From 2015 to 2025, the U.S. federal government underwent significant shifts in presidential administrations, judiciary, and policy, including major legislative action, regulatory changes, and adjustments in spending in response to events like the COVID-19 pandemic.
Presidential
and administrative changes
The decade saw a sharp transition in the nation's leadership and governing ideology.
Obama to Trump (2017): The election of Donald Trump in 2016 shifted presidential priorities, with a focus on deregulation, trade protectionism, and a more nationalistic foreign policy.
Trump to Biden (2021): Following the 2020 election, the Biden administration pursued policies focused on climate change initiatives, social programs, and strengthening international alliances.
Biden to Trump (2025): The 2024 election saw Trump return to office. In his initial executive actions, he immediately began rescinding policies from the Biden years and advancing his own agenda, including significant changes to federal regulations, the civil service, and international relations.
Judicial changes
The ideological makeup of the federal judiciary, particularly the Supreme Court, was fundamentally reshaped, leading to major policy reversals.
Supreme
Court conservative majority: Under President Trump, the Supreme Court
shifted from a 5–4 conservative leaning to a 6–3 majority, with the
appointments of Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett.
Overturning Roe v. Wade (2022): The new conservative majority proved consequential in the 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which overturned the landmark 1973 abortion rights ruling.
Erosion of regulatory power: The court also demonstrated an increasing tendency to limit the power of federal agencies, signaling future challenges to regulatory authority on a range of issues, such as climate change.
Policy and legislative changes
Economy
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (2017): This major legislation permanently lowered the corporate tax rate and temporarily cut individual income tax rates.
Increased spending and national debt: Federal spending surged, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to a substantial increase in the national debt. Between 2015 and 2025, the ratio of federal spending to GDP increased from 20% to 23%, and public debt grew by 131%.
Healthcare
Attempts to repeal the ACA (2017): Efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) failed in Congress, though the Trump administration took steps to weaken the law through executive orders and regulatory changes.
Inflation Reduction Act (2022): This legislation enabled Medicare to negotiate some drug prices and extended pandemic-era health insurance subsidies.
2025 executive orders: Early actions in 2025 rescinded executive orders related to the ACA and prescription drug costs.
Environment and energy
Withdrawal from the Paris Agreement (2017): The Trump administration withdrew the U.S. from the Paris climate accord and rolled back numerous environmental regulations.
Return to Paris Agreement (2021): The Biden administration rejoined the accord and prioritized climate action.
2025 executive orders: The Trump administration's return brought a reversal of these climate policies, removing green energy subsidies and prioritizing fossil fuel production.
Social and cultural issues
The federal government's stance on identity and civil rights has fluctuated significantly due to administrative changes.
Protections for transgender individuals: The Biden administration advanced policies supporting transgender rights. However, upon returning to office, the Trump administration issued executive orders defining sex as strictly male or female in federal policy and reversing military service policies for transgender individuals.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives: The Biden administration promoted DEI programs, but new executive actions in 2025 aimed to end such programs within the federal government.
Immigration policy: The Trump administration pursued stricter immigration enforcement and travel restrictions during both terms. The Biden administration reversed some of these policies, but immigration remains a contentious issue.
Federal workforce
Civil service reforms: The Trump administration attempted to reform the federal civil service with Schedule F, which would have reclassified tens of thousands of federal employees, making it easier to fire them. This was reversed by the Biden administration but is expected to be reinstated in 2025.
Federal workforce size: The federal workforce saw a reduction in size in 2025, with proposed layoffs of employees from programs if funding lapses.
From 2015 to 2025, the U.S. federal government has been shaped by shifts in power between the Republican and Democratic parties, a heightened focus on the executive branch, an increasingly conservative Supreme Court, and major policy swings on issues like spending, regulation, immigration, and trade. The period is marked by the presidencies of Donald Trump and Joe Biden, bookended by Trump's two terms.
Executive branch power and oversight
Expansion and concentration of executive power: The period saw a shift toward greater presidential control over the executive branch, driven largely by the Trump administration. Actions have included restricting the autonomy of independent regulatory agencies, weakening the accountability of institutions, and increasing presidential influence over the bureaucracy.
Civil service changes: A key development was the reduction and politicization of the federal workforce. In 2025, a second Trump administration began efforts to make the government "lean, efficient, and focused" by implementing a hiring freeze and introducing a "new Civil Service Title XI rule" to strengthen probationary periods.
Rescission of previous executive actions: Presidential transitions were characterized by the rapid reversal of predecessor policies through executive orders. For example, upon taking office in 2025, the Trump administration issued EOs to rescind previous orders related to health coverage, COVID-19 relief, and DEI programs.
Judicial branch and the Supreme Court
Conservative
supermajority: Following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in 2017, President
Trump's three appointments to the Supreme Court—Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh,
and Amy Coney Barrett—cemented a 6–3 conservative majority.
Impact on federal policy: This shift profoundly affected the judiciary's role and its impact on federal agencies. In 2025, the Supreme Court overturned the Chevron deference, which had previously required courts to defer to an agency's reasonable interpretation of an ambiguous statute. This change gives courts more power to interpret laws, potentially limiting agency regulatory authority.
Fiscal policy and spending
Rise in federal spending and debt: Federal spending and the national debt grew significantly throughout the period, largely driven by events like the COVID-19 pandemic. By fiscal year 2025, the federal spending-to-GDP ratio had risen from 20% in 2015 to 23%.
Increased public debt: The portion of the national debt held by the public increased by 131% between 2015 and 2025, primarily due to pandemic-related spending.
Legislative changes: Major laws, including the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, addressed the debt limit and imposed spending caps through fiscal year 2025.
Regulatory and environmental policy
Energy policy shifts: The Trump administrations focused on bolstering fossil fuels by loosening environmental regulations. The Biden administration, in contrast, rejoined the Paris Agreement and pursued a climate-focused agenda. In 2025, the Trump administration quickly reversed many Biden-era environmental policies.
Deregulation: The first Trump administration reduced the size of the federal workforce in agencies overseeing labor and environmental standards. A second Trump administration accelerated these efforts, introducing initiatives to eliminate perceived "market distorting" green energy subsidies.
Trade and immigration
Tariff adjustments and trade policy: Trade policy became more protectionist under Trump's leadership, featuring tariffs on foreign imports. The Biden administration generally maintained more traditional trade relationships. In 2025, the second Trump administration imposed further tariffs and reversed previous administrations' trade policies.
Immigration enforcement: Immigration policy shifted toward tighter border control and stricter enforcement. The second Trump administration has taken a harder line on illegal immigration, targeting "sanctuary jurisdictions" with the threat of legal action and federal funding cuts.
Societal and cultural policy
Reversals on DEI initiatives: The federal government has pursued policies affecting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). The Biden administration promoted DEI policies, while the Trump administrations aimed to dismantle such efforts.
Civil rights protections: Civil rights protections saw significant changes, including the Supreme Court's Bostock v. Clayton County decision in 2020, which extended workplace discrimination protections to gay and transgender employees. However, the second Trump administration issued an EO in 2025 re-defining sex and stripping gender identity from federal policies.
Public sentiment and institutional trust
Increased polarization and distrust: The period was marked by rising political polarization and declining trust in federal institutions. Public dissatisfaction and political disruption became more prominent, contributing to a sense of disillusionment with established political systems.
Concerns over democratic norms: There has been heightened concern among some political observers regarding the potential for democratic backsliding and a weakening of institutional checks and balances.
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Comments
Democratic
backsliding and weakening of institutional checks and balances is Democrat
“Newspeak” for “Draining the Swamp”.
AI Data Centers are needed to fix and maintain US Economic Data and restore the “Rule of US Citizens”.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
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