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Series Examines the First 100 Days of Trump's Second Term

Posted on March 28, 2025 by Bill Platt

The Rockefeller Center, Dartmouth Dialogues, and student groups sponsor the talks.

Collage of 100 Days speakers
The series, which includes a U.S. senator, former New Hampshire governor, and former Cabinet officials and members of Congress, starts April 7. 

As President Donald Trump makes rapid-fire changes to nearly every corner of the U.S. government at the start of his second term, the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center for Public Policy and Dartmouth Dialogues will bring prominent speakers from across the political spectrum to campus to discuss the new administration’s first 100 days.

The “100 Days Series” will include a look at federalism and state governance on April 17 with former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, R-N.H., and an analysis of the U.S. Senate and the Democratic response to the Trump administration on April 25 with U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand ’88, D-N.Y.

Former Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and former Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette will also participate in the series, as will former members of the U.S. House.

“President Trump and his allies have been extraordinarily busy,” says Rockefeller Center Director Jason Barabas ’93. “Few presidential administrations have been as impactful during their first few months. Policies, programs, and even entire governmental departments have been dramatically overhauled or mothballed.”

The aim of providing a chance for the Dartmouth community to interact with a wide-ranging group of policymakers and substantive experts is to “foster cross-cutting dialogue by illuminating the long-term consequences and tradeoffs,” he says.

Some of the events will feature two speakers in conversation, including a bipartisan discussion on Congress on April 16 with former U.S. Rep Ann McLane Kuster ’78, a Democrat who represented New Hampshire’s Second District for six terms from 2013-2025, and former U.S. Rep. Alex Mooney ’93, a Republican who represented West Virginia’s Second Congressional District from 2015 to 2024.

The series will also feature top former cabinet officials from Republican and Democratic administrations including Raimondo, who before joining the Biden administration as secretary of commerce was the Democratic governor of Rhode Island, delivering the Portman Lecture in the Spirit of Entrepreneurship on May 9. 

On April 7, Brouillette, the secretary of energy in the first Trump administration from 2019-2021, and assistant secretary of energy for congressional and intergovernmental affairs under President George W. Bush from 2001-2003, will discuss energy policy with Kevin Knobloch, who served as chief of staff of the U.S. Department of Energy in President Barack Obama’s second term.

I’m thrilled that we have this remarkable lineup of visitors. But the thing that excites me more is including students as moderators in the discussions.

Charles Wheelan ’88, faculty director of the Center for Business, Government, and Society at Tuck

The public events will be moderated by faculty experts in the policy area under discussion including economics professor Doug Irwin moderating the May 15 event “Are Tariffs Good for America?” with Dominic Pino, the Thomas L. Rhodes Journalism Fellow at National Review Institute, and Stephen Vaughn, U.S. trade representative in the first Trump administration. Rockefeller Center Executive Director Anna Mahoney, who specializes in women’s representation in American politics, will moderate the discussion of the state of education with Virginia Secretary of Education Aimee Rogstad Guidera, a Republican. 

Members of the Dartmouth Democrats, the Dartmouth Conservatives, and the Dartmouth Political Union, student groups that took a major role in planning the 100 Days series, will also take part in the discussions. Most of the speakers will also make classroom visits and attend community luncheons or dinners.

“I’m thrilled that we have this remarkable lineup of visitors,” says Charles Wheelan ’88, faculty director of the Center for Business, Government, and Society at Tuck, who will moderate the discussion with Gillibrand. “But the thing that excites me more is including students as moderators in the discussions.”

Grace Wilkins ’26, DPU vice president of operations, celebrated the collaboration between the three student groups and the Rockefeller Center as fostering “open, substantive dialogue on the most pressing political issues of our time. At its core, this series is about student leadership—encouraging Dartmouth students to actively engage in political discourse, challenge their views, ask tough questions, and lead conversations that will define our generation.”

John Coleman ’26, vice president of the Dartmouth Conservatives and Prescott Herzog ’25, president emeritus of the Dartmouth Democrats, also highlighted the collaborative effort. Says Coleman, “I am confident that the 100 Days Series will bring different, sometimes unpopular opinions to campus, model respectful disagreement, and encourage us all to carry on difficult or contentious conversations well after the series concludes.” 

Herzog says he looks forward to hearing more about the Democratic response to the new administration. 

“Having leaders like Secretary Raimondo, Congresswoman Kuster, and Sen. Gillibrand come to campus in this bipartisan series not only embeds student voices in critical policy discussions but also helps our members engage with challenging viewpoints as we navigate the complexities of the second Trump administration,” Herzog says.

The 100 Days Series is also co-sponsored by the Center for Business, Government and Society at Tuck with additional support from the Arthur L. Irving Institute for Energy and Society, the Revers Center for Energy, Sustainability and Innovation, and the Political Economy Project.

Registration for 100 Days Speaker Series Events