National Archives This is historical material “frozen in time”. The website is no longer updated and links to external websites and some internal pages may not work.

President Trump understands that safe communities and low crime levels don’t happen by accident. To ensure public safety, the Trump Administration took significant steps to restore the rule of law, forge new partnerships with state and local law enforcement agencies, provide support for our brave police officers nationwide, and adopt aggressive strategies for ending gang and drug-related violence.

Under President Trump, over 230 Federal judges were confirmed—each one committed to respecting the rule of law as written—and three new conservative justices sit on the Supreme Court. The Trump Administration also achieved the most significant criminal justice reform in decades, resulting in the historic, bipartisan First Step Act.

Administration Achievements



REMAKING THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY

Appointed a historic number of Federal judges who will interpret the Constitution as written

  • Nominated and confirmed over 230 Federal judges
  • Confirmed 54 judges to the United States Courts of Appeals, making up nearly a third of the entire appellate bench
  • Filled all Court of Appeals vacancies for the first time in four decades
  • Flipped the Second, Third, and Eleventh Circuits from Democrat-appointed majorities to Republican-appointed majorities, and dramatically reshaped the long-liberal Ninth Circuit

Appointed three Supreme Court justices, expanding its conservative-appointed majority to 6-3

  • Appointed Justice Neil Gorsuch to replace Justice Antonin Scalia
  • Appointed Justice Brett Kavanaugh to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy
  • Appointed Justice Amy Coney Barrett to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg


MAKING COMMUNITIES SAFER

Signed into law landmark criminal justice reform

  • Signed the bipartisan First Step Act into law, the first landmark criminal justice reform legislation ever passed to reduce recidivism and help former inmates successfully rejoin society
  • Promoted second-chance hiring to give former inmates the opportunity to live crime-free lives and find meaningful employment
  • Launched a new “Ready to Work” initiative to help connect employers directly with former prisoners
  • Awarded $2.2 million to states to expand the use of fidelity bonds, which underwrite companies that hire former prisoners
  • Reversed decades-old ban on Second Chance Pell programs to provide postsecondary education to individuals who are incarcerated, expanding their skills and helping them to better succeed in the workforce upon re-entry
  • Awarded over $333 million in Department of Labor grants for reentry projects focused on career development services for justice-involved youth and adults who were formerly incarcerated

Unprecedented support for law-enforcement

  • In 2019, violent crime fell for the third consecutive year
  • Since 2016, the violent crime rate has declined over 5 percent and the murder rate has fallen by over 7 percent
  • Launched Operation Legend to combat a surge of violent crime in cities, resulting in more than 5,500 arrests
  • Deployed the National Guard and Federal law enforcement to Kenosha to stop the violence and restore public safety
  • Provided $1 million to Kenosha law enforcement, nearly $4 million to support small businesses in Kenosha, and provided over $41 million to support law enforcement in the state of Wisconsin
  • Deployed Federal agents to save the courthouse in Portland from rioters
  • Signed an executive order outlining 10-year prison sentences for destroying Federal property and monuments
  • Directed the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate and prosecute Federal offenses related to ongoing violence
  • DOJ provided nearly $400 million for new law enforcement hiring
  • Endorsed by the 355,000 members of the Fraternal Order of Police
  • Revitalized Project Safe Neighborhoods, which brings together Federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement officials to develop solutions to violent crime
  • Improved first-responder communications by deploying the FirstNet National Public Safety Broadband Network, which serves more than 12,000 public safety agencies across the Nation
  • Established a new commission to evaluate best practices for recruiting, training, and supporting law enforcement officers
  • Signed the Safe Policing for Safe Communities executive order to incentivize local police department reforms in line with law and order
  • Made hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of surplus military equipment available to local law enforcement
  • Signed an executive order to help prevent violence against law enforcement officers
  • Secured permanent funding for the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund for first responders

Implemented strong measures to stem hate crimes, gun violence, and human trafficking

  • Signed an executive order making clear that Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 applies to discrimination rooted in anti-Semitism
  • Launched a centralized website to educate the public about hate crimes and encourage reporting
  • Signed the Fix NICS Act to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous criminals
  • Signed the STOP School Violence Act and created a Commission on School Safety to examine ways to make our schools safer
  • Launched the Foster Youth to Independence initiative to prevent and end homelessness among young adults under the age of 25 who are in, or have recently left, the foster care system
  • Signed the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, which tightened criteria for whether countries are meeting standards for eliminating trafficking
  • Established a task force to help combat the tragedy of missing or murdered Native American women and girls
  • Prioritized fighting for the voiceless and ending the scourge of human trafficking across the Nation, through a whole of government back by legislation, executive action, and engagement with key industries
  • Created the first-ever White House position focused solely on combating human trafficking


CHERISHING LIFE AND RELIGIOUS LIBERTY

Steadfastly supported the sanctity of every human life and worked tirelessly to prevent government funding of abortion

  • Reinstated and expanded the Mexico City Policy, ensuring that taxpayer money is not used to fund abortion globally
  • Issued a rule preventing Title X taxpayer funding from subsidizing the abortion industry
  • Supported legislation to end late-term abortions
  • Cut all funding to the United Nations population fund due to the fund’s support for coercive abortion and forced sterilization
  • Signed legislation overturning the previous administration’s regulation that prohibited states from defunding abortion facilities as part of their family planning programs
  • Fully enforced the requirement that taxpayer dollars do not support abortion coverage in Obamacare exchange plans
  • Stopped the Federal funding of fetal tissue research
  • Worked to protect healthcare entities and individuals’ conscience rights—ensuring that no medical professional is forced to participate in an abortion in violation of their beliefs
  • Issued an executive order reinforcing the requirement that all hospitals in the United States provide medical treatment or an emergency transfer for infants who are in need of emergency medical care, regardless of prematurity or disability
  • Led a coalition of countries to sign the Geneva Consensus Declaration, declaring that there is no international right to abortion and committing to protecting women’s health
  • Became the first president in American history to attend the March for Life

Stood up for religious liberty in the United States and around the world

  • Protected the conscience rights of doctors, nurses, teachers, and groups like the Little Sisters of the Poor
  • First president to convene a meeting at the United Nations to end religious persecution
  • Established the White House Faith and Opportunity Initiative
  • Stopped the Johnson Amendment from interfering with pastors’ right to speak their minds
  • Reversed the previous administration’s policy that prevented the government from providing disaster relief to religious organizations
  • Protected faith-based adoption and foster care providers, ensuring they can continue to serve their communities while following the teachings of their faith
  • Reduced burdensome barriers to ensure Native Americans are free to keep spiritually and culturally significant eagle feathers found on their tribal lands
  • Took action to ensure Federal employees can take paid time off work to observe religious holy days
  • Signed legislation to assist religious and ethnic groups targeted by ISIS for mass murder and genocide in Syria and Iraq
  • Directed American assistance toward persecuted communities, including through faith-based programs
  • Launched the International Religious Freedom Alliance—the first-ever alliance devoted to confronting religious persecution around the world
  • Appointed a Special Envoy to monitor and combat anti-Semitism
  • Imposed restrictions on certain Chinese officials, internal security units, and companies for their complicity in the persecution of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang
  • Issued an executive order to protect and promote religious freedom around the world


COMBATTING THE OPIOID CRISIS

Took action to seize illegal drugs and punish those preying on innocent Americans

  • In FY 2019, ICE HSI seized 12,466 pounds of opioids, including 3,688 pounds of fentanyl—an increase of 35 percent from FY 2018
  • Seized tens of thousands kilograms of heroin and thousands of kilograms of fentanyl since 2017
  • The Department of Justice (DOJ) prosecuted more fentanyl traffickers than ever before, dismantled 3,000 drug trafficking organizations, and seized enough fentanyl to kill 105,000 Americans
  • DOJ charged more than 65 defendants collectively responsible for distributing over 45 million opioid pills
  • Brought kingpin designations against traffickers operating in China, India, Mexico, and more who have played a role in the epidemic in America
  • Indicted major Chinese drug traffickers for distributing fentanyl in the United States for the first time ever, and convinced China to enact strict regulations to control the production and sale of fentanyl