Within hours of being sworn in, President Trump unveiled a slew of executive orders designed to put his stamp on the federal government. While such orders do not carry the weight of law and can be evoked by future presidents, some may impact the CRM industry.
ACRA is actively tracking these orders and working with its partners in the preservation community and on Capitol Hill to analyze their effects. Here is an initial rundown of the orders that could touch CRM.
ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES
This Executive Order is the new administration’s most wide-ranging statement about energy policy. It states that, “America is blessed with an abundance of energy and natural resources . . . [but] in recent years, burdensome and ideologically motivated regulations have impeded the development of these resources.”
Along with rolling back energy efficiency policies from the Biden administration, including the promotion of electric vehicles and new appliance efficiency standards, the Order calls on agencies to review existing regulations, guidance and policies to “identify those . . . that impose an undue burden on the identification, development, or use of domestic energy resources.” Within 30 days, agencies must develop “action” plans to suspend, amend or rollback any policies they identify as unduly burdensome.
Section 5 of the Order relates to permitting. It revokes long-standing policies governing how the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) handles environmental impact statements under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and requires CEQ to rewrite NEPA rules (the first Trump administration had rewritten NEPA rules, which the Biden administration revoked).
The Order also directs federal agencies to “prioritize efficiency and certainty [in permitting rules] over any other objectives, including those of activist groups, that do not align with the [Order’s] policy goals,” and requires multiple agencies, including the Department of the Interior (DOI), to accelerate efforts to “eliminate all delays within their respective permitting processes, including through, but not limited to, the use of general permitting and permit by rule.” For projects that agencies deem essential to the economy or national security, the Order requires agencies to “use all possible authorities, including emergency authorities, to expedite the adjudication of . . . permits.”
The Order also requires all federal agencies to immediately pause disbursing funds for energy efficiency-related projects enacted under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) or the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law and review whether they align with the policies outlined in the Order. (It is not clear if this is allowable, as federal law currently requires the executive Branch to disburse funds appropriated by Congress.)
This Executive Order declares a “national energy emergency,” stating that “The United States’ insufficient energy production, transportation, refining, and generation constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to our Nation’s economy, national security, and foreign policy.”
It requires federal agencies to “identify and exercise any lawful emergency authorities available to them” to accelerate the production and generation of energy and expedite completion of already authorized and appropriated infrastructure.
Notably, the Order defines “energy” as crude oil, natural gas, lease condensates, natural gas liquids, refined petroleum products, uranium, coal, biofuels, geothermal heat, the kinetic movement of flowing water, and critical minerals. Solar and wind power are not included in the definition.
This Executive Order states that it is the policy of the United States to “fully avail itself of Alaska’s vast lands and resources for the benefit of the Nation and the American citizens who call Alaska home.” It calls for maximizing the development and production of natural resources on both federal and state lands in the 50th state, and for expediting permitting and leasing of energy and natural resource projects.
The Order also denies a “pending request to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to an establish indigenous sacred site in the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.”
President Trump is a long-time opponent of wind power. This Executive Order puts that opposition into effect by withdrawing the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) from wind energy leasing opportunities indefinitely.
It also prevents EPA and the Departments of Interior, Agriculture and Energy from issuing any new or renewed approvals and permits for any onshore or offshore wind projects “pending a review of federal wind leasing and permitting practices.”
AMERICAN HERITAGE
“Restoring Names That Honor American Greatness”
The Order renames Alaska’s Denali, the tallest mountain in North America, as Mount McKinley (former President Obama had changed its official name from Mount McKinley to Denali in 2015, a move the Trump Order called “an affront to President McKinley’s life, his achievements, and his sacrifice”). The Order requires the Interior Department to “update the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) to reflect the renaming and reinstatement of Mount McKinley.” It also directs Interior to “work with Alaska Native entities and state and local organizations to adopt names for landmarks to honor the history and culture of the Alaskan people.”
The Order also renames the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America” and requires the U.S. Board on Geographic Names to “provide guidance to ensure all federal references to the Gulf of America, including on agency maps, contracts, and other documents and communications shall reflect its renaming.”
Lastly, the Order authorizes Interior to “solicit public and intergovernmental input regarding additional patriots to honor, particularly in light of America’s semiquincentennial celebration, and shall recommend action to” the White House.
This Order revives a policy instituted by President Trump in his first term and revoked by President Biden. It requires the General Services Administration (GSA) to submit to the White House recommendations to “advance the policy that Federal public buildings should be visually identifiable as civic buildings and respect regional, traditional, and classical architectural heritage in order to uplift and beautify public spaces and ennoble the United States and our system of self-government.”
GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS
On Monday, President Trump issued an Executive Order barring agencies from proposing or issuing any new rules unless approved by an official appointed by Trump.
This action is fairly common when a new president succeeds one from a different political party and explains why the Biden administration pushed a number of rules out the door before January 20th to avoid the freeze.
This Order reinstates an Executive Order from the first Trump administration to create a new Schedule F that critics say will politicize the federal workforce.
The Order allows the President to reclassify certain career positions within the federal government, particularly those in policymaking, leadership, or confidential roles, into Schedule F. This would give the administration greater control over staffing decisions in these areas.
Under the Order, federal workers under Schedule F would lose protections typically available under the Civil Service Reform Act, such as job security and procedural rights for promotion and dismissal. This makes it easier for the president to remove these employees, as they would no longer be subject to the same merit-based procedures that protect most federal workers.
One of President Trump’s first Executive Orders was one to institute a freeze on the hiring of Federal civilian employees. Under the freeze, no Federal civilian position that was vacant at noon on January 20 can be filled, and no new position may be created for at least 90 days.
The freeze applies to all executive departments and agencies but does not apply to “military personnel of the armed forces or to positions related to immigration enforcement, national security, or public safety.” It also prohibits contracting outside the Federal Government to circumvent the freeze.
Within 90 days, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the DOGE Office are required to “submit a plan to reduce the size of the Federal Government’s workforce through efficiency improvements and attrition.”
“Department Of Government Efficiency”
In the weeks after the 2024 election, then-President-elect Trump announced the formation of a new “Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)” to identify ways to make the federal government smaller and more efficient. Although DOGE was billed as being outside government, this Order establishes an office within the White House intended to “implement the President’s DOGE Agenda, by modernizing Federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity.”
It does so by reorganizing and renaming the United States Digital Service as the United States DOGE Service (USDS), which was first created by former President Obama. The Order creates a position titled USDS Administrator and requires each agency to establish a DOGE Team of at least four employees.
(News reports suggest that the focus of this office will be modernizing the government’s IT capabilities, and not necessarily broader government reform. Notably, DOGE co-chair Vivek Ramaswamy stepped down from his post, leaving Elon Musk alone in charge; the emphasis on technology is believed to be Musk’s main priority, although the plans and role of DOGE remain murky.)