The summer of 2025 has been a summer of change in American politics. Trump has become the second-ever president to be voted in for two non-consecutive terms. He has broken records with the number of executive orders he has passed. He continues to make cuts to various branches of government. Even more has happened, and it’s imperative to be informed about these issues.
One of the most discussed aspects of Trump’s second term is the drastic increase in the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)’s activity. Incredibly high daily arrest quotas have resulted in huge raids being conducted, which have created mixed results for the organization. CBS states that, “nearly half – or 47% – of those currently detained by ICE lack a criminal record and fewer than 30% have been convicted of crimes…”
ICE’s raids have become a major public concern. This boiled over in Los Angeles, where a protest ended up turning into a riot. Using this incident, Trump made yet another controversial decision in choosing to deploy the National Guard in Los Angeles. After they left, Trump deployed many Marines in the city. As of July 21, the Marines have been withdrawn.
One of Donald Trump’s biggest campaign promises was that of increased tariffs, claiming that America needed a more equal trade partnership with many countries. While he initially struggled to implement several due to reciprocation from the countries that were tariffed, over 90 countries have been hit with tariffs, with India and Brazil having the highest at a 50% tariff. So far, companies have been “swallowing the cost,” but economists warn that this is likely temporary, according to CBS.
Another major legal action has been the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which furthers multiple aspects of the Trump Administration’s agenda. Overall, the bill is about economic restructuring, including general cuts to Medicaid and tax breaks for various groups. The bill also massively boosted the ICE budget, allowing them to expand their hiring processes. “Altogether, the Congressional Budget Office projects that the bill would increase federal deficits over the next 10 years by nearly $3.3 trillion…” said AP News. This bill has been written into law as of July 4.
Shortly after the passing of this bill, the Justice Department posted a memo stating that no more of the Jeffrey Epstein files would be released to the public. The topic of the Jeffrey Epstein Files has been a major part of the MAGA base in the past years, demanding its full uncensored release to help with their desire to “drain the swamp.” This memo has resulted in the first major split of the MAGA base. Many former Trump supporters like Joe Rogan have dropped their support following this, according to NPR.
Finally, the most recent major event of Trump’s term has been his deployment of the National Guard in Washington, D.C. Trump has repeatedly claimed that crime rates have been skyrocketing. This contrasts official reports, such as the Council on Criminal Justice, which stated that violent crime was, “…14% below the rates of the first six months of 2019, the year before the onset of the pandemic.” As of August 19, the National Guard has been deployed in D.C.
The American political environment is rapidly changing. The repeated National Guard deployments are very unusual, and the economy is incredibly unstable; the tariffs being implemented are projected to only heighten its instability. Being informed on important issues allows people to be able to vote for the changes they want to see.
