Trump EOs Dismantle Secular Governance & Advance 'Christian' Nationalism

Summarizing the latest fascist executive orders and what we must do to fight back

Egg prices are still high, and show no signs of coming down any time soon. But meanwhile, Donald Trump continues his blitzkrieg tirade of fascist executive orders with deadly consequences. Given his goal is to confuse and disorient Americans, below is a breakdown of some of the most damaging executive orders, and how we can push back. Let’s Address This.

Mixing Religion and State

Two of Trump’s executive orders directly attack the wall separating religion and state. His order establishing a White House faith office1 prioritizing faith-based entities, community organizations, and houses of worship in receiving federal funding.

Moreover, it mandates agencies to provide training on religious liberty exemptions and facilitate increased faith-based involvement in government activities, including adoption, education, and criminal justice reform. It also rebrands existing faith-based initiatives, reinforcing religious influence in federal decision-making. Government favoritism towards religious institutions is de facto erosion of church-state separation.

Trump attempts to justify this favoritism with another executive order that establishes the “Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias.”2 Housed within the Department of Justice, it prioritizes the protection of religious liberty for Christians specifically. It claims, without evidence of course, that the Biden administration engaged in anti-Christian policies and failed to prosecute crimes against churches and pro-life organizations. The order directs federal agencies to eliminate policies perceived as hostile to Christianity, revokes regulations that protect LGBTQ+ and reproductive rights in federally funded spaces, and ensures faith-based groups have broad access to government funding and influence.

In reality, this executive order weaponizes the government to favor Christian nationalism and undermines church-state separation.

Funding Red States Over Blue States

Billions of dollars from the landmark infrastructure bill passed under Biden’s presidency is still unspent. Rather than spending those funds as intended, in true fascist form, Trump is directing the Department of Transportation to tie infrastructure funding to birth and marriage rates. This is all in a pathetic attempt to punish blue states and reward red states under the guise of alleged objectivity. This strategy allows Trump to direct billions of dollars away from Democratic-leaning states, which tend to have lower fertility rates and have opposed Trump’s policies on immigration, vaccines, and mask mandates, and send them to Republican led states which have higher birth rates and support Trump’s anti-science agendas. Suddenly Republicans don’t care about federal handouts. How ironic.

This fascist policy disenfranchises urban, diverse, and aging populations, penalizing them for demographic trends beyond their control. This alone clearly violates anti-discrimination laws, as it disproportionately harms communities based on race, socioeconomic status, and political affiliation.

Trump’s culture wars, identity politics, and social engineering further exacerbates the economic and racial divide in America.

Restoring the Death Penalty

Trump is once again ending the federal death penalty moratorium.3 As I’ve written before,4 the death penalty does nothing to deter crime, make Americans safer, restore justice, save money, and is woefully unjust when data shows at least 1 in 9 Americans executed were innocent of any wrongdoing. Trump’s executive order instead expands the use of the death penalty at both the federal and state levels by directing the Attorney General to pursue the death penalty for all eligible crimes, particularly for murder of law enforcement officers and capital crimes committed by undocumented immigrants.

Meanwhile, Trump pardoned nearly 1600 white supremacist insurrectionists who directly enabled the violent death of numerous law enforcement officers. Simultaneously Trump is pardoning people who killed police officers, while threatening to execute people who kill police officers. His hypocrisy becomes clear when he calls for capital punishment of undocumented immigrants, showing once more that it was never about law and order, it was always about anti-immigrant and pro-white-supremacy policy.

It also criticizes judges and politicians who oppose capital punishment, calling their actions a subversion of justice. The order targets President Biden’s commutation of 37 death row sentences, instructing the Attorney General to review their imprisonment conditions and explore state-level capital charges against them. Additionally, the order ensures states have the necessary drugs for lethal injection, seeks to overturn Supreme Court rulings that have restricted the death penalty, and directs federal and state prosecutors to prioritize capital punishment for violent crimes.

None of this makes us any safer. All of it increases national harm and division.

Neutering the EPA to Allow Toxic Chemicals in our Water

Our water is about to become much more poisonous. Last time Trump was in office he rolled back more than 100 Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) regulations designed to keep our food, air, land, and water clean of toxic chemicals. Now, the Trump regime is withdrawing Biden’s proposed EPA regulations limiting how much chemical plants can dump into our water supply. Given the historic and deadly amount of microplastics already in our oceans, these repeals will only further poison our fresh water as well.

Adding to the danger, the Trump regime is planning to shut down the EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights. Trump has placed nearly 170 employees on administrative leave. This office was established to counter the disproportionate impact climate injustice has on Indigenous, Black, and Latino communities—who are now again exposed to toxic pollution without any recourse or protection.

Trump’s repeal of water safety regulations will demonstrably kill people, but because it will disproportionately harm Indigenous, Black, and Latino Americans, he quite possibly sees that as an incentive.

Refugee Status for White Afrikaaners

Trump signed an executive order that halts all U.S. aid to South Africa and instead prioritizes resettling white Afrikaners, labeling them as refugees, based on bizarre claims of racial discrimination and land expropriation. The order claims the South African government has adopted “anti-American foreign policies,” i.e. siding against Israel in the International Court of Justice. A reminder that the US State Department and South Africa both agree that Netanyahu led Israel to commit war crimes in Gaza. But those facts don’t actually matter to Trump.

Trump’s white supremacy is loud and clear. While he offers refugee status to white Afrikaner South Africans based on made up claims of racial bias, he banned 1600+ vetted Afghan Muslim refugees who risked their life and limb to help the United States against Taliban attacks.

A reminder that Trump was never about justice or national security—he is always about advancing white supremacy.

Sanctioning the International Criminal Court

Trump has issued an executive order that sanctions the International Criminal Court (ICC) for investigating war crimes committed by U.S. and Israeli officials, even declaring it a national emergency. His order blocks assets and bans entry into the U.S. for ICC officials involved in these investigations and threatens penalties for anyone assisting the ICC in prosecuting U.S. or Israeli personnel.

Notwithstanding that the United States was pivotal in funding and creating the ICC, Trump’s acts further embolden war criminal globally. Likewise, multiple US State Department reports confirmed that Netanyahu committed war crimes with US weapons, so is Trump now going to arrest members of his own State Department? Moreover, the ICJ, numerous UN Commissions, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and dozens more organizations all attest to Netanyahu committing war crimes and genocide upon the Palestinian people—will Trump thus sanction and arrest the entire world?

Trump claims the ICC’s actions violate U.S. sovereignty and undermine national security, despite the court's mandate to hold war criminals accountable. The order explicitly seeks to overturn Supreme Court precedents limiting capital punishment and reinforces U.S. defiance against international human rights laws.

These are not the actions of a man committed to justice and democracy, but of an autocrat committed to establishing an unaccountable dictatorship.

Full Blown Anti-Immigrant Fascism

In a previous post, I provided an in-depth analysis of Trump’s immigration-related executive orders. Now, he funds a concentration camp for 30,000 migrants in Cuba, denying them humanity, due process of law, or any chance of leaving. Below is a concise summary of the policies he is pushing, which reflect a clearly fascist agenda, one that does not make us more safe:

• Declaring a Southern Border National Emergency: Using this designation to justify extreme measures despite blocking a bipartisan immigration bill last year.
• Reviving Title 42: Reactivating this policy to effectively close the border under the guise of public health concerns.
• Deploying the Military for Border Control: Proposing military involvement in enforcing border security, raising significant legal and ethical concerns.
• Ending "Catch and Release": This humane policy allowed asylum seekers—engaged in a legal immigration process—to await hearings outside of detention.
• Enforcing "Remain in Mexico": Reinstating a policy that forces asylum seekers to stay in Mexico while their cases are processed, violating international law and exposing vulnerable individuals to extreme danger.
• Ending Birthright Citizenship: Proposing to strip the constitutional right to citizenship for anyone born on U.S. soil, in direct violation of the 14th Amendment.
• Suspending Refugee Resettlement: Halting the resettlement of refugees, abandoning America’s longstanding commitment to providing safe haven for those fleeing persecution. I elaborate below on the harm this has already caused.

These executive orders do not enhance security or improve immigration systems. Instead, they foster division, dehumanize immigrants, and dismantle constitutional protections, prioritizing cruelty and exclusion over justice and compassion.

Conclusion

These executive orders represent just a glimpse of Trump’s most destructive and troubling policies. They are harmful and set dangerous precedents for the future of our democracy, justice, and humanity. In the coming days and weeks, I will provide deeper analyses of these policies to shed light on their far-reaching consequences.

Now more than ever, we need to remain informed, vigilant, and united in the face of such challenges. Our fight against injustice and fascist policies requires action both immediate and sustained. Here are five critical steps we can take together to make an impact:

1. Activate: Engage in local politics—attend school board meetings, city councils, or join immigrant rights organizations. Change starts in our own communities.
2. Communicate: Contact your representatives and demand humane policies. Be relentless in ensuring your voice is heard.
3. Invest: Volunteer your time or donate to local non-profit organizations that are on the frontlines protecting democracy and human rights.
4. Educate: Stay informed and support independent media and advocates fighting fascism. Share that knowledge and empower those around you.
5. Organize: Lead by example and bring others into this fight. A friend’s involvement today could mean exponential growth in our movement tomorrow.

Together, these actions can create the momentum needed to protect our neighbors, uphold justice, and dismantle oppressive systems. Together, we can resist authoritarianism and work toward a more equitable and compassionate future. Let’s stay committed, stay informed, and continue to push for justice.