Here’s what we know about Trump’s planned executive orders after swearing-in
Donald Trump plans to issue a flurry of executive orders and directives after he is sworn in as US president to put his stamp on his new administration on matters ranging from energy to immigration.
Two sources familiar with the planning said more than 200 such orders and directives could be released starting on day one in what is known internally as a “shock and awe” effort.
Here is what we know about the executive orders so far:
Immigration
Mr Trump plans to take a flurry of executive actions aimed at cracking down on legal and illegal immigration and ramping up deportations after he enters the White House, an incoming Trump administration official said.
Mr Trump intends to declare illegal immigration at the US-Mexico border a national emergency to support the construction of a border wall and send additional troops to the border, the official said.
Mr Trump will issue a sweeping proclamation that aims to block access to all asylum at the Mexico border, the official said.
He will also issue an order intended to end birthright citizenship for US-born children whose parents lack legal immigration status, the official said.
Citing the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution, the official said in a briefing: “The federal government will not recognise automatic birthright citizenship for children of illegal aliens born in the United States. We are also going to enhance vetting and screening of illegal aliens.”
The US Constitution’s 14th Amendment provides for granting citizenship to “all persons born or naturalised in the United States.”
Any move by Mr Trump to end birthright citizenship would face a legal challenge.
Energy
One of Mr Trump’s orders will declare a national energy emergency aimed at “unleashing affordable and reliable American energy,” an official with the incoming White House said.
Mr Trump, who vowed during his campaign to “drill, baby, drill,” will also sign an executive order focused on Alaska, the official said, adding that the state was critical to US national security and could allow exports of liquefied natural gas to other parts of the United States and allies.
Sources familiar with the plans of members of Mr Trump’s transition team have said that Mr Trump is considering executive orders to target everything from electric vehicles to withdrawing again from the Paris climate agreement, an action he took in his first administration.
Members of his transition team are recommending sweeping changes to cut off support for electric vehicles and charging stations and to strengthen measures blocking the import of cars, components and battery materials from China, according to a document seen by Reuters.
The transition team also recommends imposing tariffs on all battery materials globally, a bid to boost US production, and then negotiating individual exemptions with allies, the document shows.
Mr Trump’s executive orders will also likely seek to roll back Joe Biden’s climate regulations on power plants, end his pause on liquefied natural gas exports, and revoke waivers allowing California and other states to have tighter pollution rules.
Tariffs
Mr Trump will issue a broad trade memo that stops short of imposing new tariffs on his first day in office, but rather directs federal agencies to evaluate US trade relationships with China, Canada and Mexico, an incoming Trump administration official said.
The Republican incoming president has pledged tariffs of 10% on global imports, 60% on Chinese goods and a 25% import surcharge on Canadian and Mexican products, duties that may upend trade flows, raise costs and draw retaliation.
The official, confirming a Wall Street Journal report, said Mr Trump will direct agencies to investigate and remedy persistent trade deficits and address unfair trade and currency policies by other nations.
The memo will single out China, Canada and Mexico for scrutiny but will not announce new tariffs, the official said.
It will direct agencies to assess Beijing’s compliance with its 2020 trade deal with the US, as well as the status of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, the official said.
Mr Trump believes tariffs would help boost economic growth in the US, although opponents warn that the costs would likely be passed along to consumers.
Transgender rights
Mr Trump will issue an executive order proclaiming that the US federal government will only recognise two sexes, male and female, an incoming White House official said.
Mr Trump has vowed to sign an executive order ending transgender rights in the US military and inside US schools.
As for transgender athletes, he told a rally yesterday, pictured above, that he would act on his first day to stop the participation of trans athletes in women’s sports.
Diversity programmes
Mr Trump will also issue an order ending “radical and wasteful” diversity, equity and inclusion programs inside the federal government, an incoming White House official said.
During his first term, Mr Trump signed an executive order to curtail efforts to address racial disparities in the workplace, through programs including diversity training inside companies.
Mr Biden reversed that executive order on his first day in office in January 2021, and Mr Trump is likely to reinstate his original order early in his second term, and perhaps on his first day in office.
Mr Trump has also criticised “diversity, equity and inclusion” policies inside universities.
Pardons
Mr Trump has also said he will take action immediately on taking office to issue pardons for some of the hundreds of people convicted or charged in connection with the 6 January 2021 assault on the US Capitol by his supporters.
Gender-affirming care
Mr Trump said in a campaign video in 2023 that on his first day in office he would revoke the Biden administration’s policies that provide information and resources to those seeking medical care so they can align their bodies with the gender they identify with.
That care can include hormone therapy and surgery.
Drug cartels
Mr Trump plans to classify drug cartels as foreign terrorist organisations in an early executive order, Punchbowl News reported yesterday, fulfilling a promise he made on the campaign trail to crack down on the sources of the lethal opioid fentanyl.
Requiring federal workers to return to the office
Mr Trump has railed against work-from-home arrangements for tens of thousands of federal employees, which were greatly increased during the Covid-19 pandemic, and he has vowed to end them.
In December, Mr Trump said if federal workers refuse to return to the office, “they’re going to be dismissed”.
By forcing government workers back into the office, Mr Trump and his allies hope it could trigger large-scale resignations, which would assist in their goal of reducing the size of the federal bureaucracy.