Opinion | Trump’s First Year Back, in 10 Charts

This selection from The New York Times provides a retrospective of Donald Trump’s first year back in office (2025), characterized by aggressive executive action, economic shifts, and declining public approval.
Executive Dominance & Legislative Stasis

Executive Orders: President Trump issued 225 executive orders by mid-December, nearly triple the first-year rate of any president in 40 years.

Legislative Gridlock: Congress passed only 61 laws, the fewest in decades. Despite Republican control, narrow margins and a record-breaking government shutdown hindered legislative progress.

Legal Challenges: His administration faced 358 lawsuits. While 149 actions have been blocked by courts, major constitutional tests (such as ending birthright citizenship) remain pending.

Economic Policy & Performance

Taxation and Deficits: The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA) is projected to add $3 trillion to the federal deficit over 10 years, pushing the debt-to-GDP ratio toward 130%.

Aggressive Tariffs: On “Liberation Day” (April 2), Trump imposed broad tariffs, raising the average effective rate from 2.4% to 16.8%—the highest level since 1935.

Labor Market: Unemployment rose to 4.6% by November. Job creation slowed significantly, averaging 55,000 per month compared to 192,000 during the end of the Biden administration.

Persistent Inflation: Inflation remained elevated near 3%, fueled largely by tariff costs, missing pre-election forecasts of a return to 2%.

Immigration & Social Policy

Border Control: Border encounters dropped to a monthly average of 15,400 (down from 137,200).

Legal Restrictions: New measures included pausing asylum applications, suspending the diversity visa program, and a $100,000 fee for H-1B visas.

Environmental & Health Rollbacks: Policy changes reduced Medicaid enrollment by up to 10 million people and slowed the transition to green energy.

Public Sentiment & Innovation

Approval Ratings: Trump ended the year with a 36% approval rating—the lowest for any president after one year in the last five decades.

Consumer Sentiment: Despite the President’s claims of a “great economy,” consumer sentiment reached near-record lows, driven by dissatisfaction with affordability.

AI Explosion: Parallel to political events, AI adoption surged; ChatGPT reached 800 million weekly users, outpacing the historical growth of both the internet and mobile phones.

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