Trump's first day frenzy: Everything he promised to do on "day one"
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President-elect Trump is setting the stage for an explosive first day in office: pardons for Jan. 6 rioters, a vacuum sealing of the southern border and a massive regulatory rollback affecting vast swathes of the American economy.
Why it matters: The tone of the next four years will be set on Day One. Trump and his transition — armed with a cannon of executive orders — are preparing an early shock-and-awe campaign to lay the foundation for his ambitious second term.
The big picture: Trump's Day One promises largely fall under three themes, according to an Axios analysis of hundreds of his speeches, press conferences and interviews.
1. Immigration: No issue has defined Trump's political identity more than his crusade against illegal immigration, particularly after border crossings surged to record highs under President Biden.
- A brain trust of West Wing border hawks — led by Stephen Miller and former acting ICE director Tom Homan — will help unleash a flurry of executive orders ending Biden's temporary "parole" programs, restarting construction of the border wall and suspending refugee admissions.
- Trump is hellbent on immediately launching the largest deportation operation in U.S. history, despite the logistical challenges. Watch out for a Day One photo op flexing the new administration's deportation muscle.
- The president-elect has also vowed to issue an executive order ending birthright citizenship, setting up a constitutional clash over the 14th Amendment that could wind up at the Supreme Court.
2. Red meat for MAGA: The second bucket of executive orders will seek to institutionalize the conservative culture wars that have dominated Republican politics over the last few years.
- Top priorities for Day One include a ban on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs and requirements across the federal government, and pardons for supporters convicted for breaking into the Capitol on Jan. 6.
- Trump, whose campaign spent millions of dollars on anti-trans ads, also wants to use executive action to ban trans women from women's sports, though the exact mechanism for doing so is not yet clear.
3. Big business: CEO and investor confidence has soared in the wake of the election, as Corporate America revels in Trump's promise to slash 10 regulations for every new one introduced during the Biden administration.
- Trump has vowed to expedite permits for drilling and fracking, even if it means acting like a "dictator" for one day. Inauguration will also start the clock on his one-year goal of reducing energy prices by 50%.
- Trump plans to aggressively target Biden's climate policies by cutting off support for electric vehicles and rolling back emissions standards, as well as any "job-killing" regulations affecting automakers.
- Wall Street, meanwhile, is working feverishly to persuade Trump not to impose sweeping tariffs on U.S. trading partners — but he seems intent on ushering in a new era of MAGA protectionism as quickly as possible.
Between the lines: Many of Trump's sweeping promises will require the support of Congress. Others have proven to be hyperbole, which Trump himself has acknowledged.
- "It's hard to bring [prices] down once they're up. You know, it's very hard," the president-elect told NBC's "Meet the Press," despite constantly pledging to crush inflation on the campaign trail.
- Trump has also tamped down his talk of settling the Russia-Ukraine war within 24 hours of taking office, telling reporters last week that peace may even be "more difficult" than ending the Israel-Hamas war.
