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Inside Trump's Presidency

Get full access to Reuters.com for just $1/week. Subscribe now. Politics U.S. Politics U.S. The first year of President Donald Trump's second term has been, in a word, tumultuous. The flurry of activity emanating from Washington has left some readers straining to keep up with his dizzying pace, and others simply uncertain about the effect of some of his actions.   We asked you what you wanted to know about the Trump administration, and today's newsletter brings answers from Reuters correspondents who cover national politics, Congress, foreign affairs, immigration and the economy. Some questions have been revised for clarity.    The regular newsletter will return next week, but we'll continue throughout the year to ask for your queries.   Latest U.S. politics headlines Trump reversal on Greenland followed push by aides against military option, sources say ICE detains four children from Minnesota school district, school officials say Trump launches Board of Peace that some fear rivals UN Democrats' opposition to immigration crackdown puts spending bill in question Targeted by Trump, Fed's Cook is a fighter with the scars to prove it   U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the media in Davos, Switzerland, January 22, 2026. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse Is there concern that precedents set now will give future presidents unlimited power?  Trump has repeatedly broken with presidential precedent in ways that have alarmed critics across parties. He has publicly targeted political opponents, urging investigations or prosecutions of rivals and former officials, despite a long-standing norm that presidents keep their distance from law enforcement to avoid politicization. He also used the pardon power expansively to benefit allies and associates, often bypassing Justice Department review, reinforcing perceptions that clemency is being used as a political tool.   Supporters have largely cheered his actions as disrupting a system they view as corrupt; critics see them as erosions of democratic and diplomatic norms. Either way, his actions will make it easier for a future president to do the same.  – National political correspondent James Oliphant  Are Congress and traditional institutional guardrails still functioning effectively?  Trump's Republicans control both chambers of Congress, and for much of last year they showed an extraordinary amount of deference. Under the U.S. Constitution, Congress has authority over spending and tariffs, but Republicans did not object when Trump unilaterally slashed billions of dollars from the budget and invoked emergency powers to hike import duties on allies and foes alike.   However, Congress has shown glimmers of independence of late. Republicans and Democrats passed legislation forcing Trump's Justice Department to release documents related to the investigation of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and 17 Republicans voted with Democrats earlier this month in the House of Representatives to extend Obamacare subsidies - a sign that they are more worried about voters' pocketbooks than they are about sticking to the party line. The Senate voted to rein in Trump's authority on Venezuela following the capture of President Nicolas Maduro, though that effort eventually fell short. If Democrats win control of the House in November's midterm elections, the game changes as they will have the power to investigate Trump's administration and hold up legislation. – Washington correspondent Andy Sullivan  What are the prospects for peace in Ukraine and potential NATO membership?  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said a peace plan is 90% ready and that Ukraine wants the war to end, but not at any cost, and that he will not sign a "weak" deal that only prolongs the war. The main stumbling block is which country will control contested parts of Ukraine's territory. Russia holds about 19% in the south and east, but Russian President Vladimir Putin wants Ukraine to withdraw from parts of the Donbas region that Moscow's forces have failed to capture. Kyiv wants the map frozen at the current battle lines. Trump told Reuters last week that Ukraine is holding up a potential peace deal, a contrast to statements from European allies, who have consistently argued that Moscow has little interest in ending the war.   The prospect of Ukraine joining NATO has always appeared distant, and under Trump has looked even more of a non-starter. Zelenskiy has said agreeing to security guarantees rather than admission into NATO amounted to a concession on Ukraine's part. – Foreign Policy correspondent David Brunnstrom  Are NATO and Atlantic alliances weakened?  Trump has been accused of disrupting the unity of NATO with repeated verbal attacks on the alliance, but pressure from him has prompted member states to agree to significantly boost their military spending.  Trump has shaken confidence in transatlantic security and NATO by repeatedly stating his desire to acquire Greenland, which has been administered by European NATO member Denmark for centuries. Trump argues Greenland is important for national security and that there would be nothing Denmark could do if Russia or China wanted to occupy the island. The European commissioner for defense has said it would be the end of NATO if the U.S. took Greenland by force, while Trump says the alliance would become more formidable with Greenland in the hands of the U.S.  A Reuters/Ipsos poll released last week found that just 17% of Americans approve of Trump's efforts to acquire Greenland, with substantial majorities of Democrats and Republicans opposing using military force to annex the island. – David Brunnstrom  Why does the U.S. appear to prioritize Russia, China, or North Korea over Europe?  The Trump administration has certainly focused significant attention on China, the world's second largest economy and Washington's main geopolitical rival, but its relationship with Russia has been largely conditioned by the war in Ukraine and Trump's efforts to stop that, something that has required significant focus, too, on relations with European members of NATO and the European Union.  North Korea was a major focus for Trump in his first administration, when he held a series of unprecedented meetings with its leader Kim Jong Un in a failed attempt to persuade him to give up his nuclear weapons. While Trump has said he is interested in resuming the dialogue and North Korea has appeared open to the idea - if the U.S. drops demands for denuclearization - no plans for meetings have so far emerged. – David Brunnstrom  Are threats to democracy increasing through erosion of separation of powers and expanding executive authority?  Presidents have been pushing the limits of separation of powers for decades through the increasingly expansive use of tools such as executive orders. For example, President Barack Obama's use of an order to grant so-called "Dreamers" protection from deportation was viewed at the time as a radical step as such an action was long considered to be Congress' prerogative.   Presidents have also frequently bypassed Congress, which has the power to declare war, to engage the military in aggressive ways, most recently in Venezuela when Trump ordered the capture of Maduro. The bottom line is that the separation of powers is only effective if each branch of government asserts its authority, whether it's the Supreme Court declaring some presidential actions unconstitutional or Congress passing legislation rather than deferring to the executive branch. If they aren't willing to do that, the president has a freer hand. – James Oliphant  Will global health diplomacy such as PEPFAR and HIV/AIDS support be revived or expanded?  UNAIDS, the UN body fighting AIDS, said in November that an uncounted number of extra people had died from AIDS and 2.5 million had lost access to medicine to block the spread of HIV, because of cuts to global programs since Trump returned to the presidency, and Washington, which accounted for 75% of international HIV funding, temporarily halted its contributions. Other donor countries also dramatically scaled back foreign aid programs last year, including European countries pressed by Trump to ramp up spending on defense instead. The White House dismissed the UNAIDS findings as "totally false" but said the Trump administration was ensuring that "all programs funded by American taxpayers align with American interests."    UNAIDS said that although some HIV programs had resumed with funds from a U.S. program known as PEPFAR, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, overall funding continued to decline, jeopardizing 2030 targets to end AIDS as a public health threat. – David Brunnstrom  How effective has immigration enforcement been compared with prior administrations?  Trump has pushed the limits of immigration enforcement by sending masked officers into cities across the country in a bid to ramp up deportations to record levels. Trump's first year in office fell short of the administration's goal of 1 million deportations per year, with 622,000 as of late December, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. But armed with unprecedented levels of funding, Trump's ICE and Border Patrol are poised to go even further this year.  The deportation figure was comparable with levels under President Joe Biden during his final two years in office. However, many more immigrants under Biden were illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border and quickly deported. Trump's approach does appear to have deterred migrants from illegally crossing the border. In the months after he took office, the number of migrants caught trying to cross illegally dropped to the lowest levels in decades. – Immigration Correspondent Ted Hesson  Why are food prices and everyday costs continuing to rise? Truth be told, prices for the everyday items Americans consume tend to rise a bit over time and rarely fall outright except during severe recessions. The issue now is those increases are larger than anyone desires: The Consumer Price Index rose 2.7% in 2025 and for many commonly consumed goods and services the increases were much larger for a variety of reasons.  Beef, for instance, is about 16% higher over the last year, in part because the U.S. cattle herd is at historically low levels, and imports from Mexico, a leading source of imported beef, have been restricted because of a parasite infection in the Mexican herd. Even though tariffs on coffee have been rolled back, coffee prices are up nearly 20% because of global bean shortages. Electricity prices are up 6.7%, in part because of demands on the power grid from artificial intelligence data centers. – U.S. Economics Editor Dan Burns  Other than canceling tariffs, what leverage does the president or Congress have to reduce costs and improve affordability? The $30 trillion U.S. economy can be influenced by policy actions by the president and Congress, but those have their limits. Trump has tried several things recently to improve affordability, such as demanding that credit card issuers cap their interest rates at 10% and pushing Congress to restrict home purchases by institutional investors.   It remains unclear if either will actually come into effect, and even if they do, they may have limited impact and risk unexpected consequences that could hurt consumers in other ways. Banks say the interest rate cap on credit cards would force them to restrict credit availability, and some economists believe banning home purchases by investment firms could reduce home construction, further limiting supply and keeping prices high. – Dan Burns  Poll of the week: How should immigration officers conduct their raids? Follow Reuters/Ipsos polling on the president's approval ratings here. What to watch for January 23: Minneapolis civic leaders plan day of action, general strike to protest ICE surge  January 24: Protesters to rally outside the U.S. Embassy in London at a demonstration titled "Hands Off Greenland, Trump" January 27: Trump will deliver a speech on the economy and energy in Iowa   January 31: Funding for parts of the federal government will expire, leading some agencies to shut down, if Congress fails to pass legislation authorizing new spending   Sponsors are not involved in the creation of newsletters or other Reuters news content. Advertise in this newsletter or on Reuters' website   Reuters Politics U.S. is sent once a week. Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also sign up here. Want to stop receiving this email? Unsubscribe here. To manage which newsletters you're signed up for, click here. This email includes limited tracking for Reuters to understand whether you’ve engaged with its contents. 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