Timeline of the first Trump presidency (2017 Q1)
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Life and business 45th and 47th President of the United States Tenure
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The following is a timeline of the first presidency of Donald Trump during the first quarter of 2017, beginning from his inauguration as the 45th president of the United States on January 20, 2017, to March 31, 2017.
Trump's first presidential transition began on November 9, 2016, when the media called the 2016 presidential election. The period saw the creation of Trump's transition team, composed of political outsiders, businesspeople and high-ranking military figures, and saw the removal of Chris Christie, the governor of New Jersey, as transition chairman, as well as the appointment of Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, as a senior adviser. Approximately 4,000 positions in the federal government were filed across the executive branch. Trump also announced the Trump Organization would transfer management to his older children, though that he would retain ownership.
During the first quarter of 2017, Executive Order 13769 was signed on January 27, which suspended refugee admissions and barred citizens of seven countries from entering the US, prompting legal challenges and partial stays leading to a nationwide block upheld February 9. Executive Order 13780, a revised order removing Iraq from the ban and which clarified lawful permanent residents were exempt from it, was issued on March 6; it was similarly enjoined between March 15–16, with the injunction extended on March 29. A fight to secure funding for the construction of the Mexico–United States border wall began with executive orders issued on January 25, which also expanded immigration enforcement, altered deportation priorities and sought to penalize sanctuary jurisdictions. On February 21, the Trump administration issued memoranda announcing 15,000 additional immigration enforcement roles and broader removal policies.
New appointments in government included, on January 20, Jim Mattis and John F. Kelly as the Secretaries of Defense and Homeland Security, respectively. From late January to March, cabinet confirmations including Rex Tillerson, Jeff Sessions, Betsy DeVos, Tom Price, Steven Mnuchin, Wilbur Ross, Ryan Zinke, Ben Carson, Rick Perry and Scott Pruitt were made. Following controversy over contacts with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak, Michael Flynn resigned as National Security Advisor on February 13, to be succeeded by H. R. McMaster, who was appointed on February 20. Sally Yates, acting Attorney General appointed under President Obama, was dismissed by Trump on January 30 after instructing the Department of Justice not to defend or enforce Executive Order 13769.
US real gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an annual rate of 0.7% this quarter, the slowest pace since early 2014. Growth was driven by increased business investment and services, but held back by declines in motor vehicles, inventories and government spending. As of March 31, 2017, the national debt was $19.8 trillion, down 0.65% from the previous quarter. According to FiveThirtyEight, Trump's approval rate at the end of March was 40.5%, down 5% from the start of his presidency. This placed him well below the approval levels typically seen this early in a president's first term, continuing a steady decline that began shortly after his inauguration. It reflected growing dissatisfaction over policies such as the attempted repeal of the Affordable Care Act; the sharpest declines were seem among independents and younger voters.