What Trump might do on day one in the White House

Donald Trump has promised he will “turn heads” on his first day back in office Monday, with an avalanche of executive orders expected in the hours after his inauguration as the 47th president of the United States.

He will call for a “common sense revolution”, according to extracts broadcast before his inauguration. At a rally Sunday, the Republican vowed to act unilaterally on a wide range of issues, including illegal immigration, climate rules and diversity policies.

It is common for presidents to sign a series of executive orders when they take office. Such orders have the force of law but may be overturned by subsequent presidents or courts.

But the scale of Trump’s plans could be unprecedented, with legal challenges expected. “You’re going to have a lot of fun watching TV tomorrow,” he told supporters at the rally.

Deportations

Trump pledged to “launch the largest deportation program in American history” on day one.

He is expected to declare a state of emergency at the nation’s border and order the military to help secure the southern border, according to Fox News.

Trump also said he would end a longstanding policy that blocked federal immigration authorities from conducting raids on churches and schools.

Any mass eviction program is expected to face logistical difficulties, costs in the billions and a series of legal challenges.

Stay in Mexico

Trump could quickly reimplement his “Remain in Mexico” policy, which during his first term sent about 70,000 non-Mexican asylum seekers across the border into Mexico to await heard.

Ending Birthright Citizenship

Trump called the 150-year-old constitutional right that everyone born on American soil is an American citizen “ridiculous” and vowed to eliminate it from day one.

But this is much more difficult than simply issuing an executive order, because the right to citizenship is explicitly guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.

Closure of borders for health reasons

A 1944 measure called Title 42 allows the U.S. government to curb migration to protect public health. It was last used during the pandemic, but US media are reporting that the new administration is looking for a disease that could justify its plans to close the US southern border with Mexico.

Drug cartels

Trump is expected to classify drug cartels as “foreign terrorist organizations,” placing them on a list alongside groups like al-Qaeda, the so-called Islamic State and Hamas.

Build the wall

When Trump was first elected president in 2016, he signed an executive order to build a border wall. Although some parts of the wall have been built, there is still a lot to finish and he might try to finish what he started.

Prices

Trump has promised drastic tariffs on imported goods as part of his promise to prioritize American manufacturing.

Trump introduced tariffs during his first term, including some on China that Joe Biden kept.

But this time, he promises tariffs of 10% on all imports, 25% on Canadian and Mexican products and 60% on products from China. He said he would begin signing executive orders imposing these measures on day one.

Tariffs will likely make consumer goods more expensive and could fuel inflation, experts say. Some countries are considering retaliatory tariffs.

Stack of cryptocurrency

Trump championed cryptocurrency and his election saw the value of Bitcoin increase by 30%.

Some believe Trump will move quickly to create a “federal Bitcoin stockpile” — a strategic reserve similar to the U.S. gold and oil stockpile — which he says would serve as a “permanent national asset for the benefit of all Americans “.

Abandon Joe Biden’s climate policy

The outgoing president considers the series of directives, laws and funding programs he championed to boost green jobs, regulate pollution and fund infrastructure as one of his greatest accomplishments.

Trump has made clear he wants to reverse much of this policy, including spending on the Green New Deal.

He should use executive orders to remove restrictions on drilling offshore and on federal lands – fulfilling his promise to “drill, baby drill” and increase U.S. energy production and independence.

He also pledged to ban new wind projects and roll back electric vehicle mandates.

Withdrawing (again) from the Paris Agreement

Six months after taking office in 2017, Trump withdrew from the Paris climate accord, a landmark international agreement designed to limit rising global temperatures.

Biden decided to rejoin the deal on his first day in office in 2021, but Trump is expected to withdraw from it again.

Release of “hostages” on January 6

Hundreds of people convicted after the 2021 U.S. Capitol riots are awaiting pardons when Trump returns to power.

Trump called them “hostages” and promised Sunday that everyone would be “very happy” with his decision.

“I’m inclined to forgive a lot of them,” he previously told CNN. “I can’t say for all of them, because a few of them probably got out of hand.”

More than 1,500 people were arrested in connection with this event. At least 600 people have been charged with assaulting or obstructing federal agents.

Also at his Sunday rally, Trump said he would release classified documents related to the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the subject of countless conspiracy theories.

He said he would do the same for cases related to the 1968 killings of Sen. Robert Kennedy and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

Ukrainian War

Trump claimed during the campaign that he would end the conflict on the first day of his presidency. He has since said it might take six months. It’s unclear what he might do in his early days.

Cuba and Venezuela

Trump could use executive orders to reverse Biden’s recent decision to remove Cuba from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism. He could also reinstate sanctions against Venezuela. Both countries were frequent targets of his ire during his first administration.

DEI

In recent years, schools and businesses in the United States have adopted policies intended to support women and racial minorities.

These practices, often categorized under “diversity, equity and inclusion” (DEI), have angered many conservatives and been the subject of legal challenges. Trump has promised to disband them, and major companies, including Meta, Walmart and Amazon, have already begun rolling back related initiatives.

Trump could use an executive order to ban federal funding for schools or other institutions offering DEI programs. It could also ban funding for schools that teach “critical race theory” (CRT).

At Sunday’s rally, he also pledged to work toward “awareness” within the U.S. military.

Abortion

Like most Republican presidents before him, Trump is expected to reinstate the “Mexico City Policy,” which bars federal aid to international groups providing abortion counseling.

He is also expected to reinstate an abortion rule that prohibits federal health providers under Title X, a low-income family planning program, from mentioning abortion to patients. The change effectively took tens of millions of dollars away from organizations that offer abortion or provide referrals.

Transgender women in sport

Trump has repeatedly criticized what he calls “transgender madness” in schools and health care, and has specifically promised to ban transgender women from competing in women’s sports — a vow he has reiterated during Sunday’s rally.

On Sunday morning, Trump promised to issue an executive order that would delay the implementation of a law banning the implementation of Chinese social media platform TikTok.

TikTok welcomed the commitment and began restoring its app’s services in the United States, after briefly disabling them to comply with the new US law.

Trump said his order would give TikTok’s parent company more time to find a U.S. partner to buy a 50% stake in the app.

He previously supported banning TikTok, but recently changed his stance, pointing to the billions of views his videos he says attracted to the platform during last year’s presidential campaign.