Tracking every rollback, reversal, and overreach — and the path back to the America we know.
President Trump signed Proclamation 10114 on September 11, 2020, designating the week of September 21-27, 2020 as Minority Enterprise Development Week. The proclamation calls for recognition of minority-owned businesses and encourages support for their development. As a proclamation, it has no binding legal effect and serves as a statement recognizing the designated week.
On August 28, 2020, President Trump signed Proclamation 10414, which modified tariffs on steel imports by adjusting Section 232 tariff rates and exemptions. The proclamation reduced the tariff rate on certain steel products from 25% to 0% for countries meeting specified criteria, while maintaining or adjusting rates for others. The action directly affected steel prices for American manufacturers, construction companies, and automotive producers who import or use steel in production.
On August 8, 2020, President Trump signed Memorandum 2020-17899 deferring payroll tax obligations for employees earning less than $100,000 annually from September 1 through December 31, 2020. The memorandum directed the Treasury Secretary to defer collection of the employee portion of Social Security taxes during this period. The deferred taxes were to be collected between January 1 and April 30, 2021, meaning affected employees faced larger withholdings in early 2021 rather than a permanent tax reduction.
President Trump signed Proclamation 2020-14598 on June 30, 2020, designating July 2020 as Pledge to America's Workers Month. The proclamation called attention to private sector workforce development commitments and vocational training initiatives. The proclamation had no direct regulatory effect on Americans but served as a formal designation recognizing employer pledges to expand job training programs.
On May 19, 2020, President Trump signed Executive Order 13924 directing federal agencies to identify and suspend enforcement of regulations deemed to burden economic recovery during the COVID-19 pandemic. The order required agencies to waive, modify, or delay compliance deadlines for existing regulations through December 31, 2020. Confirmed effects included delayed environmental reviews, extended compliance timelines for business regulations, and reduced enforcement actions across multiple federal agencies during the specified period.
President Trump signed Proclamation 10064 on May 15, 2020, designating the week of May 17-23, 2020 as World Trade Week. The proclamation calls for observance of the week to recognize the importance of trade to the U.S. economy. It has no direct regulatory impact on Americans beyond recognizing the designated week.
On April 28, 2020, President Trump signed Executive Order 13917, delegating authority under the Defense Production Act to the Secretary of Agriculture to prioritize and allocate food supply chain resources during the COVID-19 national emergency. The order authorized the Secretary to require food producers and suppliers to prioritize orders from the federal government and to allocate resources as deemed necessary. The confirmed effect was expansion of federal authority over food production and distribution during the pandemic, with direct application to meat processing facilities, grain mills, and other food supply chain entities.
President Trump signed Executive Order 13916 on April 18, 2020, invoking national emergency authority to temporarily extend deadlines for certain estimated tax payments and other federal deadlines. The order allowed businesses and individuals to defer estimated payment deadlines without penalties during the COVID-19 pandemic. The confirmed direct impact was that affected taxpayers gained additional time to submit estimated payments without incurring late fees or penalties during the declared emergency period.
On April 10, 2020, President Trump signed a memorandum authorizing the Secretary of Defense and other agency heads to exercise authority under Public Law 85-804, which grants the President power to authorize contracts and expenditures without regard to certain federal procurement laws during national emergencies. The memorandum delegated this authority to federal officials to expedite procurement of supplies and services deemed necessary for the national emergency response. This expanded procurement authority allowed federal agencies to bypass standard competitive bidding and other procurement requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic.
On March 27, 2020, President Trump signed Executive Order 13912 authorizing the Secretary of Defense to order members of the Selected Reserve and Individual Ready Reserve of the Armed Forces to active duty without a declaration of war or national emergency by Congress. The order granted the Secretary discretionary authority to activate reserve and ready reserve military personnel. The confirmed effect was the activation of approximately 24,000 reserve service members to support COVID-19 response operations, including medical personnel and logistics support across the United States.