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Spring Cleaning and Planning: President Trump’s First 100 Days in Office

Filed Under: Newsletters

President Trump entered office having won the electoral college and with relatively strong approval ratings. On his first day in office, he issued over 25 executive orders, and in his first 30 days, he issued more than 70,1 seeking to make good on his promises to transform the federal government, ignite an economic boom, and revive the American Dream.2

The Trump administration has been unable to produce much in the way of legislation, however; the president has run into political and economic realities that have slowed his momentum and made it harder to deliver on his promises, some of which could impact your estate planning and financial decisions.

Estate, Tax, and Wealth Planning Implications of Trump’s Actions

Despite the many uncertainties facing Trump’s agenda, his administration has strongly signaled that tax-related measures are a top priority.

Trump and Republicans want to extend many provisions from the expiring Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) that the president signed into law in his first term.3 There could also be new tax cuts, such as Trump’s proposal to eliminate taxes on tips, overtime pay, and Social Security benefits.4

Here are some of Trump’s and the GOP’s reported tax priorities for their economic package:

  • Estate and gift tax. The TCJA doubled the estate and gift tax exemption to historically high levels that are set to expire in 2026. Senate majority leader John Thune introduced a bill in February to repeal the estate tax, sometimes referred to as the death tax.5 Further, a full repeal of the estate tax is reportedly part of the tax bill negotiations.6 Another option on the table is to extend the current exemption rather than repealing it outright.
  • Individual and business tax cuts. The TCJA also included several provisions that benefit businesses and individual taxpayers, including pass-through income deduction, business expense deductions, changes to income tax brackets, mortgage interest and charitable donation deductions, an increased standard deduction, and additional tax relief via the Child Tax Credit. Extending the TCJA would likely keep these tax benefits in place.
  1. 2025 Donald J. Trump Executive Orders, Fed. Reg.: Executive Orders, https://www.federalregister.gov/presidential-documents/executive-orders/donald-trump/2025 (last visited Apr. 21, 2025).
  2. Natalie Sherman, Has Trump Promised Too Much on US Economy? BBC (Jan. 17, 2025), https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c17d41y70deo
  3. Preparing for the Expiration of the TCJA in 2025, Bloomberg Tax (Mar. 28, 2025), https://pro.bloombergtax.com/insights/federal-tax/what-is-the-future-of-the-tcja/#will-the-tcja-be-extended
  4. Alex Isenstadt, Scoop: Trump Lays Out Tax Priorities to House GOP, Axios (Feb. 6, 2025), https://www.axios.com/2025/02/06/trump-no-tax-on-tips-social-security-overtime
  5. Press Release, John Thune, Thune Leads Effort to Permanently Repeal the Death Tax (Feb. 13, 2025), https://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2025/2/thune-leads-effort-to-permanently-repeal-the-death-tax
  6. Kevin Frekin et al., Senate GOP Approves Framework for Trump’s Tax Breaks and Spending Cuts After Late-Night Session, AP (Apr. 5, 2025), https://apnews.com/article/senate-budget-tax-cuts-trump-485845a9c0b7dfc5d2194d4c1e4723ae