(Jan 21): President Donald Trump wasted no time announcing steps to implement many of his campaign pledges, including on immigration, energy, the military and federal workforce, casting many as reversing the policies of his predecessor, Joe Biden.
“We will immediately restore the integrity, competency and loyalty of America’s government,” Trump said in his inaugural address Monday. “With these actions, we will begin the complete restoration of America, and the revolution of common sense.”
Those actions included ordering the attorney general not to take action against TikTok for 75 days; pardoning nearly all people with criminal charges related to storming the Capitol on Jan 6, 2021; rescinding 78 Biden-era orders — including those related to diversity, immigration and climate — and withdrawing the US again from the Paris Agreement. It’s expected that many of the orders Trump signs Monday will be challenged in court.
Most notable, however, was the absence of any explicit order on tariffs, especially China. But Trump did say Monday evening that he may impose duties on Mexico and Canada by Feb 1 and was still considering universal tariffs on all imports, though not immediately.
While Trump is still signing more orders on Monday night in Washington, here’s a brief rundown of what we know so far his administration plans to initiate, taken from his speech, public information about the orders, briefings by incoming officials and public statements.
Trade and economy
TikTok
Trump temporarily halted a ban on TikTok in the US, granting the company and its Chinese parent ByteDance Ltd more time to reach a deal for the popular app that would resolve long-standing US national security concerns.
The move gives the video-sharing platform a 75-day reprieve.
Tariffs
Trump will call for federal agencies to study tariff policies and the US trade relationship with China, Canada and Mexico, according to incoming officials.
“I will immediately begin the overhaul of our trade system to protect American workers and families,” he said.
Trump also said he plans to enact tariffs of as much as 25% on Mexico and Canada by Feb 1.
‘External Revenue Service’
Trump said he will establish an External Revenue Service to collect tariffs, adding “it will be massive amounts of money pouring into our Treasury coming from foreign sources.”
“Instead of taxing our citizens to enrich other countries, we will tariff and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens,” he said.
Inflation emergency
Trump directed departments and agencies “to deliver emergency price relief,” including the cost and supply of housing, lowering health care expenses and eliminate climate policies that drive up energy prices.
Pardons
The first executive order Trump signed in the Oval Office was the full pardon of about 1,500 people for their role in the siege of the US Capitol. It also commuted the sentences of 14 people.
“We won, but now the work begins, we have to bring them home,” he said earlier in the evening.
Immigration
Trump signed a series of orders that signal a dramatic change to immigration policy and will usher in new limits to both legal and illegal immigration.
Border emergency
Trump declared a national emergency at the southern border. The White House said in a statement that he will deploy armed forces, including the National Guard, to “engage in border security.”
“I will send troops to the southern border to repel the disastrous invasion of our country,” Trump said.
Trump also wants the completion of a wall on the US-Mexico border, an effort begun in his first term.
Deportations
Trump in his speech said the government “will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came.”
He’s expected to offer new authorities to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection officers to carry out deportations.
Birthright citizenship
The new president signed an order seeking to end automatic birthright citizenship for children of people not in the country legally.
“We’re the only country in the world that does this with birth right, as you know and it’s just absolutely ridiculous,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “We think we have very good grounds” for the change, he said.
Asylum, refugees
Trump plans to suspend refugee resettlement for six months and will end “catch and release,” the policy by which migrants are released while awaiting hearings on their asylum status.
He signed a proclamation to end the asylum process, which officials say would allow the immediate removal of those in the country already awaiting court hearings.
The administration will also look to reinstate the “Remain in Mexico” policy, which requires those seeking asylum to stay in Mexico before their US immigration court date.
Death penalty
The White House said the Department of Justice will seek the death penalty for “illegal immigrants who maim and murder Americans.”
Cartel
Trump moved to designate the gangs MS-13 and Tren de Aragua as foreign terrorist organisations, as well as Mexican cartels responsible for smuggling drugs across the border. He’ll use the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to deport members.
Energy and climate
Similar to his actions on immigration, Trump invokes emergency powers in a bid to boost domestic energy production and undo Biden-era policies designed to fight climate change.
A White House summary of plans said that Trump “will unleash American energy by ending Biden’s policies of climate extremism, streamlining permitting” and reviewing for possible reversal “all regulations that impose undue burdens on energy production and use, including mining and processing of non-fuel minerals.”
Offshore drilling, SPR
Trump plans to open up more areas to oil and gas exploration, including offshore and in Alaska. “We will drill, baby, drill,” he said in his speech.
Trump also said he plans to refill the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve “right to the top” and “export American energy, all over the world.”
Efficiency efforts
Trump plans to unwind several rules intended to boost efficiency, including those governing shower heads, toilets, washing machines, light bulbs and dishwashers.
Wind farms
The administration will end leasing areas for “massive” wind farms that the White House said “degrade our natural landscapes and fail to serve American energy consumers.”
Electric vehicle mandate
Trump signed an order to eliminate what he’s called the “electric vehicle mandate” in part by terminating subsidies for the vehicles and terminating state emissions waivers “that function to limit sales of gasoline-powered automobiles.”
Paris Agreement
As he did in his first term, Trump will again withdraw the US from the 2015 Paris Agreement. It isn’t expected to be immediate, however: Signatories must provide formal notice to the United Nations to initiate a withdrawal, then wait a year for it to take effect.
Gender and culture
Only two sexes
Trump said it will become “the official policy” of the US that there are only sexes, male and female, requiring agencies to give force to the definitions and terms in the order when applying statutes and regulations. The White House called the move “biological reality” and will “protect women from radical gender ideology.”
The order mandates that agencies will use the term sex, not gender, and would have the secretaries of State, Homeland Security and other agencies ensure that official documents, including passports and visas, reflect sex accurately.
DEI in federal government and military
As promised on the campaign trail, Trump signed an order to stop diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the federal government instituted under Biden.
“I will also end the government policy of trying to socially engineer, race and gender into every aspect of public and private life,” he said.
As for the military, Trump said he intends to issue an order “to stop our warriors from being subjected to radical political theories and social experiments while on duty.”
National security
Reinstating vaccine objectors
As he has pledged before, Trump said he will reinstate, with full back pay, any service members who were expelled from the military for refusing to take the Covid-19 vaccination.
WHO
Trump signed an order withdrawing from the World Health Organization.
Federal workforce
Return to office
Trump ordered all department and agency chiefs in executive department to eliminate work-from-home options and return employees to in-person work “as soon as practicable.” The White House earlier in the day said only 6% of government employees “work in person.”
Hiring freeze
The administration will freeze hiring for federal employees, except for the military or those related to immigration enforcement and national security. The White House said earlier in the day it intended to “end the onslaught of useless and overpaid DEI activists buried into the federal workforce.”
Regulatory freeze
Trump also ordered all agencies to pause issuing or publishing any new regulations until after they’re reviewed by the incoming administration, or designate that review “to any other person so appointed or designated by the president, consistent with applicable law.”
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