Trump hits Nevadans hard in first 100 days

President Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office have followed a continual pattern: a flood of executive orders, denouncement from a subdued Democratic Party, multistate lawsuits in federal courts.

Nevada frequently has been involved in that pattern. The state has seen terminations in federal agencies from the National Park Service to the Veterans Affairs, tariffs stirring uncertainty on local businesses and tourism rates and pardons including Jan. 6 rioters and a former Las Vegas city councilwoman convicted for misusing funds designated for a fallen officer’s memorial.

“Our country is on the verge of a comeback,” Trump said in his address to Congress last month. “The likes of which the world has never witnessed and perhaps will never witness again.”

Congressional Democrats have challenged the policies, but as minorities in both chambers, they’ve strategically yielded on certain issues while negotiating on others. This approach was demonstrated when U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., joined eight Democratic colleagues and one independent in helping to advance a Republican continuing resolution to prevent a government shutdown last month.

While Trump has issued over 130 executive actions, his allies in Congress are coming out of a session with considerably low legislation activity. The next few months will show if both chambers can overcome last session’s divisiveness and agree upon the president’s long-awaited “big, beautiful bill” that is intended to extend his tax breaks and reduce federal spending. 

Ford challenges Trump as cuts affect Nevada

Trump’s mantra in his second term has been eliminate “waste, fraud and abuse” in government spending and programs. Cuts to that funding, even when its use is not inherently fraudulent, appear to be conditional.

Trump has signaled that financial support — whether for educational institutions or disaster relief — hinges on recipients’ adherence to his policy priorities, particularly reduction of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

Days after taking office, the Office of Management and Budget issued a directive to state agencies freezing loans and grants pending reviews of compliance with Trump’s executive orders.

Though the memo was rescinded the following day, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt indicated the freezes remained in effect, creating uncertainty for organizations like Nevada Health Centers, a private nonprofit serving more than 50,000 patients.

“We’re trying to figure out how long the pause will be, what duration, what that means,” said Josh Charlebois, the nonprofit’s director of organizational communications at the time.

Federal funds are allocated in a collaborative process between the president and Congress, with the level of presidential involvement varying depending on the type of spending. Critics said the freeze impeded upon that agreement.

The concern of executive overreach launched Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford into joining over a dozen lawsuits against the Trump administration this year. Ford, a Democrat, is averaging roughly a lawsuit every week since Trump reclaimed office in January, though Nevada hasn’t been the leading state for most of them.

“President Trump won the 2024 election and has the right to enact his policies within the bounds of the law,” Ford said when he joined the funding freeze lawsuit. “I have also said, however, that when he violates the Constitution or law, I will take any legal steps necessary to protect Nevadans.”

Ford and his fellow plaintiffs received a preliminary injunction on Trump’s funding freeze in March, with U.S. District Court Chief Judge of Rhode Island John McConnell Jr. — an appointee of former President Barack Obama — determining the states showed “a significant risk of irreparable harm.”

After this decision, several House Republicans, including Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Paul Gosar of Arizona, introduced a resolution calling for McConnell’s impeachment, though there hasn’t yet been any movement in the House. Ford’s lawsuit is ongoing, as is Trump’s mission to freeze federal funds. On Thursday, his administration appealed an order in a separate court that also blocked the pause.

Saving money for the administration has also meant trimming the federal workforce, with the president again relying on an executive order to establish the Department of Government Efficiency on Day 1. Billionaire Elon Musk, who has recently indicated a desire to focus on his Tesla operations, led DOGE as it targeted federal staff, programs and agencies dismissed as wasteful spending.

For Nevadans, that included cuts to staff at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, the VA Southern Nevada Healthcare System and cuts to projects meant for developing global partnerships and scientific research at UNR.

UNR also was caught in the crossfire of Trump’s and DOGE’s targeting of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), with the goal of dismantling the country’s leading international humanitarian arm. Three of the school’s programs were halted in February, including a project that supported conservation, policy development and scientific collaboration for continued education on the Mekong River Basin in Southeast Asia — home to over 20,000 plant species and 850 plant species.

The U.S. Supreme Court has addressed multiple legal challenges to Trump’s executive orders and administrative actions. These cases span several policy areas, including immigration enforcement, birthright citizenship limitations, federal employment terminations, educational funding cuts and international aid payment reductions.

They’ve ruled in favor of Trump, like when the justices on April 8 stepped in to halt a lower court’s directive that would have forced the administration to reinstate thousands of terminated federal employees. The conservative-led Supreme Court has also voted against Trump, temporarily halting his use of the wartime Alien Enemies Act to expedite removal of alleged Venezuelan gang members earlier this month.

Other courts have ruled against the administration, including Thursday when three separate court rulings put up more roadblocks to Trump’s policies. In one case, a federal judge temporarily halted part of Trump’s order instructing funding to be withheld from cities not cooperating with federal immigration enforcement; a similar ruling addressed funding for schools not following his DEI initiatives.

Democrats are resorting to lawfare because they don’t hold enough power, said Las Vegas resident Ed Dorsaneo, who voted for Trump in November and is satisfied with the president’s first 100 days. While he expected Democrats’ disapproval before Trump retook the White House, Dorsaneo said he never expected federal judges “to play activist.”

“These judges are reducing the credibility and authority of the court,” Dorsaneo added.

As the president’s flurry of court battles are far from over, the administration recently indicated it was willing to arrest judges who, as Attorney General Pam Bondi said on a Fox News show, “think they’re above the law.”

Tariffs add to economic pressures on Las Vegas

Trump unveiled sweeping tariffs affecting most U.S. trading partners — including a tax up of to 145% on Chinese imports and 25% on steel, aluminum and car exports from the European Union — to potentially undermine global economic structures and risk wider trade conflicts.

The tariff rates establish a 10% baseline import tax on all nations.

The strategy of using tariffs to encourage domestic manufacturing, a tactic from his first term that he promised to expand during his campaign, has universally put extra pressure on tourism-reliant Las Vegas.

While Trump paused reciprocal taxes for 90 days, except for China’s, to negotiate with other countries, the economic impact continues to be felt throughout Las Vegas.

International travel to Harry Reid International Airport saw an overall decline in traffic by about 4% from last March, according to data released last week. Spirit, a low-cost airline, saw a near 28.7% decrease from March 2024 to this past March.

Sens. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., and Cortez Masto were part of a resolution that passed aided by four Republicans to end tariffs on Canada earlier this month.

Cortez Masto also sent a letter to administration officials seeking answers on how the officials planned to mitigate “economic stress” from the tariffs, using Nevada’s tourism industry as an example. 

“I cannot stress enough the need for the Trump Administration to seriously consider the devastating impacts your actions are having on our nation’s tourism economy,” Cortez Masto wrote at the time.

Democrats have relied on sending letters to the administration and demanding answers, often receiving no response.

Dorsaneo believes in Trump’s tariff policies.

“Yes, he shoots for the moon, but he’s going to walk some of that back,” Dorsaneo said. “It’s surprising to see how people go, ‘Oh, my God, these are out of control. He’s asking for this, this is crazy.’ No, this is how he negotiates.”

Deportation efforts spread fear in valley

Trump is living up to his promises on immigration, declaring a national emergency at the southern border, using the Alien Enemies Act for deportations and trying to eliminate birthright citizenship as the country knows it.

Nevada at 9% has the highest rate in the U.S. of households with an undocumented immigrant, according to a report from Pew Research Center. Many who feel they’re in Trump’s crosshairs say they are living in fear.

“We are legitimately seeing students not coming into school,” said Assemblymember Cecelia González, D-Las Vegas. “Families reaching out that they’re scared.”

Border activity has shrunk to 7,181 apprehensions at the southwest border in March in comparison to 137,480 encounters in March 2024, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection data.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement carried out an operation in Las Vegas this month, not disclosing how many arrests it made.

Trump has said he is working to remove criminals like drug dealers from the country. Research previously funded by the National Institute of Justice suggested that immigrants, including those without legal status, are less likely to commit crimes than native-born Americans.

That data has since been removed with a message that says the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs is “currently reviewing its websites and materials in accordance with recent Executive Orders and related guidance,” but can still be accessed through Internet archives.

Trump has linked some of the nation’s economic challenges to the presence of undocumented residents, asserting they place unsustainable pressure on state and local budgets by diverting resources and “essential services” intended for U.S. citizens. Studies don’t support his assessment.

Undocumented immigrants are estimated to have paid nearly $97 billion in federal, state and local taxes in 2022, according to a 2024 report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), a nonprofit left-leaning think tank.

Polarized opinions among Nevadans

The administration’s policies on immigration has been one of the primary motivators in Robin Wiggin becoming involved in protests for the first time at 64 years old.

“I didn’t know who anybody was. I don’t really follow politics,” Wiggin said. “I will from now on for the rest of my life, and I think a lot of people will.”

Voters have had mixed reactions to Trump’s initial 100 days.

He was reported to have the lowest 100-day job approval rating of any president in the past 80 years, but disapproval of his immigration policies has softened since his first term, according to a new ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll.

For Chris Johnson, a U.S. Navy veteran and Las Vegas resident, Trump disrupted his record of being a reliable Republican. He voted for Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris in last year’s election. “I remember (President Ronald) Reagan used to be held in high regard and all that,” Johnson said. “But not to the level where they worship him or anything he says must be carried out.”

Still, Johnson and Trump’s supporters can agree on one element: all that he has been able to do in 100 days.

“He is not following what many Washington insiders — and what I would say are professional politicians — expect a professional politician to do,” Dorsaneo said. “And that’s because he’s not a professional politician. He is shaking things up. I’m okay with it.”

Wiggin thinks that desire to “shake things up” is why Trump was voted into office during her first term. Tired of moderates, she is also wishing for a Democratic candidate capable of changing the party the way Trump has shaped his.

“I’ve lived all my life in freedom. I’ve never known anything else,” Wiggin said. “And there’s just no way I would ever bow down.”

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