President-elect Donald J. Trump is expected to get to work immediately upon taking office, enacting major changes on immigration, energy, and more.
Trump late last year suggested he would not rule as a dictator “except for day one,” a sign he intends to use executive authority aggressively to implement changes to immigration policy, energy, and insane liberal equity policies in particular.
Trump has also signaled he intends to fire the man prosecuting a criminal case against him.
Here’s a closer look at what Trump has said he will do “on day one.”
Much of Trump’s day one agenda is likely to be focused on cracking down on immigration.
“All of the secure border policies that we had in place with President Trump, he can simply flip the switch and put those back in place just like they were before. They didn’t need an act of Congress,” senior campaign adviser Jason Miller said after the election results on NBC’s “Today.”
At nearly every campaign rally this cycle, the former president’s prepared remarks included the line: “On day one, I will launch the largest deportation program in American history.”
Carrying out such a massive deportation operation, which Trump has said will target those in the country illegally and particularly those with criminal records, will be a massive logistical lift. He has said he will rely on local police departments for assistance, but the effort will require extensive coordination with federal agencies and would likely face resistance from some local jurisdictions.
Other actions Trump may take immediately would likely rely on executive authority. Trump has vowed to sign an executive order “on day one” to stop federal agencies from giving automatic U.S. citizenship to the children of illegal aliens. An effort to end birthright citizenship would face certain legal challenges.
The president-elect would also likely resume construction of a wall along the southern border, something the Biden administration halted, and Trump could also look to reimpose policies like the “Remain in Mexico” program, which forced potential asylum-seekers to stay in Mexico to wait out the results of their cases in U.S. immigration court.
Energy and Climate
Trump has pledged on day one to “drill, baby, drill,” a vague campaign slogan that signals he will seek to further ramp up oil production from already record-setting levels. He has also outlined more specific steps he will take to reverse Biden-era environmental regulations.
On his campaign website, Trump included a pledge to “roll back every Biden policy that is brutalizing American autoworkers” on day one. Trump has repeatedly signaled he would seek to roll back regulations requiring automakers to meet certain emissions standards that incentivize increased electric vehicle production.
Trump, in August, said he would eliminate a Biden administration rule cracking down on planet-warming emissions and other pollution from power plants. During his first time in the White House, Trump issued significantly less stringent rules for power plants.
At a New Jersey rally earlier this year, Trump told the crowd he would sign an executive order on “day one” to halt windmill projects, targeting a supposed source of clean energy.
Trump would likely also move to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accords once again, taking the U.S. out of the global pact to lower emissions. Trump pulled out of the accords during his first term, but President Biden rejoined the agreement after he took office.
Reversing Biden Policies on “Transgender Insanity” and More
One of Trump’s biggest applause lines at rallies has consistently been when he vows to keep men out of women’s sports and end “transgender insanity,” and he has already laid out how he will roll back protections for transgender youth.
Trump has said that on day one, he will revoke transgender student protections enacted earlier this year by the Biden administration. The Education Department in April unveiled a final set of changes to Title IX to cover discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity for the first time. The Supreme Court in August sided with 10 GOP-led states that had sued to prevent the enforcement of the new rules.
The former president has also said he would move on “day one” to revoke a Biden executive order to “embed equity principles, policies, and approaches across the Federal Government.” Trump has said he would reinstate a 2020 order of his own banning the promotion of concepts that the U.S. is fundamentally racist or sexist or that one race or sex is inherently superior.
The former president has also threatened to cut off federal funding for schools that promote vaccine mandates. The threat emerged amid clashes over COVID-19 vaccine and mask requirements, but it has alarmed public health experts who worry it would apply to other vaccines like measles.
If he sticks to his own campaign “day one pledges,” we can also expect Trump to fire special counsel Jack Smith, who is overseeing the federal case against Trump in Washington, D.C., over his efforts to subvert the 2020 election and remain in power and to pardon anyone who has been charged in the January 6th protests.