Day One did not disappoint

President Donald Trump had already broadcast his plans to reverse the very worst of President Joe Biden’s policies threatening our fundamental freedoms. And he wasted no time getting to work.

After taking the oath of office and addressing the nation, the 47th president returned to a familiar desk in the Oval Office, where he signed a flurry of executive orders. These sweeping measures set in motion a string of federal actions aimed, among other things, at restoring free speech, ditching divisive “diversity, equity, and inclusion” policies in federal employment, and rolling back the tide of gender insanity.

They were shots heard around the world.

Americans have been rudely awakened to the scourge that is gender ideology. They’ve watched it seep into virtually every corner of American life—deceiving children into thinking they might be trapped in the wrong body, destroying athletic fairness for women and girls, and creating a general culture of fear and coercion. Studies by Pew Research show that Americans are steadily turning against this ideology. Now, the entire executive branch will do the same.

One of the president’s monumental executive orders issued Monday ends the U.S. government’s bankrolling of gender ideology in all facets of American life.

It is a 180-degree turn back toward reality and common sense. Now we need Congress to follow suit by passing a series of laws to permanently bury this ideology. Specifically, Congress should bar tax dollars from ever funding or promoting transition drugs and surgeries; affirm that Title IX bars men from women’s sports, locker rooms, and restrooms; and codify male and female as the only sexes recognized under U.S. law—and that they are immutable from conception.

President Trump hit another cultural juggernaut on Day One with his executive order on free speech. This order is a first step toward dismantling what some have called the “global censorship cartel” or the “Censorship-Industrial Complex.”

This cartel consists of governments, nonprofits, academic institutions, and corrupt media colluding to delegitimize viewpoints they dislike by labeling them “mis-” or “disinformation.” This can create the pretext for governments to pressure third-party platforms to silence certain viewpoints—such as when the Biden administration pressured Meta to censor views on COVID-19 that turned out to be true. Such pressure tactics are an end-run around the Constitution, as they allow the government to impede free speech while claiming it never censored anyone.

President Trump’s executive order seeks to gut this corrupt cartel from within. It prohibits federal agencies from facilitating conduct by private parties to censor, limit, or impede the lawful speech of American citizens—and from using any federal resources to censor speech. It also directs the attorney general to investigate and recommend remedial action for any past censorship over the last four years.

Free speech is the cornerstone of a free society. If we lose it, we simply are not free in any real sense. Freedom requires the ability to debate ideas, expose lies, shine a light on corruption, and hold our leaders accountable. For this reason, free speech is the foundation that supports our other God-given rights.

The 2024 election has triggered at least the appearance of a return to free speech and meritocracy in parts of corporate America. Meta is now following X’s lead in rolling back censorship of its users. And DEI is finally in retreat. The president signed another executive order Monday on this issue—fittingly, on the day America remembers Martin Luther King Jr., who famously called upon Americans to judge one another not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. The nation is ready to move forward from the divisive identity politics of DEI.

None of these shifts would have happened if Americans hadn’t stood on principle when it cost them something—from Elon Musk to the free speech clients I’ve represented, like Colorado cake artist Jack Phillips. The world has always had far more followers than leaders. All it takes is enough people of conviction, acting as one, to tip the balance of a culture.

The great shift has started, but this is no time for complacency. Now is a moment to hold our leaders accountable to deliver as many victories as possible—recognizing truth in the law and protecting our freedoms.