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The past year has arguably been the most disruptive and consequential period for the United States government in many of our lifetimes. That is the story of 2025, Jonathan Swan said on “The Daily” recently: “Donald Trump aggressively asserting power and largely succeeding.”
During his first 365 days back in office, Trump did not simply smash norms and ignore laws meant to ensure the balance of power in the government. He placed punishing tariffs on dozens of countries (friends and foes alike), undermined the independence of the Federal Reserve and the Department of Justice, cut funding to universities and slashed the federal work fo…
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The past year has arguably been the most disruptive and consequential period for the United States government in many of our lifetimes. That is the story of 2025, Jonathan Swan said on “The Daily” recently: “Donald Trump aggressively asserting power and largely succeeding.”
During his first 365 days back in office, Trump did not simply smash norms and ignore laws meant to ensure the balance of power in the government. He placed punishing tariffs on dozens of countries (friends and foes alike), undermined the independence of the Federal Reserve and the Department of Justice, cut funding to universities and slashed the federal work force.
He dropped out of the Paris Climate Agreement, opened nearly a million square miles of ocean floor to drilling and tried to stop new wind power projects.
He sent the National Guard into some American cities to police the citizenry. He sent ICE and the Border Patrol into others to round up immigrants. He had more than 100 people killed who he said were smuggling drugs in the Caribbean. He removed Venezuela’s leader from office and said the United States would take that country’s oil. He threatened to grab Greenland by force.
(That’s the big stuff. There are dozens of surprising smaller changes, too.)
And he did much of it, Luke Broadwater reported, from the glittery stage of the Oval Office, where he often played host to “a veritable reality show with a revolving cast of world leaders.”
Testing limits
Trump uses executive power in ways that it has not been used before. He believes, my colleague Charlie Savage wrote, “that presidents have absolute power over executive branch decision-making — even if Congress has enacted laws giving some independent discretion to officials at departments or agencies.”
Charlie’s kinetic Venn diagram explains his attempts to expand his power into numerous categories.
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When Trump calls for criminal investigations of his enemies, for instance, he both weaponizes the government and insists on greater executive control of the Justice Department. Sometimes he calls for powers that have traditionally resided with Congress — the mass firing of civil servants, say, or the dismissal of members of agencies that are meant to be independent of the executive branch.
Other times, he calls upon the military without consulting the legislators, as when he bombed Iran or removed Nicolás Maduro from Venezuela. He steps on congressional toes with immigration, too, using a law meant for wartime to deport people without due process. He has moved to end birthright citizenship, though it’s guaranteed by the 14th Amendment.
Some of these attempts sit with the courts, but most have proceeded while his opposition squawks. For Jonathan, again speaking on “The Daily,” that suggests things won’t go back to the way they were before. “We’re in an environment where there’s not a huge constituency for a restorationist president, for people to say, ‘Oh, actually, I really hope the next president will voluntarily restrain themselves and exercise prudence and respect the balance of powers,’” he said.
Economic effects
Ben Casselman, our chief economics reporter, has also used the past to think about the future. “Much more so than in his first four years in office,” he wrote yesterday, “Mr. Trump has begun his second term with what amounts to an all-out assault” on institutions and policies “that have long been seen by leaders of both major political parties as the foundations of American economic strength.”
Economists across the political spectrum warned that Trump “is setting the country on a path that will, in the long run, leave the economy less dynamic, the financial system less stable and Americans less prosperous in the decades ahead,” Ben wrote.
Click the video below to watch Ben discuss Trump’s economic promises.
Video
Has Trump Delivered on His Economic Promises?
President Trump made a number of economic promises on the campaign trail. Now that we’re one year into the Trump administration, our chief economics correspondent, Ben Casselman, looks at key economic data to see what Trump was able to accomplish, and where he has so far failed to deliver what he promised.
Two details from their analysis: First, Trump’s interest in international affairs has grown. Last term, for example, Trump mentioned foreign countries 2,881 times. This term, enmeshed in trade wars and closing in on Venezuela, he mentioned them 8,410 times.
Second, his focus has changed. In the first term, he spoke a lot about jobs — as well as “collusion” and “leaks.” This term, he’s been talking about tariffs, inflation and A.I.
That’s a lot of change. And remember, he renamed Denali, the Gulf of Mexico and the Department of Defense, too. Let’s see what this year brings.
Related: Trump marked the anniversary with a speech lasting an hour and 45 minutes. “God is very proud,” he said.
THE LATEST NEWS
Davos
President Trump is arriving late to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. His plane turned around last night because of an electrical issue, and he is now expected to land about three hours behind schedule to give a speech. (Follow the latest updates here.)
The NATO secretary general, Mark Rutte, said that he was working behind the scenes to resolve the furor over Trump’s threats to take Greenland, which is threatening the military alliance. He also said he still wanted the U.S. in NATO.
Calls are intensifying across Europe for a strong response to Trump’s Greenland threats. “Being a happy vassal is one thing,” Belgium’s prime minister said. “Being a miserable slave is something else.
Yesterday, Mark Carney, Canada’s prime minister, offered stark remarks about the end of an American-led world order and received a standing ovation. Carney showed he was willing to stand up to Trump without mentioning his name. “The middle powers must act together because if we’re not at the table, we’re on the menu,” he said.
Emmanuel Macron, France’s president, wore aviator sunglasses while giving his address and said France would not capitulate to Trump’s bullying.
Asian and European markets fell today after the world leaders’ fights, and U.S. stocks were down more than 2 percent yesterday, the biggest decline since October.
More on Greenland
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In Greenland on Sunday.Credit...Mads Claus Rasmussen/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
European nations sent a small military group to Greenland last week to show solidarity with the island. The move angered Trump.
Trump’s Greenland plan is a break with modern history. “Since the days of World War I, America was the country that resisted conquest,” Peter Baker, The Times’s chief White House correspondent, writes, adding, “Now Mr. Trump aspires to put America into the category of conquerors.”
Danes and Greenlanders are wearing MAGA-style red caps with the slogan “Make America Go Away” as a symbol of resistance.
Minnesota
Prosecutors subpoenaed at least five Democratic officials in Minnesota, including the governor and Minneapolis’s mayor, as part of a federal investigation into their response to Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Masked federal agents arrested a Hmong immigrant who is a U.S. citizen with no criminal record, causing panic in St. Paul’s large Hmong community.
Politics
Lindsey Halligan, tapped by Trump to prosecute his enemies, left the U.S. attorney’s office. A ruling had said that she was unlawfully appointed.
Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha Vance, announced that they were expecting their fourth child.
Spain
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In Spain yesterday.Credit...Finbarr O’Reilly for The New York Times
A Times photographer found what appeared to be a train’s undercarriage near the site of a derailment on Sunday. Experts said the part could be crucial in determining the cause.
Last night, another train crash in the country killed one person and injured 37.
More International News
Australia passed tighter gun control laws in response to last month’s massacre at a Hanukkah celebration.
The man who assassinated the Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe in 2022 was sentenced to life in prison.
Under pressure from Trump, Mexico sent 37 people accused of being criminal operatives to the U.S.
Polls show that a majority of Latin Americans approved of the U.S. action in Venezuela.
Israeli officials seized the Jerusalem headquarters of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees and oversaw the demolition of some structures in its compound.
Other Big Stories
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Safety netting on the Golden Gate Bridge.Credit...Jim Wilson/The New York Times
MORNING READS
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At Beth Israel synagogue in Mississippi.Credit...Imani Khayyam for The New York Times
**A refuge lost: **An arson attack destroyed a Tree of Life display at Beth Israel, the oldest synagogue in Mississippi. But it didn’t crack the kinship that members feel with one another — or with the broader faith community that has stepped in to help.
**From the National Archives: **Nearly a dozen 18th-century documents will travel to eight cities across the U.S., aboard a jet called the Freedom Plane, to honor the 250th anniversary of American independence.
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Credit...Andrew Bui for The New York Times
Crumbled Italian sausage, sage and cream make for one of the great winter flavor combinations. Toni Chapman adds to that mix garlic, onion, sautéed mushrooms, chicken stock, baby spinach and a bunch of broken super-wide pasta sheets to make up this fantastic creamy lasagna soup. A flash of red-pepper flakes brings a hint of fire, and a squeeze of lemon juice a smart ray of sunshine. I’d probably add some extra sage at the end, too. So good.
A TEA PARTY
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The Beckham family.Credit...Scott Garfitt/Invision, via Associated Press
Brooklyn Beckham, the eldest son of Victoria and David, posted explosive accusations against his parents on Instagram. It confirmed a feud — and was an earthquake that created a tsunami of memes online.
Brooklyn claims that his parents have “been trying endlessly” to ruin his relationship with his wife, Nicola Peltz. He also said his mother danced inappropriately with him at his wedding. “I’ve never felt more uncomfortable or humiliated in my entire life,” he wrote. He says he is not interested in reconciliation.
David Beckham gave an oblique response from Davos. “Children are allowed to make mistakes, that’s how they learn,” he said.
More on culture
Julian Barnes — the novelist, not the Times reporter of the same name — has said that “Departure(s),” published yesterday, will be his last book. Dwight Garner, who reviewed it, says it “brims with wisdom reluctantly acquired.” The novel is spare, anguished. Dwight again: “It resembles a tall ship that, in the face of a storm, has taken down and stored its sails and rigging to better endure punishment.”
The Metropolitan Opera will lay off workers, cut salaries and reduce its offerings. It may also sell its Chagall murals, valued at $55 million.
Late night hosts cringed over Trump’s texts with world leaders.
THE MORNING RECOMMENDS
Listen to Mitski’s new single, “Where’s My Phone?,” and seven other new songs The Times is talking about this week.
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Sam Sifton, the host of The Morning, was previously an assistant managing editor responsible for culture and lifestyle coverage and is the founding editor of New York Times Cooking.
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