Explainer: executive orders to be signed today and what they will mean
US President Donald Trump said on Monday he would issue what is expected to be a flurry of executive orders and directives, as he sought to put his stamp on his new administration on matters ranging from energy to immigration.
Two sources familiar with the plans said more than 200 such orders and directives could be released in what is known internally as a “shock-and-awe” effort.
Here is what we know about the executive orders so far:
IMMIGRATION
In an inaugural address shortly after being sworn in to a second term in the White House, Trump said he would declare illegal immigration a national emergency, send troops to the US-Mexico border and reinstate his “remain in Mexico” policy.
He also said he would seek to stop all illegal entries and detain all migrants caught crossing illegally as part of a sweeping immigration crackdown that is expected to include deportations.
Trump will issue a sweeping proclamation that aims to block access to all asylum seekers at the Mexico border, an incoming Trump administration official said. He will also issue an order intended to end birthright citizenship for US-born children whose parents lack legal immigration status, the official said.
Citing the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution, the official said in a briefing: “The federal government will not recognise automatic birthright citizenship for children of illegal aliens born in the United States. We are also going to enhance vetting and screening of illegal aliens.”
The US Constitution’s 14th Amendment provides for granting citizenship to “all persons born or naturalised in the United States.” Any move by Trump to end birthright citizenship would face a legal challenge.
ENERGY
Trump said he would immediately declare a national energy emergency, promising to fill up strategic oil reserves and export US energy all over the world.
“We will be a rich nation again, and it is that liquid gold under our feet that will help to do it,” he said.
Trump, who vowed during his campaign to “drill, baby, drill,” will also sign an executive order focused on Alaska, an official with the incoming administration said, adding that the state was critical to US national security and could allow exports of liquefied natural gas to other parts of the US and allies.
The US also will withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, according to a White House document. In addition, Trump said he would revoke what he has called an electric vehicle mandate.
Members of his team are recommending sweeping changes to cut off support for EVs and charging stations and to strengthen measures blocking the import of cars, components and battery materials from China, according to a document seen by Reuters.
They have also recommended imposing tariffs on all battery materials globally, a bid to boost US production, and then negotiating individual exemptions with allies, the document shows.
Trump’s executive orders will also likely seek to roll back the Biden administration’s climate regulations on power plants, end a pause on LNG gas exports, and revoke waivers allowing California and other states to have tighter pollution rules.
TARIFFS
Trump said on Monday he would tariff and tax countries to enrich Americans, promised an overhaul of the trade system, and said the US would establish an “External Revenue Service.”
“We are establishing the External Revenue Service to collect all tariffs, duties and revenues. It will be massive amounts of money pouring into our treasury, coming from foreign source,” he said.
Trump will issue a broad trade memo on Monday that stops short of imposing new tariffs on his first day in office, but rather directs federal agencies to evaluate US trade relationships with China, Canada and Mexico, an incoming Trump administration official said.
The Republican president has pledged tariffs of 10pc on global imports, 60pc on Chinese goods and a 25pc import surcharge on Canadian and Mexican products, duties that may upend trade flows, raise costs and draw retaliation.
The official, confirming a Wall Street Journal report, said Trump will direct agencies to investigate and remedy persistent trade deficits and address unfair trade and currency policies by other nations.
The memo will single out China, Canada and Mexico for scrutiny but will not announce new tariffs, the official said. It will direct agencies to assess Beijing’s compliance with its 2020 trade deal with the US, as well as the status of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, the official said.
Trump believes tariffs would help boost US economic growth, although opponents warn that the costs would likely be passed along to consumers.
TRANSGENDER RIGHTS
Trump said his government’s policy would be that there are only two genders, male and female. The president has vowed to sign an executive order ending transgender rights in the US military and inside US schools.
As for transgender athletes, he told a rally on Sunday that he would act on his first day to stop the participation of trans athletes in women’s sports.
DIVERSITY PROGRAMS
Trump will also issue an order ending “radical and wasteful” diversity, equity and inclusion programs inside the federal government, an incoming White House official said on Monday.
During his first term, Trump signed an executive order to curtail efforts to address racial disparities in the workplace, through programs including diversity training inside companies.
Biden reversed that executive order on his first day in office in January 2021, and Trump is likely to reinstate his original order early in his second term, and perhaps on his first day in office.
Trump has also criticized “diversity, equity and inclusion” policies inside universities.
PARDONS
Trump has also said he will take action immediately on taking office to issue pardons for some of the hundreds of people convicted or charged in connection with the January 6, 2021, assault on the US Capitol by his supporters.
GENDER-AFFIRMING CARE
Trump said in a campaign video in 2023 that on his first day in office he would revoke the Biden administration’s policies that provide information and resources to those seeking medical care so they can align their bodies with the gender they identify with. That care can include hormone therapy and surgery.
DRUG CARTELS
Trump said on Monday he would also invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to eliminate foreign gangs and designate cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, fulfilling a promise he made on the campaign trail to crack down on the sources of the lethal opioid fentanyl.
REQUIRING FEDERAL WORKERS TO RETURN TO THE OFFICE
Trump has railed against work-from-home arrangements for tens of thousands of federal employees, which were greatly increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, and he has vowed to end them.
In December, Trump said if federal workers refuse to return to the office, “they’re going to be dismissed.”
By forcing government workers back into the office Trump and his allies hope it could trigger large-scale resignations, which would assist in their goal of reducing the size of the federal bureaucracy.
Reuters
