First steps, second terms: Trump and criminal justice reform

Published March 21, 2025 5:15am ET



It was all smiles among President Donald Trump, criminal justice reform advocates, law enforcement representatives, and a bipartisan group of legislators in the Oval Office in 2018. Trump, who campaigned on law and order, was preparing to sign the First Step Act, one of the biggest criminal justice reform legislative bills in U.S. history.

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