What executive orders Trump said he'd sign on Day 1
WASHINGTON - President-elect Donald Trump is preparing more than 200 executive orders starting Day One of the new White House.
"Somebody said yesterday, sir, don't sign so many in one day. Let's do it over a period of weeks," said Trump at a rally in D.C. the night before his inauguration. "I said, like hell, we're going to do it over weeks. We're going to sign them at the beginning."
In an appearance on FOX News’ Hannity, Trump said that he wouldn’t be a dictator, "except for day one."
So what has the president-elect said he’ll do in his first days in office? Here’s a breakdown.
Trump's promises on immigration
For months on the campaign trail, Trump promised that his administration would close the Southern border and deport hundreds of thousands of immigrants.
As part of his ambitious approach, he says he plans to end parole for people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela and will likely end a policy that curbed deportations of people who weren’t considered threats to national security or public safety.
In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump confirmed that he plans to carry out those deportations by declaring a national emergency, which would grant him special powers to use military force.
"The day I take the oath of office, the migrant invasion ends and the restoration of our country begins. ... On Day 1, I will launch the largest deportation program in American history. I will rescue every city and town that has been invaded and conquered," Trump said in November at a rally in Kinston, North Carolina.
Trump said in an interview with Time magazine that the federal prohibition on using military forces for most domestic security enforcement should not apply "if it’s an invasion of our country, and I consider it an invasion of our country."
"And I think in many cases, the sheriffs and law enforcement is going to need help. We’ll also get National Guard," he said during the November 2024 interview.
In a possible hedge to his vow to deport everyone who’s in the U.S. illegally, Trump on Meet the Press said, "We’re starting with the criminals, and we’ve got to do it. And then we’re starting with others, and we’re going to see how it goes."
What's next:
Trump has already nominated Tom Homan, former Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director, to serve as ‘border czar.’ In a post announcing the nomination, Trump said Homan woiold be in charge of "all Deportation of Illegal Aliens back to their country of origin" and that there is "nobody better at policing and controlling our borders."
Trump has also selected South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem to oversee homeland security; and appointed Steven Miller as White House deputy chief of staff for policy. Miller had a hand in shaping some of Trump's most restrictive policies on illegal immigration during his first term.
Big picture view:
The Dwight Eisenhower administration in the 1950s and Franklin Roosevelt’s in the 1930s carried out mass deportations, specifically of Mexicans. Estimates of the number of people taken out of the U.S. in the 1950s deportation range from several hundred thousand to 1.3 million. Many were U.S. citizens descended from Mexican migrants. An FDR-era deportation ejected an estimated 1 million or more people, most of whom held U.S. citizenship.
Trump's promises on tariffs
Trump promised to impose a 25% tariff on all imports from Canada and Mexico and put an additional 10% tariff on everything from China, as one of his first executive orders upon becoming president.
What we know:
If Trump keeps his promise, it could mean a seismic shock to the highly integrated North American economies, almost certainly resulting in higher prices for consumers and probably retaliation against U.S. exports. It would also strengthen incentives to produce more in the U.S. and step up pressure to restrain migrant flows and drug smuggling.
Trump clearly supports raising tariffs to induce more domestic manufacturing. But his threat could be a bargaining chip in part. The size and scope of the tariffs may change, depending how the three countries respond before he takes office.
He has tied this heavy round of tariffs to what he calls the failure of these countries to stem the flow of Chinese-made fentanyl smuggled into the U.S. or to take effective steps from their side against migration surges at the borders. That stance may leave room for negotiation or revision.
What Trump Said:
"On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States," Trump said on Truth Social in November. In addition, "we will be charging China an additional 10% Tariff, above any additional Tariffs, on all of their many products coming into the United States" until China stems the flow of drugs into the U.S.
After the election, Trump said "we adjust it somewhat" if tariffs are merely passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices, as is usually the case.
He gave Mexican and Canadian leaders an opening to avoid the tariff by saying he will impose it "if it doesn’t stop," meaning the flow of drugs and illegal crossings.
Big picture view:
Trump imposed higher tariffs on $360 billion in Chinese goods in his first term. Democrat Joe Biden not only retained those penalties as president but imposed a 100% tariff on Chinese electric vehicles. Trump also renegotiated parts of the free trade agreement with Canada and Mexico on terms he considered more favorable to the U.S.
Trump's promises on TikTok
TikTok restored service to users in the United States on Sunday just hours after the popular video-sharing platform went dark in response to a federal ban, which President-elect Donald Trump said he would try to pause by executive order on his first day in office.
What Trump Said:
"I like TikTok. I like it."
Trump said he planned to issue the order to give TikTok’s China-based parent company more time to find an approved buyer before the ban takes full effect. He announced the move on his Truth Social account as millions of U.S. TikTok users awoke to discover they could no longer access the TikTok app or platform.
But by Sunday afternoon, a message greeted those who signed on thanking them — and the president-elect — for their support.
"As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.!" the message read.
Trump said his order would "extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect" and "confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark before my order."
While the company that runs TikTok in the U.S. said on X that the steps Trump outlined Sunday provided "the necessary clarity and assurance to our service providers that they will face no penalties," the TikTok app remained remained unavailable for download in Apple and Google’s app stores.
What's next:
It wasn’t immediately clear how Trump’s promised action would fare from a legal standpoint since the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously upheld the ban on Friday and the statute came into force the day before Trump’s return to the White House.
"I think Trump can at least make an argument that the language is meant to cover any president," University of Richmond law professor Carl Tobias said.
Big picture view:
During his first presidential term, Trump in 2020 issued executive orders banning dealings with ByteDance and the owners of the Chinese messaging app WeChat, moves that courts subsequently blocked.
Trump has since credited TikTok with helping him win support from young voters in last year’s presidential election. TikTok CEO Shou Chew is expected to attend Trump’s inauguration with a prime seating location.
Trump's promises on transgender rights
What we know:
It's unlikely that Trump keeps his promise to cut federal funding for schools through executive action, absent legislation, which certainly won’t be in place on his first day.
Still, Trump may be able to use his threat as a cudgel in certain situations.
Trump had also promised on Day 1 to roll back Biden administration Title IX protections barring discrimination against students based on gender identity and sexual orientation. But this month a federal judge struck down those regulations, ruling that they overstepped presidential authority.
Trump's promises on electric vehicles
What we know:
There is no specific federal EV mandate to end. But he is likely to try to loosen Biden-era tailpipe pollution and fuel economy standards that are an incentive for automakers to sell and consumers to buy more EVs. It’s also unclear whether Trump intends to revoke a federal tax credit of up to $7,500 for buying a new EV.
He made the Day 1 promise in rally after rally, often in identical words. He told podcaster Joe Rogan it might take him two days.
What Trump Said:
"I will cancel Kamala’s insane electric vehicle mandate," said Trump just before the election in Grand Rapids.
"We want people to buy electric cars" but "we’re going to end the electric mandate immediately for the cars. It’s ridiculous," Trump said on Meet The Press in December.
Big picture view:
Trump rolled back a variety of Obama-era limits on auto pollution in his first term. Biden acted quickly to reverse that course.
Trump's promises on January 6
Jan. 6 criminal cases remain a priority for the Department of Justice nearly four years after the Capitol riot but Trump has vowed to pardon insurrectionists.
What Trump Said:
"I will sign their pardons on Day 1."
He made this promise repeatedly, though the scope of his promised pardons has ranged from covering all rioters who were charged or convicted, to most, to those who are innocent in his estimation, whether convicted or not.
"Oh, absolutely, I would," he said when asked about pardoning Jan. 6 rioters in an interview with the National Association of Black Journalists in July. "If they’re innocent -- if they’re innocent, I would pardon them." This could include some who were convicted under "a very tough system."
What's next:
Many who have been criminally charged for their participation in the Capitol riots are relying on Trump's promise to pardon them.
Edward Jacob Lang, a defendant charged for his alleged involvement in the Capitol riot, requested a postponement of his trial last year, citing Trump’s promise of pardons. He is not alone — at least ten defendants have made similar requests since Trump’s re-election.
The Department of Justice is pushing back, arguing that these pardon requests are speculative.
In a filing opposing Lang’s request, the DOJ pointed to nine recent court decisions denying similar delays. The government emphasized that a pardon is an act of grace, not a certainty.
"The pardon power is unlimited," said Mark Graber, a constitutional law professor at the University of Maryland. "Let’s imagine a different president who decides, ‘I’m going to pardon everyone engaged in insider trading who is over six feet tall.’ Utterly arbitrary. They can do it."
Incoming White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt provided some clarification, stating, "President Trump will make pardon decisions on a case-by-case basis."
The DOJ continues to allocate significant resources toward these cases, underscoring the government’s commitment to holding those responsible for the Capitol riot accountable.
Trump's promises on energy
What Trump Said:
"We're going to drill, baby, drill," Trump said in late October at his rally at Madison Square Garden in New York City. "And I will terminate the 'green new scam' and will cut your energy prices in half, 50%, within one year from Jan. 20."
Trump promised to declare a national energy emergency and approve new energy projects "starting on Day 1."
"Starting on Day 1, I will approve new drilling, new pipelines, new refineries, new power plants, new reactors, and we will slash the red tape," said Trump at a rally in August.
"I will immediately issue a national emergency declaration to achieve a massive increase in domestic energy supply," he said during a New York Economic Club speech in September.
What's next:
A national emergency might give him more authority to act unilaterally. It remains questionable how much can be accomplished on this front without action from Congress. But he can reverse Biden executive orders on renewable energy and environmental protections.
Trump's promises on the Russia-Ukraine War
What we know:
His promise to end the war before taking office — or to end it in 24 hours, as he sometimes put it — is about to be broken.
He’s been bending to that reality: "I think that the Middle East is an easier problem to handle than what’s happening with Russia and Ukraine. OK, I just want to say that up front. The Middle East is going to get solved," said Trump to Time Magazine in December.
Trump spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said the day after the election that Trump would bring the Russian and Ukrainian leaders to the negotiating table on Day 1. That’s not ending a war, as promised, before Monday.
Trump's promises on the ‘Deep State’
Trump promised to launch an effort to fire or otherwise neutralize the influence of federal workers he considers disloyal and an impediment to his agenda. Also, to use legal intimidation or other means to crush those he regards as his political enemies.
What we know:
A likely first step is an executive order seeking to reclassify tens of thousands of job-protected and apolitical civil servants as political appointees, subject to being fired at will. He would do so by reviving his Schedule F order from 2020, which Biden reversed when he took office.
Post-election, ABC News settled a defamation lawsuit brought by Trump, agreeing to contribute $15 million to his presidential foundation, and he sued The Des Moines Register and its pollster for "brazen election interference" in publishing a flawed survey the weekend before the election that found Democrat Kamala Harris leading Trump in the state.
What Trump Said:
"We will demolish the ‘deep state.’ We will expel the warmongers from our government. We will drive out the globalists. We will cast out the communist, Marxists and fascists. We will throw off the sick political class that hates our country. We will rout the fake news media." — Windham, New Hampshire, rally, Aug. 8, 2023.
"We’re going to find the ‘deep state’ actors who have buried into government, fire them and escort them from federal buildings, and it’ll go very quickly." — Columbia, South Carolina, rally, Jan. 28, 2023.
What time will Trump sign executive orders?
Trump will have the opportunity to sign executive orders in the afternoon after taking the oath of office at noon. From there, he’ll travel to Capital One Arena to speak to supporters around 3:00 p.m. before heading back to the White House.
Once back at the White House, Trump will have an opportunity to sign executive orders.
The Source: This story includes previous FOX 5 DC reporting and reporting from the Associated Press.