Donald Trump promised to unleash a blitz of executive orders now that he has been sworn in as the 47th US president after calling for a “revolution of common sense” in Monday’s inaugural address.
The Republican promised to act unilaterally on various issues, including immigration, climate rules, and diversity policies. While it is common for presidents to sign a range of executive orders when they enter office, the number that Trump could issue would be unprecedented.
Such orders carry the weight of law but can be overturned by subsequent presidents or the courts. Many could face legal challenges.
Immigration and the border
National emergency at the border: During his inaugural address, Trump announced that he would sign an executive order declaring a national emergency at the southern border and ordering the Department of Defense to allocate more resources and manpower to it.
“Remain in Mexico”: He said his White House will also re-implement his “Remain in Mexico” policy in a day-one executive order. A measure from his first term, it returned about 70,000 non-Mexican asylum seekers across the border to Mexico to await hearings.
Terrorism designation for gangs and cartels: The president will officially designate cartels and international gangs as foreign terrorist organisations, according to his inaugural address. Central American MS-13 and Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua will be added to a list that includes Al Qaeda, the so-called Islamic State, and Hamas.
Resume wall-building: When Trump was first elected president in 2016, he signed an executive order to build a border wall. Although parts of the wall have been built, much remains unfinished, and an official told reporters before the inauguration that Trump would issue a directive to finish what he started.
End birthright citizenship: Trump has called the constitutional right that says anyone born on US soil is an American citizen “ridiculous”. Trump officials also told reporters that the president would deny birthright citizenship to the children of immigrants who are in the US illegally.
But doing that could prove much more difficult than simply issuing an executive order, and it is expected to face legal challenges.
Refugee and asylum seekers: Trump will suspend refugees admissions into the US for at least four months, officials also said. He also plans to use his presidential powers to “end” asylum by proclamation to fast-track deportations at the US-Mexico border.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president will suspend refugee resettlements in US communities.
Death penalty for certain immigrant criminals: Now that he is in office, officials said that Trump will direct his attorney general to seek the death penalty for any unauthorised immigrant who is found guilty of murdering law enforcement officers or other “capital” crimes.
Deportations: Trump vowed to end the practice of “catch and release” during his speech on Monday. The policy allows a migrant to live in the community while they await their hearing.
He has previously promised to “launch the largest deportation program in American history” and end a longtime policy that has kept federal immigration authorities from conducting raids on churches and schools.
These pledges could face legal and logistical challenges.
Closing the border on health grounds: Title 42, a 1944 measure, allows the US government to curb migration to protect public health. It was last used during the pandemic, but US media report that the new administration is looking for a disease that would help justify its plans to close the southern US border with Mexico.
Climate and energy
Pull out of the Paris Agreement (again): The new White House is withdrawing from the Paris Climate Agreement – the landmark international deal designed to limit rising global temperatures. It did not say whether Trump would look to achieve this with an executive order.
Trump first withdrew from the accord in 2017 before Biden re-entered it in 2021.
National energy emergency: Trump will declare a national energy, he said in his inaugural address. Officials earlier said this would be designed to allow the US to produce more natural resources and jobs.
The new president also vowed to “drill, baby, drill” for more American fossil fuels. Officials have also said he will issue an order targeting Alaska’s “incredible abundance of natural resources”.
End Green New Deal: During Monday’s speech, Trump announced that he would end the so-called Green New Deal, a series of Biden administration directives, regulations, and programmes aimed at boosting green jobs, regulating the fossil fuel industry, and limiting pollution. He also announced that he would end Biden’s electric vehicle mandate.
Trade and economy
Inflation: During his inaugural address, Trump promised to reduce “record” inflation. His officials said he would issue a memorandum on inflation, emphasising the need for an “all-government approach” to bringing down costs, though specific policy details were scant.
Tariffs: According to the Wall Street Journal, on his first day in office, Trump is only expected to direct federal agencies to “study trade policies and evaluate US trade relationships with China and America’s continental neighbours.”
Trump previously promised 10% tariffs on all imports, 25% on Canadian and Mexican goods, and 60% on items coming from China.
Experts say that tariffs are likely to make consumer goods more expensive and could fuel inflation. Some countries are considering retaliatory action.
Trump introduced tariffs in his first term, including some in China that former President Joe Biden retained.
Crypto pile: Trump has championed cryptocurrency, and after his election, the value of Bitcoin increased by 30%.
Some believe Trump will move quickly to create a federal “Bitcoin stockpile”—a” strategic reserve similar to the US’s stockpile of gold and oil—that he has said would serve as a “permanent national asset to benefit all Americans.”
Government reform
Doge and Elon Musk: On Monday, Trump announced that he would issue an order to form the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), a new advisory body to cut government costs. Elon Musk is expected to co-lead the body.
He also wants to amend laws regarding hiring and sacking federal employees.
Diversity and gender
Transgender people: In his inaugural address, Trump said he would issue an executive order declaring that “there are only two genders, male and female.”.
Trump officials earlier told reporters that the order would state that it was US policy to recognise male and female biologically distinct sexes rather than “gender and sex.”
The order is expected to affect transgender policy regarding government communications, civil rights protections, federal funding, and the approach of US shelters and prisons. It will affect official documents like passports and visas.
DEI: The president said in his address that he would end government efforts to “socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life.”.
Officials said that Trump would order the end of “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) programmes “inside the federal government,” affecting all agencies and even newly adopted space names. The incoming administration promised further actions that could affect the private sector.
Abortion: Like most Republican presidents before him, Trump is expected to reinstate the “Mexico City policy,” which bans federal aid to international groups that provide abortion counselling.
He is also expected to reinstate an abortion rule that prohibits Title X federal health providers, a low-income family planning programme, from mentioning abortion to patients. This would effectively strip millions of dollars from organisations that offer abortion or provide referrals.
Changes to the military
Backpay to unvaccinated: Trump promised during his speech to reinstate the 8,000 military service members who were discharged due to the Pentagon’s COVID vaccine mandate—with full backpay.
End “woke” ideology: His inaugural address also included a vow to end “woke” ideology in the military and ensure its mission was to defeat America’s enemies.
‘Gulf of America’ and other names
“Gulf of America”: In his inaugural address, Trump said one of his first executive orders would direct the secretary of the interior to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America.”
Alaska’s Mount Denali: He said his executive order would also call for Alaska’s Mount Denali to have its name reverted to Mount McKinley—in honour of America’s 25th president, whose tariff policies Trump admires. The highest mountain peak in North America, President Barack Obama changed the name to Denali to reflect what native tribes called it.
Foreign policy
Cuba and Venezuela: Trump could use executive orders to undo Biden’s recent decision to remove Cuba from the US 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, but officials did not mention it on Monday.
Capitol riot
Free Jan 6 “hostages”: Hundreds of people convicted after the 2021 US Capitol riots are awaiting potential pardons now that Trump has returned to office, but it is unclear if it will happen on day one.
Trump has repeatedly referred to them as “hostages” and has said he is “inclined to pardon many of them.”. More than 1,500 individuals were arrested concerning the event. At least 600 were charged with assaulting or impeding federal officers.
TikTok
The looming ban: Before his inauguration, Trump promised to issue an executive order postponing the implementation of a law banning Chinese-owned social media platform TikTok.
TikTok welcomed this and restored US services after briefly switching them off.
Trump said his order would give TikTok’s parent company more time to find a US partner to buy a majority stake.
The new president previously backed a ban but indicated he had reversed his stance after his campaign videos attracted billions of views.
Secret documents
JFK assassination: At a rally on Sunday, Trump said he would release classified documents related to the assassination of President John F Kennedy in 1963, a subject of countless conspiracy theories, as well as the 1968 killings of Senator Robert Kennedy and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
Trump officials did not mention this plan on Monday.
