A tax bill, peace talks, and more chaos: Here's what's on the agenda for Trump's next 100 days.

Boston Globe

30-04-2025

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TODAY'S STARTING POINT
The first 100 days of President Trump's second term
Yet those changes have also spawned scores of unresolved court challenges, economic unrest, and wild swings in public opinion. That uncertainty makes it difficult to assess the impact of Trump's second term so far, experts say.
'I think of these hundred days as having blown up a lot of things, and we won't know for a while where they will settle,' says Michael Nelson, a political scientist at Rhodes College who has written about
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So instead of definitive answers, today's newsletter lays out five questions that may define Trump's
next
100 days and beyond.
1. What will Congress pass?
New presidents — including Franklin Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan, and Barack Obama — often spend their opening months trying to get major bills passed. 'You want to strike while the iron's hot,' said Jonathan Alter, who has written books about
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Yet so far, Trump has largely governed by executive actions, which courts can more easily block and the next president can unilaterally revoke. 'I think historians will look back and say Trump relied too much on executive orders,' Alter said.
True, congressional Republicans have been working to craft a party-line bill that would cut taxes, fund border security, and enact other Trump campaign promises. And despite narrow majorities, they've managed to move a blueprint for that bill through the House and Senate.
Yet lawmakers are still developing the actual legislation, and significant provisions — such as whether to fund tax cuts by cutting Medicaid — remain in flux.
Speaker Mike Johnson wants the House to pass the bill
2. Whither tariffs?
Trump's tariffs have roiled the US economy and
It's also hard to know which tariffs will stay in place and for how long. Earlier this month, Trump walked back higher import duties on dozens of countries after the stock and bond markets fell. He's also carved out exemptions, such as the one for US automakers
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'We don't know if these tariffs will lead to economic catastrophe or whether they will lead to other countries kowtowing to us,' said Nelson, the political scientist. 'The public will end up reacting to what happens when the dust settles.'
3. Will foreign talks succeed?
Second-term presidents often focus on foreign policy, where they have a freer hand to take unilateral action. The administration is currently involved in at least three high-profile negotiations overseas that could soon bear fruit — or fall apart.
Trump, who campaigned on a pledge to immediately end Russia's war in Ukraine, is still trying. He has
Trump envoys are also trying to negotiate a new cease-fire deal to release hostages in Gaza, where fighting between Israel and Hamas resumed last month. And Trump is seeking an agreement to limit Iran's progress toward nuclear weapons, replacing an Obama-era accord that he ripped up in his first term. He has threatened to bomb Iran if it doesn't make a deal.
4. Where will court cases land?
Trump's actions
Many of those cases may eventually reach the Supreme Court, Nelson said, so their final resolutions are in limbo for now. It's also unclear whether the administration will ultimately obey court orders it dislikes. A judge accused the administration of 'bad faith' after she ordered it to provide updates about its efforts to return a man wrongly deported to El Salvador. That case is
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5. What aren't we predicting?
Unlike in his first term, Trump came into office this year with governing experience, a coterie of loyal officials, a party remade in his image, and
The one constant seems to be chaos, a hallmark of Trump's floundering first-term efforts to govern and the disruptions his second 100 days have wrought. 'The chaos was within the White House the first time around,' Nelson said. 'This time the chaos has been emanating from the White House and felt around the country.'
More on 100 days of Trump:
Trump has focused on exerting greater personal control over the federal government,
He targeted
The White House criticized Amazon yesterday after it reportedly planned to highlight price increases from tariffs. Trump said Jeff Bezos had 'solved the problem very quickly.' (
Consumer confidence in the US economy fell to Covid-era lows last month over Trump's trade war. (
This Essex-based company makes clothes in America. Its owner
🧩 8 Across:
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POINTS OF INTEREST
Boston
Eric Henderson is on a mission to help those struggling with addiction in Greater Boston.
John Tlumacki/Globe Staff
Karen Read retrial:
A friend of John O'Keefe's testified about finding his body.
Hiked:
Milton voters approved
Addiction recovery
: After losing his father, this Boston rapper
Heartbroken:
Hyde Park residents mourned a 5-year-old boy fatally struck by a school bus.
Rhode Island
In charge:
Valarie Lawson, a teachers union leader, is
Developers' kryptonite:
Plans to convert Providence's iconic 'Superman' skyscraper into housing
Care shortage:
The governor announced
a $5 million program
Family affair:
The judge in a contentious grandparents visitation case plans to retire. The new judge criticized the father in the case
Direct answer:
Gina Raimondo, the state's former governor and President Biden's commerce secretary, is considering running for president. (
Trump administration
You're fired:
Trump dismissed Doug Emhoff, Kamala Harris's husband, from the board overseeing the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. (
Not quite:
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pledged to end a 'woke divisive/social justice/Biden initiative' promoting women in national security. In fact, Trump signed it into law in his first term. (
Maura Healey on NPR:
Massachusetts' governor accused Trump of making the US 'weaker and less competitive.'
Seen this movie before:
Massachusetts residents who fled authoritarian countries
'We're citizens!'
Armed
ICE agents raided an Oklahoma home, taking belongings from the family inside even though they weren't the people the agents were seeking. (
The Nation and the World
Perception vs. reality:
College sticker prices keep rising, but the actual cost of attending
Harvey Weinstein retrial:
Five years after taking the stand in the movie mogul's first trial, a woman again testified that Weinstein sexually assaulted her. (
Canadian election:
The Liberal Party fell short of a parliamentary majority and will have to share power. The Conservative Party leader, who seemed poised to become prime minister just weeks ago, lost his seat. (
BESIDE THE POINT
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Wakeup call:
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Love letters:
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If walls could talk:
This deceptively humble house has been a dance studio, Nazi property, and the birthplace of two countries. (
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The godfather:
Legendary director Francis Ford Coppola visited the Coolidge Corner Theatre for an award — and
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Midnight snack:
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The Big Day:
Uniting across cultures, their wedding
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