mercy to members of the LGBTQ+ community and migrants living in the U.S. at a sermon that Trump attended on Tuesday, Trump declared her a “Radical Left hard line Trump hater” on his Truth Social platform.
Associated Press - Episcopal bishop says she’ll continue to pray for Trump, who lashed out at her over viral sermon
Trump also revoked the security detail for Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, as well as former national security adviser John Bolton and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Trump said he would not feel responsible if Bolton or Fauci were harmed. Fauci, in particular, has received threats due to his involvement in the federal government’s Covid-19 prevention programs.
On Friday night, Trump fired 17 inspectors general despite not following a law requiring a 30-day notice of any firings of the position be given to Congress. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) confirmed on Saturday that no notice was given.
Finally, several appointees to Trump’s cabinet were confirmed by the Senate last week. Most notably, defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth needed a tie-breaking vote from Vice President J.D. Vance for his nomination to be confirmed. On Saturday, the Senate voted to confirm South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem as Secretary of Homeland Security.
As The Wall Street Journal article linked below explains, there are several reasons why the Trump team is moving quickly to assert its authority over the country.
For more information on this week’s top story, here’s an article from The Wall Street Journal - Why Donald Trump Is Racing So Fast to Remake America
What Zander’s been reading
While a new administration took office on Monday, the videographer for the country’s first woman and African-American vice president shares an inside look at what it was like to work for Kamala Harris.
Check out this week’s featured article in Slate - I Was Kamala Harris’ Videographer. The Experience Completely Changed Me.
Zander’s Facts Sporting Club
Here are the latest headlines from the sports world in the Sporting Club:
NFL Conference Championships: This year’s Super Bowl matchup will be decided later today with the NFL Playoffs entering the conference championship round. In the NFC, the Commanders visit the Eagles at 3:00 pm ET on Fox. The Washington franchise has not been to the Super Bowl since 1991, while the Eagles made the game two years ago. The AFC Championship caps the day at 6:30 pm ET on CBS. The top two seeds in the conference face off as the Chiefs host the Bills. Kansas City is seeking its fifth appearance in the title game in the last six years, while Buffalo hasn’t made the Super Bowl since 1993 and has never won in the season’s final game. The two victors will face off in Super Bowl LVI in New Orleans on Sunday, February 9.
College Football Playoff: #8 Ohio State completed an improbable late-season turn-around to win the College Football Playoff National Championship. The Buckeyes took down #7 Notre Dame in Monday’s game, winning 34-23. Ohio State had lost to rival Michigan in the final game of the regular season before winning four straight games in the Playoff to capture the school’s ninth national title.
UEFA Champions League: The final matchday of the league phase in the UEFA Champions League will take place on Wednesday. All 36 teams will be in action with every match kicking off simultaneously at 3:00 pm ET. After the conclusion of Wednesday’s 18 matches, the top eight teams in the table will automatically advance to the round of 16, while teams placed 9-23 will qualify for the play-offs with a chance to reach the knockout rounds. Before matchday 8, only Liverpool and Barcelona have directly qualified for the round of 16. 16 additional teams have qualified for at least a spot in the play-offs, including AC Milan, Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, and Real Madrid. Every match on Wednesday will stream on Paramount+.
Australian Open: Madison Keys became the first American to win the Australian Open women’s final in five years with a stunning 6-3, 2-6, 7-5, victory over Aaryna Sabalenka, who had won the last two Australian Open singles titles. The title is the first in a Grand Slam for Keys. The men’s final took place early Sunday morning between the top two seeded players in the world, Italy’s Jannik Sinner and Germany’s Alexander Zverev.
Baseball Hall of Fame: Three baseball legends were selected to join the National Baseball Hall of Fame last week. Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia, and Billy Wagner garnered the necessary votes to be inducted into the 2025 class. Suzuki, who fell one vote shy of being just the second-ever unanimous selection, is the first Asian-born player to be voted in. Sabathia, like Suzuki, will enter the Hall after being voted during his first year on the ballot. Wagner crossed the 75% threshold in his 10th and final year on the ballot.
Rapid-fire Facts
Here’s a recap of the top news headlines from the past week:
California Wildfires: Wildfires continue to burn in Southern California as rain finally arrives in the region. At least 28 people have been killed by the fires, although the two largest fires, the Palisades and Eaton fires, are both at least 75% contained. While several new fires erupted in the last few days, rainy conditions have now prompted worries over potential mudslides. President Donald Trump visited Pacific Palisades on Friday, meeting with California Governor Gavin Newsom.
TikTok Ban: TikTok’s suspension of operations in the U.S. was short-lived with the social media site coming back online on Sunday. On Monday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order extending the deadline for ByteDance to find a buyer for TikTok by 90 days. It was reported on Saturday that the White House was working with software company Oracle and other investors to purchase a majority stake in TikTok.
Bird Flu: Egg prices have exploded in the U.S. as a result of bird flu caused by the H5N1 virus. Since the bird flu came to the U.S. in 2022, at least 136 million birds have died. However, in the last three months, 30 million chickens have been killed in an effort to contain the virus. With experts believing it could take months before the supply of chickens returns to normal levels, egg prices are expected to continue to grow due to the shortage of supply.
Biden Pardons: Former President Joe Biden spent his final hours as president last week issuing pardons. Biden pardoned his siblings and their spouses, citing attacks from those affiliated with President Donald Trump. Biden also issued pardons for retired Gen. Mark Milley, former head of the NIAID Dr. Anthony Fauci, and members of the House Committee that investigated the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The pardons came after Trump warned of an enemies list and empowered individuals committed to punishing those who have crossed Trump politically.
Corporate DEI: While several companies have withdrawn initiatives focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion in recent weeks and months, one notable company did not last week. On Thursday, Costco shareholders overwhelmingly rejected a proposal that would report on the risks of the company’s diversity and inclusion initiatives. The company, which urged shareholders to vote against the proposal, claimed that 98% of votes were against the review of its DEI programs. Many companies have recently ended similar programs as President Donald Trump, an opponent of the programs, has entered the White House.
That’s a wrap on this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts. The Facts in Print return next Sunday, February 2, 2025.