The Roundup

‘Drill baby drill’: Trump takes aim at clean energy, climate change and the environment on day one

LA Times' TONY BRISCOE and KAREN KAPLAN: "On the day he took his oath of office, President Trump promised to sign numerous executive orders that stand to undercut California’s aggressive auto emission standards, undo Biden-era environmental protections and boost U.S. fossil fuel production. To raucous applause — first inside the Capitol Rotunda and inside the Capital One Arena afterward — Trump assured that his administration would “drill baby drill.”

Among other anticipated actions, Trump signaled in his inauguration address that he intended to nix California’s statewide ban on selling new cars that run solely on gasoline starting in 2035. The “Advanced Clean Cars II” rule requires an increasing percentage of passenger vehicles sold by California auto dealerships to be powered by zero-emission electric batteries or hydrogen fuel cells, with a small share of plug-in hybrids allowed. It is supposed to take full effect in a decade, though the auto industry is not on track to meet that ambitious goal."

Trump Pardons Nearly All 1,500 Jan. 6 Rioters

C. RYAN BARBER, CATHERINE LUCEY and KEN THOMAS, Wall Street Journal: "President Trump pardoned Monday nearly all of the 1,500 people charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, hours after outgoing President Joe Biden immunized from prosecution family members and other potential targets of the incoming administration. Trump’s sweeping clemency delivered on his polarizing campaign pledge to pardon supporters who joined in what federal judges and prosecutors have called an attack on American democracy.

The new president made the announcement after arriving at the White House, effectively wiping away four years of prosecutions, including more than 1,100 convictions in what Justice Department officials have described as the largest investigation in U.S. history."

Trump orders federal agencies to recognize only two sexes that are ‘not changeable’

EMILY ALPERT REYES, LA Times: "President Trump signed executive orders Monday asserting that the U.S. government recognizes only two sexes that are “not changeable,” and reversing Biden administration directives on LGBTQ+ rights.

One of the new orders says that “male” and “female” are defined based on reproductive cells and at the point when a person is conceived, and states that government-issued identification such as passports and visas must reflect that definition. In recent years, the U.S. had begun allowing people to select a third option, X, on passports to indicate an unspecified or other gender identity."

READ MORE: A List of Key executive orders -- so far, Wall Street Journal

Trump’s executive orders already face pushback, legal challenges

CLEVE R. WOOTSON JR., Washington Post: "Two hours after being sworn in, President Donald Trump sat down in the President’s Room at the U.S. Capitol to sign the first of nearly 100 promised executive orders — a historic and hand-cramping effort that he promised would begin “the complete restoration of America and the revolution of common sense.”

But his pen strokes also kicked off a round of objections from opponents, scholars and other groups that said he’d exceeded the limits of his presidential power. They included some critics who filed lawsuits before his signatures were dry, all but guaranteeing that his approval would not be the last word on Monday’s executive actions."

As President Trump declares a border emergency on Day 1, California’s targeted immigrants lie low

WENDY FRY, CalMatters: "Undocumented immigrants and their California families braced for the worst — and many told CalMatters they would go underground — as newly sworn-in President Donald Trump began issuing executive orders to enable what he promises will be the most massive deportation in U.S. history.  

“It’s draining my energy a lot, thinking of what’s going to happen and not knowing exactly what’s going to happen with me and my family and my daughters,” said Frank, a resident of northeastern Los Angeles who asked to be identified only by his first name because of his ongoing immigration case. Advocates reported hearing from parents who were considering keeping their children home from school this week. Some neighbors said they will dispatch their children to shop for groceries and run errands, so they can mostly stay inside the house."

Disappointment at border as Trump cancels immigration program

PATRICK J.  McDONNELL, LA Times: "Among the first on-the-ground effects of President Trump’s sweeping immigration revisions was visible Monday on the Mexican side of U.S. ports of entry, where hundreds of disconsolate asylum applicants were stunned to learn of the cancellation of a program aimed at easing the process of applying for asylum.

Many lined up early Monday, the day of Trump’s inauguration, at the ports of entry for scheduled interviews with U.S. inspectors — only to hear that their interviews had been canceled and that the cellphone application program, known as CPB One, had ended."

With a forecast of dangerous winds, LAFD pre-deploys to avoid failings of Palisades fire

ALENE TCHEKMEDYIAN, DAKOTA SMITH and HANNA FRY, LA Times: "Bracing for another round of extreme fire weather conditions, Los Angeles Fire Department officials on Monday had staffed all of its available extra engines and staged 30 engines in fire risk areas, measures failed to take before the deadly Palisades Fire,  according to internal records and officials.

Fire officials told reporters Monday that the agency also ordered the outgoing shift of about 1,000 firefighters to remain on duty to staff the extra engines."

S.F. Republicans gather to celebrate Trump’s ‘energizing’ return to office

MOLLY BURKE, Chronicle: "San Francisco Republicans spent Monday morning whooping and applauding in Harry’s Bar on Fillmore Street, celebrating the return to office of President Donald Trump. More than 100 people gathered at the bar for breakfast, coffee and, for some, cocktails as Trump’s inauguration took place.