What Trump might do on his first day in the White House

Donald Trump vowed to “turn heads” on his first day back in office on Monday.

According to reports, he could announce up to 200 executive orders within hours of being sworn in as the 47th president of the United States.

He offered a preview of some of those yet-to-be-signed directives, saying they would target issues like illegal immigration, climate regulations, diversity policies, classified documents and more.

When taking office, presidents usually sign a series of executive orders. Such orders have the force of law but may be overturned by subsequent presidents or courts.

But the scale of what Trump has planned could be unprecedented, with legal challenges expected.

Here’s what you need to know.

Deportations

Trump vowed to “launch the largest deportation program in American history” starting on day one.

He is expected to declare a national border emergency and order the military to help secure the southern border, Fox News reported.

Trump also said he would end a longstanding policy that prevented federal immigration authorities from raiding churches and schools.

Any mass deportation program is expected to face logistical difficulties, billions in costs and a host of legal challenges.

Stay in Mexico

Trump could move quickly to re-implement his “Remain in Mexico” policy, which during his first term sent some 70,000 non-Mexican asylum seekers back across the border to Mexico to await hearings.

Do away with birthright citizenship

Trump called the 150-year-old constitutional right that anyone born on US soil is an American citizen “ridiculous” and vowed to scrap it on day one.

But doing so is much more difficult than simply issuing an executive order, because birthright citizenship is expressly guaranteed by the US Constitution.

Border closure due to health reasons

A 1944 measure called Title 42 allows the US government to restrict migration to protect public health. It was last used during the pandemic, but U.S. media reports say the new administration is looking for the disease to help justify its plans to close the U.S. southern border with Mexico.

Drug cartels

Trump is expected to classify drug cartels as “foreign terrorist organizations,” listing them alongside groups such as al-Qaeda, the so-called Islamic State and Hamas.

Build a wall

When Trump was first elected president in 2016, he signed an executive order to build a border wall. Although some parts of the wall have been built, there is still much left unfinished and he can try to finish what he started.

Tariffs

Trump has vowed to impose steep tariffs on imported goods as part of his pledge to favor American manufacturing.

Trump imposed tariffs during his first term, including some from China that Joe Biden kept in place.

But this time he is promising 10% tariffs on all imports, 25% on Canadian and Mexican goods and 60% on goods from China. He said he would start signing executive orders on the first day.

Experts believe that the tariffs will most likely lead to more expensive consumer goods and contribute to inflation. Some countries are considering retaliatory tariffs.

Crypto heap

Trump championed the cryptocurrency, and the value of Bitcoin increased by 30% when he was elected.

Some believe Trump will soon move to create a federal “Bitcoin Reserve” — a strategic reserve similar to the U.S.’s gold and oil reserves — which he says will serve as a “permanent national asset for the benefit of all Americans.”

Repeal Joe Biden’s climate policy

The outgoing president credits a series of directives, laws and funding programs he championed to create green jobs, regulate pollution and fund infrastructure as among his greatest accomplishments.

Trump has made it clear that he wants to undo much of this. He is expected to use executive orders to lift restrictions on drilling offshore and on federal land — fulfilling his promise to “drill, drill” and increase energy production and US independence.

He also promised to ban new wind projects and repeal electric car mandates.

Withdraw from the Paris Agreement (again)

Within six months of taking office in 2017, Trump pulled out of the Paris climate accord, a landmark international deal designed to limit rising global temperatures.

Biden rejoined the deal on his first day in office in 2021, but Trump is expected to pull out again.

Release of “hostages” on January 6

Hundreds of people convicted after the 2021 riots at the US Capitol face a potential pardon on Monday when Trump returns to office.

“I tend to pardon a lot of them,” he told CNN over the summer. “I can’t talk about every single one because a few of them are probably out of control.”

More than 1,500 people were arrested in connection with the event. At least 600 were charged with assaulting or obstructing federal officers.

At his pre-inauguration victory rally on Sunday, Trump said he would release classified documents related to the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the subject of countless conspiracy theories.

He said he would do the same with files related to the 1968 assassinations of Senator Robert Kennedy and civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

Ukraine war

During the election campaign, Trump said that he would end the conflict on the first day of his presidency. Afterwards he said it might take him six months. It is not clear what he can do in the early days.

Cuba and Venezuela

Trump may use the executive order to reverse Biden’s recent decision to remove Cuba from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism. He may also reimpose sanctions against Venezuela. Both countries were frequent targets of his wrath during his first administration.

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In recent years, schools and businesses in the US have adopted policies aimed at supporting women and racial minorities.

These practices, often classified as “diversity, equity and inclusion” (DEI), have drawn the ire of many conservatives and faced legal challenges. Trump has promised to disband them, and major corporations including Meta, Walmart, and Amazon have already begun abandoning the initiatives.

Trump could use the executive order to ban federal funding from schools or other institutions that have DEI programs. It can also ban funding for schools that teach “critical race theory” (CRT).

Abortion

Like most Republican presidents before him, Trump is expected to restore the “Mexico City Policy,” which bars federal aid to international groups that provide abortion counseling.

He is also expected to restore an abortion rule that prohibits federal health workers who work with low-income family planning programs from mentioning abortion to patients. These changes effectively stripped tens of millions of dollars from organizations that offer abortions or provide referrals.

Transgender women in sports

Trump has repeatedly criticized what he calls “transgender insanity” in schools and medical facilities, and has specifically vowed to ban transgender people from participating in women’s sports.

On Sunday morning, Trump promised to issue an executive order that would delay the implementation of a law banning the Chinese social media platform TikTok.

His order, he said, would give them time to find an American partner to buy a 50% stake in the company.

Trump previously supported a ban on TikTok, but recently reversed his stance, pointing to the billions of views he said his videos on the platform drew during last year’s presidential campaign.