Republicans, including Sens. Lee and Curtis, celebrate Trump’s first 100 days

WASHINGTON — After three months of rapid action and a near-constant news cycle, congressional Republicans are taking a victory lap as they commemorate the first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s second term.

Republican lawmakers filled their social media timelines and press release dockets with statements praising Trump’s first three months on the job, lauding his efforts to crack down on issues ranging from immigration to transgender athletes to energy dominance.

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The 100-day stretch has been filled with a flurry of executive orders and memorandums turning the government on its head. The administration has moved a mile a minute to repeal much of what his predecessor had done before him, resulting in a sense of whiplash for some lawmakers — but one that Republicans appear to relish.

“President Trump ‘understood the assignment’ from his first day in office: to enforce our borders and immigration laws, especially against dangerous criminals; to root out waste, fraud, and abuse across the federal government; and to rip the woke anti-American race and gender agenda out of our public institutions by its roots,” Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, told the Deseret News in a statement. “He has delivered on these and many other promises with a single-minded fighting spirit that has millions of Americans, myself included, saying ‘this is exactly what I voted for.’”

Other Republicans similarly praised the quick pace with which the Trump administration has taken Washington by storm, with many repeating a tagline the president has sought to make a central theme of his administration: “Promises made, promises kept.”

But the fervor with which Trump has wielded his executive power has not been met with the same excitement from everyday Americans. Instead, Trump’s approval ratings have begun to dip — giving him the lowest 100-day rating of any president in the last 80 years.

Those numbers are especially damaging when it comes to the economy, as a majority of voters say they are concerned Trump’s recent economic decisions, such as global tariffs, could cause a short-term recession.

What do Utah lawmakers think of Trump’s first 100 days?

That sentiment doesn’t appear to be the case with Utah lawmakers as they told the Deseret News they approved of Trump’s performance so far.

When asked what grade he would give Trump’s first 100 days, Lee told the Deseret News he’d award an “A+.” Others in the Utah delegation gave similar approval.

Lee’s counterpart in the Senate, Sen. John Curtis, compared the beginning of Trump’s term to Ronald Reagan taking over from the Carter administration, citing similar challenges such as high inflation and “volatility in world affairs.”

“It’s a difficult position to take on, but what we’ve seen in these first 100 days is a President doing what he said he was going to do: disrupt and tackle the challenges head-on,” Curtis said in a statement to the Deseret News. “The hallmark success of President Trump’s first 100 days has been securing the border and getting our illegal immigration problem in check. There’s no question — that’s a promise made and kept, and our communities are safer because of it.”

The number of people trying to come into the country illegally has dropped significantly since Trump took office, with only 29,065 people encountered in March, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. That’s down from the 124,507 who were stopped in December 2024, and the 246,505 in March 2024 under Biden.

The difference in the number of deportations between Trump and Biden is not yet known as the Trump administration hasn’t reported those numbers yet.

Meanwhile, Rep. Burgess Owens, R-Utah, also celebrated Trump’s second term for its focus on the border, energy policy, and educational reform.

“President Trump’s first 100 days have brought something back to Washington that’s been missing for years: common sense,” Owens said. “Under this administration, we’re ending DEI mandates that divide, restoring merit, holding colleges accountable, protecting girls’ sports, cutting costs for hardworking families, and returning accountability to the people’s government.”

How much has Trump accomplished is 100 days?

Since Trump’s inauguration, the president has worked at a pace not seen in recent decades. As of Monday, Trump has signed 140 executive orders — the most signed by any president in his first 100 days.

It far surpasses the record previously set by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who signed 99 executive orders in his first three-month stretch.

But in terms of legislation, Trump has fallen behind his predecessors. As of Monday, Trump has only signed five bills into law — coming in below the 11 that President Joe Biden had signed by this point in his presidency. During the first 100 days of Trump’s first term, he had signed 28 bills.

Instead, Republicans have been occupied with negotiating Trump’s reconciliation bill, a massive funding package they hope to finalize by mid-summer to pass all of the president’s top priorities at once. But even those plans have taken longer than originally planned.

House GOP leaders laid out an initial plan in January to have the full reconciliation package drafted, approved, and sent to Trump’s desk by Memorial Day. Now, that timeline is being pushed back as cracks emerge among Republican lawmakers on multiple fronts including Medicaid, energy tax credits, food assistance programs, and more.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters on Monday that the new target date is July 4.

Polls take a dip — and Democrats dig in

As Trump waits for Congress to hand him major policy wins, his approval ratings have begun to fall, particularly for his handling of the economy.

Only 39% said they approved of Trump’s performance, down 6 points since February, according to a recent poll from ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos. More than half (55%) said they disapprove.

Those numbers are especially dire when it comes to how voters view the economy, with 73% of respondents saying the economy is in bad shape. More than half (53%) said the economy has gotten worse since Trump took office, and a whopping 72% say they are concerned his economic policies will cause a recession.

As a result, Democrats are seizing on those concerns — and ramping up their messaging against Republicans as they look to make gains in the midterm elections next year.

“The first 100 days of the Trump administration have been characterized by chaos, cruelty and corruption,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told reporters on Monday. “America is better than this. We should be able to do better for the American people. The Trump administration has failed and Republicans in Congress are behaving like a useless rubber stamp and allowing extremism to hurt the American people.”

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee launched an attack ad series this week hitting Trump over his tariffs and concerns of inflation. The ads will be aired in battleground states such as Michigan and Georgia, which are set to have open Senate races next year.