Jim Beam column:Trump delivers one surprise

Published 7:26 am Saturday, January 25, 2025

President Donald Trump has moved quickly to satisfy his voters and supporters. However, even some of them were surprised when he signed pardons for about 1,500 people involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot.

“What they’ve done to these people was outrageous,” Trump said. “We’re going to release our hostages who, for the most part, didn’t do anything wrong.”

The Advocate reported that 1,583 people were charged. More than 1,250 have been convicted of or pleaded guilty to federal charges. About 650 were imprisoned. At least eight people from Louisiana were convicted of criminal charges for their role in the attack.

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The Louisiana people were from Geismar, Shreveport, Lafayette, New Orleans, 2 from Covington, Slidell and Buras.

Two officials who had to be surprised at the pardons were Vice President JD Vance who had earlier said Trump “obviously” would not pardon those who committed violence. Pam Bondi, the president’s pick for attorney general, had said Trump “does not like people who abuse police.”

The Associated Press reported that many Republican senators don’t agree with what Trump did, “But they aren’t pushing back on the decision.”

The Washington Post reported that a YouGov poll last week showed about three-quarters of Americans opposed both pardoning those convicted of assaulting police and those convicted of using a deadly weapon.

While those pardons are definitely controversial, Trump moved quickly on other fronts. He signed an executive order that bars automatic citizenship for children born to noncitizen parents who are in the country on temporary work, student or tourist visas.

Twenty-two states and civil rights groups have sued to overturn that executive order and a federal judge has temporarily blocked it.

The Post said Democratic New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said in a statement, “The Constitution could not be clearer: citizenship of children born in the United States does not depend on the citizenship of their parents. That principle is fundamental to who we are as a nation and what it means to be an American.”

The U.S. is among about 30 countries where birthright citizenship is applied, most in the Americas, Canada and Mexico.

Here are some other Trump actions:

The president signed an executive order temporarily halting offshore wind lease sales in federal waters and pausing the issuance of approvals, permits and loans for both onshore and offshore wind projects. Louisiana would benefit from some of those projects.

The Trump administration has asked federal health agencies to pause regular scientific reports, updates to websites and health advisories inside the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Affected agencies include the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health. All of them deal with health issues.

Another Trump order says officers enforcing immigration laws will now be able to arrest migrants at sensitive locations like schools and churches, which they haven’t been able to do.

The Hill reported that U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Linda Fagan, who made history as the first female uniformed leader of a U.S. military branch, was unexpectedly ousted by Trump.

A Department of Homeland Security official said she was terminated “because of her leadership deficiencies” but failure to address border security was believed to be the main reason for her firing, something over which she had no control.

The AP said Trump insisted Monday that he wants to have the Panama Canal back under U.S. control and that worries Panama which is home to the critical trade route and a country familiar with U.S. military intervention.

The United States invaded Panama in mid-December of 1989 when George H.W. Bush was president. The goal was to arrest General Manuel Noriega who was the ruler of Panama wanted on racketeering and drug trafficking charges. Noriega surrendered.

Trump also signed an executive order promising to eliminate what he labels “the electric vehicle mandate” imposed by former President Joe Biden.

The AP said Trump’s order was reminiscent of action taken during his first term when he rolled back tough vehicle emissions standards set under Democratic President Barack Obama.

Aaron Blake in an analysis for the Post summed up our future.

“As it turns out, sometimes Trump goes even further than his words might suggest,” Blake  said. “We should probably expect more of that over the next four years.”

Jim Beam, the retired editor of the American Press, has covered people and politics for more than six decades. Contact him at 337-515-8871 or jim.beam.press@gmail.com.

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