There were many promises from Donald Trump about what decisions he would make once he took office again in the White House. Now, officials from the new administration reveal the executive orders they were given to implement without further delay. And the first official documents reveal the initial decisions
Back at the White House, Donald Trump carries dozens of executive orders in his portfolio that he wants to put into practice as soon as he takes office, in an action known internally as a “shock and awe” effort. The new US president does not want to delay in giving his stamp to the new administration, so much so that he announced in his inaugural speech, in the Capitol roundabout, that everything will change “starting today”, and everything “will change very quickly”.
More than promises, there are already announcements in his speech, official priorities and intentions of measures that change rules, from immigration to LGBT+ rights, revealed by White House officials to the Reuters news agency hours before the inauguration.
Here’s what we already know about the executive orders that Trump wants to issue “very quickly”:
Immigration, fighting cartels and the death penalty
It was one of the main themes of Trump’s campaign, which promised to move forward with a series of measures to crack down on legal and illegal immigration and increase deportations.
The new president wants to declare illegal immigration on the border between the US and Mexico as a national emergency, separating the two countries by a wall and sending more US troops there. Furthermore, Trump wants to block asylum requests at that border and will end the right to US citizenship for children born in the US whose parents do not have legal immigration status, according to an official from the new administration.
“The federal government will not recognize the automatic right to citizenship of children of illegal aliens born in the United States. We will also strengthen the control and monitoring of illegal aliens”, declared the same official, in a briefing, citing the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which provides for the granting of citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States”. In other words, to do so, Donald Trump faces a legal challenge if he wants to move forward with this measure.
In an official statement (which you can read in full), the White House has since made official a “deportation operation” of “criminal aliens,” the discontinuity of Biden’s policies, and the additional priority of “ending asylum for those who cross illegally border, crack down on criminal sanctuaries, and improve screening and screening of aliens.”
The installation of refugees “will be suspended” and the Armed Forces will commit to border security.”
Finally, the Trump administration will advocate that “heinous crimes against humanity,” including the assassination of security forces and the mutilation and murder of Americans by migrants, be punished “with the death penalty.”
Gulf of Mexico becomes Gulf of America
Donald Trump will order the Gulf of Mexico to be renamed the Gulf of America, according to the New York Post.
It is also proposed to change the name of Mount Denali, in Alaska, to Mount McKinley, in a decision that the next president defends as being in favor of “America’s greatness”.
“American historic landmarks will be named to appropriately honor our Nation’s history,” the White House said.
Energy, against “climate extremism”
Donald Trump will also declare a national energy emergency with the goal of “unlocking affordable, reliable American energy,” a new administration official said. This statute aims to accelerate the construction of “critical infrastructure”, by an administration that says it is against Biden’s “climate extremism” and promises to stop leasing wind farms and to revoke burdens on the production and use of energy, “including the extraction and processing of non-combustible minerals”.
In this sense, the new president, whose campaign slogan on this topic was “drill, baby, drill”, will sign an executive order focusing on Alaska, considering this state fundamental to US national security, which could allow the export of liquefied natural gas to other parts of the US and its allies.
Trump even intends to withdraw the US from the Paris climate agreement again – a decision he already took in his first term. Sources close to the process tell Reuters that members of Trump’s transition team are recommending sweeping changes to cut support for electric vehicles and charging stations, as well as tightening measures that block the import of cars, components and battery materials from China.
Additionally, there are also recommendations to impose tariffs on all battery materials globally in an attempt to boost production in the US, and subsequently negotiate bilateral exemptions with allies.
According to Reuters, Trump also wants to roll back Biden’s climate laws on power plants, as well as end the pause on liquefied natural gas exports and revoke exemptions that allow California and other states to have stricter pollution rules.
In an official statement, the White House also explains that, in the field of energy, Trump will defend the freedom of consumers “to choose vehicles, showers, toilets, washing machines, light bulbs and dishwashers”.
Rates
According to an official from the new administration, Trump will issue a trade memorandum this Monday, which, despite not imposing new tariffs on his first day in office, instructs federal agencies to evaluate US trade relations with China, Canada and Mexico.
Donald Trump promised to apply tariffs of 10% on global imports, 60% on Chinese products and a 25% surcharge on Canadian and Mexican products.
Trump believes that tariffs could help boost economic growth in the United States, despite warnings from opponents about the costs of these tariffs, due to the weight they can have on consumers’ wallets and inflation.
LGBT+ rights
Donald Trump confirmed in his inauguration speech what a White House official had said hours earlier: that he will issue an executive order declaring that the US federal government will only recognize two sexes, male and female.
“The president will establish male and female as biological reality and protect women from radical gender ideology,” the White House said.
Furthermore, the new president promised to sign an executive order to end the rights of transgender people in the Armed Forces and schools.
As for transgender athletes, Trump promised at a rally on Sunday that he will act on his first day in office to prevent transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports.
Gender Affirming
In a campaign video published in 2023, Trump promised that, on his first day in office, he would revoke Biden administration policies that provide information and resources to people seeking medical care to confirm the gender they identify with, including therapies hormones and surgery.
Diversity at work
Trump will also issue an order to end programs he describes as “radical and wasteful” of diversity, equity and inclusion within the federal government, a White House official said.
In his first term, Trump signed an executive order to reduce efforts to address racial inequities in the workplace, through programs that include diversity training within companies.
Biden reversed this executive order on his first day in office in January 2021 and, according to Reuters, Trump is likely to now reinstate his original order at the beginning of his second term.
Trump also criticized “diversity, equity and inclusion” policies at universities.
In a statement, the White House announced “a Golden Age for America”, which will “freeze hiring of bureaucrats, except in essential areas”, to end “the onslaught of useless and highly paid DEI activists”, an acronym that refers to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion activists.
Return to in-person work
Trump has always opposed telework arrangements for tens of thousands of federal employees since the Covid-19 pandemic, and promised to end them as soon as he takes office.
In December, Trump threatened that federal workers who refuse to return to the office will be fired.
By forcing government workers to return to the office, Trump and his allies hope it could trigger large-scale layoffs, which would help their goal of reducing the number of federal workers.
Amnesty
Trump also promised to take action immediately after his inauguration to grant pardons to some of the hundreds of people convicted or charged in connection with the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
In a statement, the White House added during Monday afternoon that Trump will “end the use of Esdado as a weapon against political rivals” and “the unconstitutional censorship of the federal government.”
drug cartels
Trump plans to classify drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations in an anticipated executive order, Punchbowl News reported Sunday, making good on a promise he made on the campaign trail to crack down on those who are supplying fentanyl.
Trump promises to designate criminal cartels “as foreign terrorist organizations” and “will use the Alien Enemies Act to eliminate them.”
