Donald Trump, the president-elect, has spent the last two years on the campaign road promising more than a dozen things he would do as soon as he took office.
Trump’s day-one plans are extensive and include pardoning criminals accused of the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, imposing sweeping tariffs that economists have warned could have severe and detrimental repercussions on the U.S. economy, and mass deportations of undocumented immigrants.
Trump signed only one executive order on the first day of his prior term, which specifically targeted Obamacare. These are a few of Trump’s more noteworthy first-day pledges this time.
Immigration
Begin a mass deportation program
Trump centered his 2024 campaign on immigration, as he has done in the past, and made repeated promises to deport unauthorized migrants. At a speech in New York City on October 27, a few days before the election, Trump reaffirmed, “On day one, I will launch the largest deportation program in American history to get the criminals out.”
Although the precise number is uncertain, a federal estimate places the number of undocumented migrants in the United States at close to 11 million in 2022. As of September, Immigration and Customs Enforcement reported in a letter to Congress that fewer than 500,000 unauthorized immigrants were known to have criminal histories.
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In November, when asked how much a mass deportation plan would cost, Trump told NBC News that it wasn’t a question of money. The Trump administration would be ready to declare a national emergency and will employ military resources for a deportation effort, according to a post made by another Truth Social user that same month, which Trump verified. Trump wrote, TRUE!!! when he posted the post.
End birthright citizenship
According to the 14th Amendment, citizenship is automatically awarded to anybody born in the United States. Trump wants to reform it, which is a logistically challenging endeavor that is likely to result in court disputes. Moderator Kristen Welker questioned Trump in a December appearance on NBC News Meet the Press if he still intended to terminate birthright citizenship on day one. “Yes,” Trump answered.
End Biden-era border policies
Trump has publicly criticized President Joe Biden’s immigration policies and promised to implement all of the Biden administration’s open-borders initiatives on his first day in office. At a campaign rally in New Hampshire in October, Trump also declared that he would make advantage of Title 42, a public health statute that was put into effect at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and gave the White House the authority to remove migrants more quickly. The government discontinued the use of the statute in 2023, although it was maintained in part throughout the Biden administration.
Democracy
Pardon Jan. 6 defendants
Trump has often stated that he will swiftly pardon those found guilty of their involvement in the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. In December, when Welker of NBC News questioned Trump about his pardon timeframe, he responded, “I’m looking first day.” In a Time magazine interview that was released last month, he went farther, stating, “I’ll be looking at J6 early on, maybe the first nine minutes.” Trump was questioned about his intentions to pardon the Jan. 6 defendants who were accused of heinous crimes during a press conference in January. We’re looking at it, Trump stated, adding that he planned to issue significant pardons.
The Jan. 6 inquiry has resulted in the charging of over 1,580 individuals and the conviction of over 1,270 of them on crimes ranging from seditious plotting to unauthorized parading. Trump could potentially pardon hundreds of Jan. 6 prisoners without having much of an effect in reality because more than 700 defendants have either already served their sentences or received punishments that included no jail time.
All of the other incarcerated Jan. 6 defendants were sentenced to prison following their conviction, either when they admitted to committing the crimes they were charged with or when a judge or jury found them guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Only a small number of these defendants were kept in custody pending trial on the order of a federal judge.
Foreign policy
Ending the war in Ukraine
Trump made a bold claim that he could put an end to the war in Ukraine within 24 hours of entering office, if not sooner.
It’s a war that is desperate to be resolved. During a discussion with Vice President Kamala Harris in Philadelphia in September, Trump declared, “I will settle it before I even become president.”
I am fairly familiar with both [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy. They respect your president, and I get along well with them. All right, they respect me. Trump went on to say that they don’t respect Biden.
Trump was questioned about when he intends to meet with Putin to discuss ending the war in Ukraine during news conferences at Mar-a-Lago in January. Trump said that scheduling the meeting before his inauguration on January 20 would be improper.
Economy
Implement tariffs
Trump pledged to execute an executive order imposing a 25% tariff on goods imported from Canada and Mexico, two of America’s largest trading partners, just weeks after winning the election.
According to Trump’s post on Truth Social on November 25, “I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States on January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders,” he said.
Trump had earlier suggested 10% taxes on all goods, but his remarks in November about the two US allies went farther. Trump called tariffs “the most beautiful word in the entire dictionary of words” during his campaign.
Economists have cautioned that broad tariffs may result in higher costs, with consumers bearing the brunt of the burden. Businesses may respond to tariffs by increasing prices for consumers to cover the cost of the tariff or by purchasing goods in the United States rather than from another nation. In the past, Alan Deardorff, an economist at the University of Michigan, told NBC News that Trump’s tariffs are similar to a sales tax in that they will ultimately be paid for by customers worldwide.
Cancel the electric vehicle ‘mandate’
Biden signed an order in 2021 that established a national target of 50% zero-emission new automobiles and trucks sold by 2030. Electric vehicles were anticipated to assist in reaching the tailpipe pollution standards that the Environmental Protection Agency finalized in March. Additionally, a legislation in California mandates that by 2035, all new automobile sales in the state must be emission-free.
Although no one is compelled to purchase a specific car, Trump has characterized them all broadly by calling them electric vehicle mandates. He reaffirmed his pledge at a campaign rally in Houston in November, declaring, “I will repeal Crooked Joe’s electric vehicle mandate the day I take office.”
Drill, drill, drill
Trump’s pledge to expand oil drilling in the US is one of his most common pledges, which he has made in practically every campaign address.
In a December town hall discussion with Fox News host Sean Hannity, Trump stated that he would not be a dictator “except fordayone,” making it clear that he plans to utilize that power to drill, drill, drill on his first day in office and close the border. Trump has frequently asserted that boosting American oil output will significantly lower energy prices.
Karoline Leavitt, Trump’s new press secretary, told Fox News last month that he would start working on this as soon as he stepped into the Oval Office.
In order to immediately lower the cost of living, Leavitt pledged that the government will expedite licenses for fracking and drilling around the nation.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, U.S. energy output surpassed consumption by a record amount in 2023.
‘Made in America’ auto industry
“A vote for President Trump means the future of the automobile will be made in America,” Trump stated at a rally in September. According to his prediction, American energy, American suppliers, and American workers would power the auto industry. “It will happen, and we will do it,” he continued. first day of work.
Major automakers have cut off thousands of employees in recent years, yet in January, Ford Motor and General Motors recorded their highest domestic vehicle sales since 2019.
Transgender rights
Limit participation in women s sports
Trump has promised his fans that he will make sure transgender people are not allowed to participate in women’s sports and has frequently referred to transgender women as men. He declared, “I will keep men out of women’s sports, 100%, immediately, first day,” during a speech in West Palm Beach in October. On his first day in office, he promised to sign an executive order banning federal financing for schools that promote transgender craziness, critical race theory, and other offensive racial, sexual, or political material to our lovely children.
End gender-affirming care practices
Additionally, Trump has regularly attacked gender-affirming care, which may involve hormone therapy. The White House has offered tools and advice to guarantee accessibility and knowledge of the available treatment options during the Biden administration. In a video that was uploaded to his campaign website on February 1, 2023, Trump declared that he will immediately repeal Joe Biden’s harsh regulations regarding so-called gender affirming care.