What Trump Did in One Day — and Why It Matters

On February 6, 2026, President Donald J. Trump signed five major executive actions — four Executive Orders and one presidential proclamation — spanning immigration, arms exports, Iran, Russia–India trade, and Atlantic fishing rights.

Taken individually, each action can be explained away as technical, administrative, or sector-specific.

Taken together, they form something much clearer: a single governing strategy, executed across multiple domains in one day.

This ONEST Explained breaks down what happened, why it happened now, and what the consequences are — legally, economically, and geopolitically.

What Happened: Five Actions, One Day

1. Criminal records + immigration screening

The first Executive Order directs the Department of Justice to give the Department of Homeland Security access — “to the maximum extent permitted by law” — to federal criminal history record information for immigration screening and vetting.

It also authorizes DHS to exchange felony conviction records with:

• Visa Waiver Program countries

• Countries with serious crime–prevention agreements

• Other “trusted allies”

The exchange must be reciprocal, conducted under formal agreements, and include privacy safeguards.

On paper: better screening, better data, stronger border security. In practice: a significant expansion of how criminal justice data is used in immigration decisions — and who gets access to it.

2. America First Arms Transfer Strategy

The second Executive Order establishes a sweeping America First Arms Transfer Strategy, reframing U.S. weapons sales as:

• a foreign policy tool

• an industrial policy tool

• and a leverage mechanism over allies

The order instructs the administration to:

• prioritize arms sales that serve U.S. strategic interests

• use foreign purchases and capital to expand U.S. production capacity

• reward partners that invest in their own defense and align with U.S. security priorities

• streamline approvals, monitoring, and congressional notifications

Agencies are given 60–120 days to produce:

• a prioritized weapons “sales catalog”

• a coordinated industry engagement plan

• streamlined oversight and reporting metrics

This is not about selling more weapons indiscriminately. It is about deciding who gets access — and on what terms.

3. Iran: tariffs as a global enforcement tool

The third Executive Order targets Iran, but not only Iran.

It authorizes the United States to impose additional tariffs (for example, 25%) on imports from any country that:

• directly or indirectly

• purchases goods or services from Iran

Commerce determines whether a country is buying from Iran. State, Treasury, DHS, and USTR advise on penalties. The President decides whether tariffs are imposed — and at what level.

This transforms sanctions logic into trade enforcement.

Instead of punishing Iran alone, the order pressures Iran’s trading partners, turning access to the U.S. market into a compliance test.

4. Russia–India: tariffs removed as a reward

The fourth Executive Order removes a previously imposed 25% tariff on Indian imports, citing that India has:

• committed to stopping imports of Russian oil

• agreed to purchase U.S. energy

• expanded long-term defense cooperation with the United States

The tariff removal takes effect immediately, with refunds processed where applicable.

But the order also includes monitoring provisions. If India resumes importing Russian oil, the tariffs can be reimposed.

This is not a trade reset. It is conditional relief.

NOTE: Earlier trade measures had already reduced India’s effective tariff burden from the originally threatened 25 percent to approximately 18 percent. The February 6 Executive Order removes a separate, additional ad valorem duty imposed as a Russia-related enforcement measure — formally terminating the penalty layer while leaving baseline tariffs and monitoring mechanisms in place.

5. Atlantic fishing: lifting environmental restrictions

The final action is a presidential proclamation revoking a Biden-era ban on commercial fishing in the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument — roughly 4,913 square miles in the Atlantic.

The administration argues:

• fish stocks are already protected under existing federal laws

• species are migratory and not unique to the monument

• categorical bans are unnecessary and economically harmful

The result: commercial fishing is once again permitted under existing regulatory frameworks, over the objections of coastal communities and scientists who warn the move risks long-term ecological damage — a move that is expected to face legal challenges over environmental protections and executive authority.

Why This Happened — and Why All at Once

This was not a coincidence. It was coordination.

Across all five actions, the same governing logic appears:

Security framing + economic leverage + administrative speed

Different tools, same philosophy.

1. Security is the justification

Each action is explicitly framed as protecting:

• national security

• public safety

• economic resilience

Whether it’s immigration data, arms exports, Iran, Russia, or fishing grounds — security is the legal and political anchor.

2. Markets are the leverage

Instead of relying primarily on diplomacy or legislation, these actions use:

• tariffs

• access to U.S. markets

• access to U.S. weapons

• access to U.S. regulatory permission

Compliance is rewarded. Misalignment is penalized.

3. Speed matters more than consensus

All five actions rely on:

• executive authority

• existing emergency declarations

• delegated agency power

Congress is informed — not centered. Courts become the backstop — not the starting point. This is governance optimized for velocity.

The Real Consequences

1. Allies are now graded, not just partnered

Defense cooperation, energy alignment, and trade behavior are increasingly bundled together. Countries are no longer just allies — they are risk-weighted participants in U.S. strategy.

Good behavior brings access. Bad behavior brings tariffs, delays, or exclusion.

2. Trade becomes a sanctions substitute

The Iran order is especially consequential.

By threatening tariffs on third countries, the U.S. is effectively saying:

“If sanctions don’t change behavior, market access will.”

This raises:

• retaliation risks

• WTO challenges

• enforcement disputes over what counts as “indirect” trade

But it also dramatically expands U.S. leverage.

3. Industrial policy is now explicit

The arms transfer strategy removes any ambiguity: U.S. weapons sales are meant to rebuild domestic capacity, not just supply allies.

Foreign demand is treated as:

• capital injection

• production accelerator

• geopolitical filter

This reshapes how allies plan procurement — and how U.S. industry prioritizes output.

4. Environmental and regulatory protections are conditional

The fishing proclamation shows the domestic side of the same logic: If protection is seen as redundant or restrictive, it will be rolled back in favor of managed access and economic use.

Expect similar arguments in other regulatory areas.

The Bottom Line

What happened on February 6 was not five disconnected actions.

It was one governing message, delivered across multiple fronts:

• Security justifies speed

• Markets enforce alignment

• Access is the reward

• Executive power is the engine

Whether this strategy proves effective or destabilizing will depend on implementation, legal challenges, and global response.

But the direction is clear.

This is not transactional chaos. It is transactional governance — structured, conditional, and deliberately centralized.

And now it’s in motion.