Trump wants ‘day one’ US policy changes – Reuters
US President-elect Donald Trump plans to issue more than 25 executive orders on his first day in office, “dramatically” reshaping a number of government policies, Reuters has sad.
Trump has told his aides he wants to make a “big splash” and act with greater scale and speed than in his first term, two anonymous sources told the agency. More orders will be issued in the following days and weeks, the sources said.
“The American people can bank on President Trump using his executive power on day one to deliver on the promises he made to them on the campaign trail,” Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told Reuters on Wednesday.
Executive orders are presidential directives instructing the US government what to do and how, within the boundaries of the constitution. Outgoing President Joe Biden began his term in 2021 by signing 17 such documents, mainly revoking policies Trump enacted during his first mandate.
According to Reuters, some of the first decrees will focus on immigration enforcement, including resuming the construction of the wall on the border with Mexico. While this could face some pushback from states governed by Democrats, under the Biden administration it was established in court that immigration was entirely within the purview of the federal government.
One planned executive order would end birthright citizenship, which the US has been granting to anyone born in the country based on an interpretation of the 14th Amendment. Trump aides told Reuters that the incoming administration will be ready to defend this in court.
Other rumored executive orders would deal with reversing the Biden administration’s promotion of “equity,” including transgender rules and racial preferences, as well as mandatory “diversity training” for federal contractors.
One source from the State Department transition team described an executive order that would review hiring decisions based on identity rather than merit.
Stephen Miller, recently announced as Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy, is reportedly coordinating the executive order effort. The measures are said to be based on drafts provided by think tanks such as the America First Policy Institute, the Conservative Partnership Institute and the Heritage Foundation.
Many of Trump’s executive orders from the first term were challenged by Democrats in court. Even though most were eventually upheld, the delay meant they did not end up being implemented before Biden took over.
