The Senate confirmed Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence in a 52-48 vote. Only one Republican, Mitch McConnell, voted against her. Also today, Robert F. Kennedy junior, Mr Trump’s pick for health secretary, is expected to face the last procedural hurdle before senators vote on his nomination. Others yet to be considered by the full Senate include Howard Lutnick for secretary of commerce and Kelly Loeffler for head of the Small Business Administration. The Senate Judiciary Committee will decide on Thursday whether to recommend the confirmation of Kash Patel, the president’s controversial choice to head the FBI.
Donald Trump signed an executive order to formalise the role of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, headed by Elon Musk, in reducing the federal workforce. It also ordered that four workers must leave their jobs for every one hired once a hiring freeze, imposed on Mr Trump’s first day in office, ends.
On this page we are tracking ten of the pledges Mr Trump has repeated most often. Follow the cards below, which we’ll update as the president makes some, or substantial, progress on each. Watch too how many executive orders he is racking up. And as the confirmation process kicks into high gear, see our who’s who of the Trump cabinet that is taking shape.
No progress
Made a start
Progress
Done
Executive orders in first hundred days
In less than a month, Donald Trump has signed more executive orders than Joe Biden issued during his first 100 days. The flurry of edicts, on everything from border security, to energy policy, to starting (and ending) trade wars, has unleashed a chaotic burst of activity as his subordinates try to implement his orders. Opponents have already begun to file lawsuits in the hope of stopping some from going into effect.
By February 1st about half of Mr Trump’s cabinet picks had been confirmed by the Senate. Some sailed through. Marco Rubio was confirmed as secretary of state with unanimous support. Others, such as Pete Hegseth, had a tougher time. He got 50 votes for and 50 against, forcing J.D. Vance, the vice-president, to break the tie. Mr Trump has grumbled about how slowly the process is going. In fact, the pace—six confirmations by February 1st—has been twice as fast as it was for Joe Biden in 2020; and faster than Mr Trump’s first term, when he had secured four nominations by the same date.
