Breakdown of Trump's Executive Orders, Ways Rep. Omar is Fighting Back
FACT SHEET: Donald Trump’s Executive Orders, Ways Rep. Omar is Fighting Back
In the past few weeks, Donald Trump has signed a flurry of executive orders—affecting everyday people, our international relations, and dismantling our democracy as we know it. Many of these orders directly target marginalized communities, and strip away constitutional rights, in ways that should alarm every American.
Here’s a breakdown of some of the most dangerous actions—and what Rep. Ilhan Omar is doing to fight back. You can view the most up to date tracking information on these Executive Orders here.
Executive Action: Federal Funding Freeze
Trump issued a memorandum ordering a “temporary pause” of federal agency grants, loans, and other financial assistance programs. The pause sparked confusion among federal and state agencies, schools, hospitals, and nonprofits that rely on federal funding to serve the public. If implemented, this would mean funding could be cut off for vital resources for Head Start programs, risk school meal programs, jeopardize access to SNAP and WIC program benefits, and halt critical medical research, including breakthrough cancer and dementia studies at our nation’s leading institutions. In Minnesota, $1.8 billion dollars of federal funding would be at risk, funding that goes to law enforcement, assistance to farmers, schools, veterans and health care.
How We’re Fighting Back:
Rep. Omar led a press conference with local leaders and nonprofits in Minneapolis who spoke about how the funding freeze impacts Minnesotans. You can watch it here. The Constitution is clear that President Trump cannot freeze this funding. Congress, not the President, has the power of the purse. This action is a lawless attack on our system of checks and balances. On Feb 3rd, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order blocking the freeze while she weighs a lawsuit challenging its legality.
Executive Action: Birthright Citizenship
Trump’s executive order seeks to revoke birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants, falsely claiming that those in the U.S. illegally are not “subject to the jurisdiction thereof.” This is a direct attack on the 14th Amendment and a blatant attempt to strip Americans of their citizenship based on who their parents are.
How We’re Fighting Back:
Several lawsuits have been filed by state Attorneys General and immigration advocacy groups seeking to block the laughably incorrect reading of the 14th Amendment in the executive order. As of February 5th, judges in Washington and Maryland have blocked implementation of the order, with the Reagan-appointed judge in Washington calling it “blatantly unconstitutional.”
Executive Action: Invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798
Trump’s executive order on designating cartels and transnational gangs as terrorist organizations also includes a provision requiring the Attorney General and Secretary of Homeland Security to make a plan to implement any decision the president makes to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798. The Alien Enemies Act is a law that allows people to be arrested with no due process based purely on their nationality. It was the legal basis for the internment of Japanese, German, and Italian-Americans during World War II.
How We’re Fighting Back:
In January 2025, Rep. Omar, along with U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono reintroduced the Neighbors Not Enemies Act to fully repeal the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 and hosted a press conference with supporters calling for immediate action on this critical bill. Repealing this law is a necessary step toward creating an immigration system rooted in justice and compassion. Even with the law on the books, this executive order is proposing to use a wartime authority for law enforcement purposes, and could be used to target people for arrest without due process based solely on their nationality.
Executive Action: “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) Access to the Treasury Department’s Payment System
It has been reported that Trump’s Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, gave unprecedented financial access to Elon Musk and his DOGE staff, exposing sensitive personal and financial data of nearly all American taxpayers. The Treasury’s payment system manages the distribution of trillions of dollars of congressionally-authorized payments, including Social Security checks. This action, and any potential disruption of vital payments to Americans, raises serious legal concerns around overreach, the separation of powers, data security, and corruption. DOGE’s influence reveals a troubling trend of corporate interests taking over government functions – turning public systems and institutions designed to serve its people into private playgrounds for the wealthy few.
How We’re Fighting Back:
This action is prohibited under Section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code. Musk may claim he has the “security clearance” to access this information, but Section 6103 trumps any clearance and he must abide by the law. Unions representing federal workers sued the Treasury department in an effort to block this access, arguing that Musk and his team violated data privacy and tax laws. On February 6th, a federal judge partially blocked DOGE’s access to Treasury’s financial systems – unions were able to get the Trump administration to only provide read-only access to 2 DOGE-connected special government employees of the Treasury – but we must stay vigilant.
There have been multiple Congressional inquiries to investigate the scope of DOGE’s access and the risks of political interference and abuse of appropriated funds. Rep. Omar joined House Democrats in introducing a comprehensive bill, the Taxpayer Data Protection Act, to strengthen guardrails and penalties for accessing sensitive information without sufficient authorization and qualifications.
Executive Action: Federal Government to Define Sex as Only Male or Female on Official Documents
Trump has ordered federal agencies to fundamentally alter how they define gender by mandating that only “biological sex” as assigned at birth is recognized on federal documents and in government policy. Federal identification documents, including passports, must reflect this change. This action denies the existence of transgender and nonbinary people, reversing progress on LGBTQ+ rights and harming legal protections.
How We’re Fighting Back:
This is a state-sponsored erasure of trans people. Our office is working with the State Department and has done outreach with local LGBTQ+ organizations. Congress must protect and promote the legal recognition for trans and nonbinary Americans.
Executive Action: “Deferred Resignation” Effort to Pushout Federal Workforce
On January 28th, the Trump Administration sent a “deferred resignation” offer email to federal employees, urging them to resign by Feb. 6 and claiming they would retain pay and benefits until Sept. 30, 2025. This is an authoritarian power grab meant to turn the federal workforce into a political tool. Trump is trying every trick in the book to purge the civil service of nonpartisan, experts and replace them with loyalist cronies. More than 85% of the federal workforce operates outside, including nearly 20,000 in Minnesota. Federal workers are nurses and doctors at VA hospitals. They process Social Security checks for seniors. They are TSA agents and air traffic controllers who keep us safe when we fly. This is part of a concerted effort to attack federal agencies and set the stage for massive unwarranted cuts that will undermine critical services Americans rely on.
How We’re Fighting Back:
Let’s be clear: there is no evidence that the deferred resignation offer is real or even legal. There is a provision of federal law — 5 USC 6329a — that limits administrative leave for federal workers to 10 days in a calendar year. The Trump deal is for eight months. On February 6, a judge temporarily blocked Trump’s action after three unions that represent more than 800,000 federal workers and the AFL-CIO filed a lawsuit calling the deal an unlawful, arbitrary and "short-fused ultimatum."
Executive Action: Freezing Foreign Aid and Shutting Down USAID
On January 20, Trump issued an executive order pausing all foreign development assistance for 90 days pending a review. Subsequently, and well beyond the scope of the original order, Elon Musk and DOGE seized the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), shutting down all of its programming, and laying off almost all of its staff. This includes staff that are serving in war zones, and found themselves suddenly disconnected from their work emails and the app designed to alert security in case of emergency. Programs to provide treatment for people with HIV/AIDS, shelter for refugees fleeing wars and genocides, and food for starving people, were suddenly halted, and their staff ordered to return to the United States.
How We’re Fighting Back:
Rep. Omar joined several of her colleagues on a fact-finding mission to USAID headquarters on February 3, speaking out against the illegal Musk seizure of USAID’s offices and systems, and subsequently trying to gain entry to the building. Several Democratic Senators, led by Brian Schatz of Hawaii, have announced they will be holding up all Trump nominees for foreign policy positions until USAID is returned to its proper position under control of the federal government, and not an unelected billionaire. A number of lawsuits, targeted at both the illegality of Musk’s role and the illegality of any President shutting down an agency created by Congress, have been filed.
Executive Action: Unleashing American Energy by Rollbacking Decades of Environmental Protection Laws
Trump issued a slew of executive orders on his first day to roll back critical climate protections and drastically increase fossil fuel extraction. The largest of these, “Unleashing American Energy” freezes Congressionally-directed funds from the Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, resumes liquified natural gas permitting, and reopens U.S. coastlines to offshore drilling. Additionally, this order rolls back decades of scientific precedent by attacking the fundamental mandate of the EPA to reduce greenhouse gasses. It also terminates the American Climate Corps, the Social Cost of Carbon calculation, and the Biden climate justice executive actions. These attacks will have disastrous impacts on our air and water, lead to increases in dangerous pollution and extreme weather events, harm public health, raise energy bills, and exacerbate climate injustices.
How We’re Fighting Back:
Like the federal funding freeze, Trump holding back IRA and IIJA funds directly appropriated is a direct contravention of Congress’s Constitutional power of the purse. Environmental groups, legal organizations, and cities are gearing up to file lawsuits against provisions in this order, along with the national energy emergency order. Rep. Omar and colleagues continue to push back against fossil fuel expansion through DOE and EPA oversight. She is also planning to reintroduce her bill, the End Polluter Welfare Act, alongside Senator Bernie Sanders to hold corporate polluters accountable and eliminate handouts to the fossil fuel industry.
Executive Action: Ban on DEIA Initiatives in the Executive Branch and by Contractors
In an attempt to roll back decades of civil rights progress, the Trump administration issued an executive order ending diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility programs and offices across the federal government and by contractors. The order jeopardizes fair opportunities for underrepresented individuals, potentially violating existing discrimination statutes like Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Furthermore, it directs both public and private entities to cease such policies across-the-board, which is already having chilling effects as more companies begin to terminate their workplace initiatives for underserved groups. This action is an attack on workplace rights and equal opportunity, that is meant to weaken employment anti-discrimination policies.
How We’re Fighting Back:
There is a lawsuit by higher education officials and other community leaders arguing that these actions violate free speech protections. Additionally, the Education & Workforce Committee, of which Rep. Omar is a member, has oversight of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, which plays a vital role in making sure that federal contractors do not discriminate against workers and job seekers. Democrats on the committee are committed to holding the administration accountable to ensure compliance with the law and safeguard civil rights protections across the federal government. All workplaces should be inclusive, where everyone has a fair chance to compete and thrive.
Executive Action: Implementing Reckless Tariffs
President Donald Trump invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to put tariffs of up to 25% on a wide range of products from Mexico, Canada, and China. It’s estimated that these tariffs would cost the average U.S. household about $1,200 in annual purchasing power. Specifically in Minnesota’s Fifth District, our district does $600 million of trade with Canada every year. The Trump-Republican tariffs would have not only increased costs for consumers and producers but also disrupt supply chains and escalate tensions with key trading partners. These tariffs would have done nothing to protect U.S. workers and growing industries.
How We’re Fighting Back:
Congressional Democrats stood with the American people against these unnecessary price increases, and after much public backlash and the threat of retaliatory tariffs, Trump temporarily paused these tariffs on Mexico and Canada. The “concessions” that Trump claims to have received either were already in the works or have been regularly offered in the past. The 10% tariffs on most Chinese goods remain, and the overall lack of stability on tariff policies could still lead to volatile pricing and trade relations.
In the long term, it’s clear that Congress must reassert its constitutional authority over trade and limit executive power to impose broad tariffs. That is why Rep. Omar cosponsored legislation to prevent tariff abuse under IEEPA, and will support further Congressional action to keep presidents in check when they try to use “emergency” powers to justify reckless actions.
This page was last updated on February 6, 2025.