(Reuters)-Hours after swearing to defend the United States Constitution on January 20, President Donald Trump signed a decree by ordering the Attorney General to scour the Department of Justice and other agencies in search of evidence of political “weapons”.
On the same day, Pentagon officials removed a portrait of Mark Milley, a Trump critic who, as a joint chief state, had been the highest rank military officer during Trump’s first term. That night Trump dismissed his former national security counselor John Bolton-who wrote a Trump critical memoir-from the secret service protection team that had been given to him after the Justice Department said Iran had threatened Bolton’s life.
In his first 100 days, Trump exercised presidential power against a series of people pointed out as enemies. These are former intelligence officers who investigated alleged Russian ties with their 2016 election campaign and important law firms, as well as former Biden government-government and prosecutors who worked on criminal proceedings against him while out of power.
Trump’s actions served to show that his promise of political retaliation campaign was anything but rhetorical, after he repeatedly telegled his intentions as a candidate. But the speed and reach of their attitudes took many by surprise, with even the smallest offenses generating reprisals.
Republican president has used the state machine and the power of the presidency to pursue people and institutions that have harmed him in more comprehensive ways than any of his predecessors, historians said.
“It is not uncommon for presidents to have enemies,” said Jeremi Suri, presidential historian at the University of Texas in Austin. “What is unusual is the president to use the entire federal government, not just to exclude someone, but to punish them directly.”
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Trump made specific use of decrees-usually used by presidents to direct political priorities-to reach alleged enemies, removing them security authorizations, preventing them from accessing government buildings or instructing agencies to investigate them for irregularities.
He launched several federal investigations in Maine after a verbal discussion with the state governor, intensified his investigations at the traditionally independent Justice Department to dismiss those he considers unfair, removed security information from his critics and ordered investigations into former employees who contested his false allegations that his 2020 electoral defeat was frauduled.
On his first day in office, he removed the permits of 50 former national security employees who had signed a letter suggesting that Russia was behind a report on obscene material found in a laptop belonging to Hunter, the son of former President Joe Biden. There is no evidence of Russian involvement.
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He also removed authorizations from all three democrats who ran against him in presidential disputes: Biden, Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris.
Trump focused much of his attention in the criminal justice system after stating, during a 2024 presidential campaign that his four indictments were motivated by political reasons. The government of then -President Joe Biden denied the accusations.
In the first 100 days of Trump, his Justice Department fired or downgraded dozens of FBI officials, prosecutors, and agents, including grassroots employees who worked on Trump investigations and the US capitol attack on January 6, 2021 by a crowd of Trump supporters.
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In a speech at the Department of Justice headquarters in February, Trump criticized “lies and abuse” that, he said, led special prosecutor Jack Smith to accuse him of illegally retaining confidential documents after leaving office and conspiring to nullify the 2020 election.
“Traditional Presidencies have failed to bring significant changes to Washington’s customs, and the president is committed to overthrowing the root bureaucracy,” said Harrison Fields, White House spokesman, in response to questions about Trump’s retaliation efforts and if they represent abuse of power.
“Using all the tools offered by the Constitution, the Trump government prioritizes efficiency; eliminates waste, fraud and abuse; and fulfills all campaign promises.”
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“Just the beginning”
Trump often intertwined his personal animosity against political opponents with the ideological and political objectives of his government.
In February, Trump deviated from comments made during a White House meeting with governors to go to Maine Governor Janet Mills, warning her to comply with an order that prohibited transgender athletes.
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“I see you in court,” answered Mills, Democrat, in a challenging tone.
In one day, three different federal departments began investigations to verify if the state was violating the civil rights law, endangering millions of dollars in federal funds. The Justice Department sent a letter to Mills stating that Maine was “under warning,” while Trump demanded a “vehement apology” before the “case could be resolved.”
In early April, Trump’s secretary of agriculture, Brooke Rollins, wrote Mills to confirm that part of school financing had been frozen.
“This is just the beginning,” Rollins warned.
Nine days later, the Department of Education announced that it was taking steps to cut all federal financing for schools in the state, and last week, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that the Justice Department had sued Maine in a Federal Court.
In recent weeks, Trump has attacked law firms who have already employed lawyers who he considers enemies, arguing that in doing so, they undermined the judicial process.
