7 Things President Trump Has Done In His First Month In Office

Four weeks ago, Donald Trump was inaugurated as president of the United States. At that time, party control of the White House and the executive branch of the government shifted from Democrats to Republicans.

Given the current ideological makeup of the parties, this means a substantial shift in the direction of the country's public policy. But President Trump's unique idiosyncrasies and priorities have also driven much of the change of governance away from President Obama's administration.

Here are seven things Trump has done so far as president:

1. Issued executive order on immigration

While Trump has signed many executive orders as president, the most significant was the directive banning immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries. The other orders were largely regarded as regulatory tweaks, open-ended instructions to administration officials or foregone conclusions. The immigration ban, on the other hand, was a dramatic salvo into American foreign and immigration policy and sent shockwaves across the country and throughout the world.

Its initial rollout was rocky, with high levels of confusion and distress in airports across the country, especially as initial indications were that green card-holders from the targeted countries would be banned.

Judges in several states blocked parts of the order, and eventually the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a full suspension of its implementation. Though Trump responded by tweeting, "SEE YOU IN COURT," the administration later announced that it would rescind the order and issue a replacement.

2. Chosen a Supreme Court nominee

In a move that pleased the conservative base and followed through on a campaign promise, Trump announced Judge Neil Gorsuch as his pick to fill the opening on the Supreme Court. Gorsuch is an ideological conservative who shares a belief in the late Justice Antonin Scalia's view of constitutional "originalism."

The choice received widespread praise from Republicans, while Democrats have indicated plans to try to block the appointment in the Senate.

3. Reset tone of relationship with world leaders

As the new occupant of the Oval Office, Trump has to reestablish American diplomatic relationships with other world leaders along his own administration's lines. Some of these meetings, such as those with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada, appear to have gone smoothly.

On the other hand, relations with Mexico appear more tense. President Enrique Peña Nieto canceled a meeting with the White House after Trump tweeted that he shouldn't come as long as Mexico won't pay for Trump's proposed border wall. And reports suggested that he had a very unpleasant conversation with the Australian prime minister, which was apparently confirmed by Trump himself when he condemned those who leaked details of the phone call.

4. Made slow progress in appointing administration officials

In large part because of Democratic opposition, the appointment of Trump's Cabinet and agency heads is proceeding quite slowly, as the White House itself has pointed out. However, it's not all the result of his opponents — Andrew Puzder, the fast food CEO originally picked to head the Department of Labor, pulled out of consideration after he was dogged with controversy.

Some in the Cabinet have faced unprecedented levels of opposition; Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, for example, became the first Cabinet member to require the vice president's vote to break a tie in the Senate.

There are also many lower-level positions that the White House has yet to announce nominations for. According to NPR, of around 700 different positions, the administration provided nominations for around 35.

5. Presided over ICE raids

There's been a dramatic increase in reports of immigration raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. One particularly striking story describes an undocumented woman who was picked up by immigration officials after she received a court protection order from her abusive partner.

However, ICE has argued that, "Reports of ICE checkpoints and sweeps or 'roundups' are false, dangerous and irresponsible." It continued: "These reports create mass panic and put communities and law enforcement personnel in unnecessary danger."

6. Rolled back regulations

Several regulations, a typical subject of Republican ire, have already been repealed or scaled back under Trump. The most notable regulations that have been reversed are a rule restricting the operation of coal facilities near streams, the "fiduciary rule" aimed at protecting customers from duplicitous financial advisers and a rule limiting gun access to those who are listed as having mental health challenges by the Social Security Administration.

He also signed an executive order requiring that for every new regulation written in his administration, two should be repealed. But despite the gimicky-sounding nature of this rule, the White House also issued additional guidelines to implementing it that should make it more manageable.

7. Delivered that press conference

In certainly one of the most interesting moments of Trump's presidency, the commander in chief gave an animated, combative and expansive press conference in which he took aim at the media. In particular, he was critical of stories, many sourced by leaking officials, that his campaign staff and other associates were connected to the Russian government.

He also joked about shooting at a nearby Russian spy ship, dismissed a Jewish reporter's question about anti-Semitic threats and asked an African-American reporter if she could set up a meeting with the Congressional Black Caucus. Read more about the press conference.

Photo credit: U.S. Department of Homeland Security