SOFREP Evening Brief: Trump’s First 100 Days, Israel Targets Weapons in Beirut, Russia Arrests Bombing Suspect

Donald Trump’s first 100 days of his second presidency have been defined by rapid and aggressive actions across nearly every area of government. His administration has signed an extraordinary number of executive orders, proclamations, and memorandums—137 executive orders alone by late April—many of which push the boundaries of presidential power and are already facing legal challenges.

One of Trump‘s major initiatives was a dramatic restructuring of the federal government. He created a new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, tasked with slashing the federal workforce and cutting what the administration considered wasteful spending. This led to a hiring freeze, an end to remote work, and the layoffs of over 100,000 federal employees through a “deferred resignation” plan.

Immigration policy also shifted sharply. Trump launched a mass deportation program that mobilized several government agencies, including the IRS and Postal Service, to locate and remove undocumented immigrants. Some were sent to facilities in El Salvador without court hearings, under wartime provisions used to justify the expedited process.

In a bold and controversial move on his first day back in office, Trump pardoned or commuted the sentences of all individuals charged in connection to the January 6 Capitol riot, including those convicted of violent crimes and seditious conspiracy.

On the foreign policy front, Trump took aggressive steps to reshape America’s role in global alliances and trade. He imposed sweeping tariffs that triggered a new trade war, causing market turmoil and concern among international allies. Trump also made provocative statements about seizing control of the Panama Canal, annexing Canada, and taking Greenland by force, though most observers believe these “threats” were rhetorical or part of a broader negotiating strategy.

Domestically, Trump moved to tighten government control over various sectors like law, media, public health, education, and culture. His administration cut federal funding for schools it labeled “woke,” eliminated diversity initiatives, rolled back protections for gender-affirming care, and reinstated the federal death penalty. Universities, media organizations, and law firms have faced heightened scrutiny and direct attacks from the administration.

Working with a Republican-controlled Congress, Trump signed significant legislation, including the Laken Riley Act and a continuing appropriations bill. He passed more laws in his first 100 days than any president since Harry Truman, despite some internal opposition and legal hurdles.

Public reaction has been sharply divided. Trump’s supporters are thrilled, seeing these swift actions as a long-awaited conservative revolution. Critics, including some traditional Republicans and international allies, are alarmed by the scale and speed of the changes, warning that they could lead to lasting instability and a weakening of democratic norms. Administration officials have said the strategy is to flood the political system with actions on all fronts, making it hard for opponents to resist effectively.

Historians have compared the scale of Trump’s actions to Franklin D. Roosevelt’s first 100 days, though Trump’s approach has been much more confrontational and polarizing.

In short, Trump’s second term has kicked off with a whirlwind of radical changes, promising even bigger moves in the months ahead.

Israel Strikes Deep Into Lebanon

On April 27, 2025, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) carried out a rare airstrike deep inside Beirut, Lebanon, targeting a Hezbollah weapons facility. The strike hit a warehouse in the Dahiyeh district, an area long known as a Hezbollah stronghold. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz confirmed that the facility was being used to store precision-guided missiles, which they said posed a direct threat to Israel’s security.

Before the strike, the IDF issued evacuation warnings to residents in the nearby Hadath neighborhood, advising civilians to move at least 300 meters away from the targeted site. Video footage from the scene showed large columns of smoke rising after the attack. Lebanon’s Civil Defense later reported that fires caused by the strike were put out and, importantly, that no injuries were reported.

So far, Hezbollah has not issued a public response to the strike. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, however, quickly condemned the attack and called on the United States and France to intervene and pressure Israel to stop its military actions, claiming that continued strikes threaten to destabilize the region.

This latest strike comes despite a ceasefire agreement that was reached in November 2024, which had led to a sharp drop in hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah. Although Israeli forces have maintained a near-daily operational tempo in southern Lebanon, attacks inside Beirut itself have been rare. This was only the third such strike in the Lebanese capital since the ceasefire took effect. The last significant strike in Dahiyeh happened earlier this month on April 1.

Israeli officials made it clear they will not allow Hezbollah to stockpile weapons in Beirut and warned that the Lebanese government is ultimately responsible for allowing these threats to develop on its soil. According to Israeli sources, the United States was informed about the operation beforehand.

While the strike avoided civilian casualties, it has raised international concerns about the durability of the ceasefire and the risk of wider conflict. Western diplomats are closely watching the situation, aware that continued escalation could quickly unravel what little stability remains along the Israel-Lebanon border.

Russia Arrests Bombing Suspect

Russian authorities have announced the arrest of a man accused of carrying out a car bombing that killed Lieutenant General Yaroslav Moskalik, a senior military officer, just outside Moscow. The suspect, identified as Ignat Kuzin, was arrested by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) and accused of working as an agent for Ukrainian special services.

According to Russian officials, Kuzin acquired the general’s Volkswagen Golf, rigged it with a homemade bomb sourced from a Ukrainian weapons stash in the Moscow area, and remotely detonated the device from Ukraine.

General Moskalik, who served as the deputy head of the Russian General Staff’s main operational department, was killed instantly. Russian investigators claim Kuzin has confessed to terrorism charges, admitting he was paid by Ukraine’s Security Service to carry out the attack, although there are questions about whether the confession was given under duress.

Russian state media aired footage showing Kuzin in custody discussing his alleged recruitment. Authorities also released images and video that they say tie him directly to the bombing. This marks the second time in four months that Moscow has blamed Ukraine for the assassination of a senior Russian officer, following the December 2024 car bombing that killed Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, head of Russia’s chemical weapons division.

Ukrainian officials have remained silent on this latest incident. The FSB claims this killing is part of a broader campaign by Ukrainian intelligence to target Russian military leadership as the conflict between the two countries grinds on.