Trump’s first day executive orders expected to touch a wide range of subjects

President-elect Donald Trump is set to formally take office on Monday after which he is expected to sign an exploding ball of executive orders that will set the tone for his administration on key issues, namely border security and energy.

On the campaign, Trump facetiously quipped that he would not act as a dictator or impose authoritarian rule “except for day one.” "We're closing the border and we're drilling, drilling, drilling. Other than that I'm not gonna be a dictator," he told an amused Sean Hannity during a town hall event last year.

Since then, reports have emerged that Trump could sign as many as 100 executive orders on his first day in office. Trump himself made a litany of “day one” promises while on the campaign trail that included moves on nearly every key issue.

Such promises included the convening of a task force to plan America’s 250th birthday, the start of mass deportations, the imposition of tariffs on Mexico, an end to birthright citizenship, the termination of migrant flights, deregulations, orders permitting the expansion of energy production, restrictions on DEI and other programs, and the rooting out of career bureaucrats who work against his agenda.

Immigration and border security

During a recent meeting with Republican senators, Trump adviser Stephen Miller highlighted planned actions on immigration to begin early in the administration as part of what the Associated Press called “executive punch unseen in modern times.”

Among the most highly-anticipated order will be the return of the “Remain-in-Mexico” policy requiring that would-be asylees stay outside the U.S. ahead of their court dates. Others are likely to address the completion of the southern border wall, Trump’s signature campaign promise from 2016, while others are expected to target groups of illegal aliens that recently entered the United States and those who have already been approved for deportation.

Some of the immigration orders may stall, however, with the Senate evidently hesitant to speedily confirm some of his key nominees for posts relevant to those policies. Still, some of his border actions will need only the weight of the president’s signature.

One of his key immigration promises was to implement an executive order directing federal agents to interpret the law in a way that would not grant the children of illegal immigrants American citizenship. Trump made that promise in May of 2023, at which time it generated considerable legal speculation about the likely challenges to such a dramatic reinterpretation of the law.

Trump promised to begin mass deportations on day one, but some sources have suggested the deportation numbers will be low at first and gradually build while the administration gets its apparatus in place.

“You’re not going to see historic numbers in month one. You start to see a steady increase, and then it’ll keep building and building,” one source familiar with the administration’s plans told Politico.

Energy and the environment

Independent of immigration, Trump reportedly plans to target energy production, in part by rolling back Biden-era executive orders and environmental regulations. Specifically, Trump has taken aim at the Biden administration’s natural gas export restrictions and electric vehicle mandates, vowing to end them on day one and to expand fracking in Pennsylvania.

The natural gas export ban was part of the Biden administration’s climate change initiatives and was ostensibly temporary, though it faced legal challenges and the Department of Justice in December asked the courts to halt proceedings, given the incoming Trump administration was likely to end the ban anyway.

The electric vehicle mandate, meanwhile, was a regular fixture of Trump’s campaign, especially amid United Auto Workers’ lengthy strike. Trump made the argument that the Green New Deal and the Biden administration’s effort to transfer auto-manufacturing to electric vehicles would bankrupt the industry and result in additional offshoring of their jobs.

“I will cancel her insane electric vehicle mandate. It'll be ended on day one,” he promised.

Jan. 6 pardons?

In December, Trump promised to pardon Jan. 6 participants on his first day, saying they were "living in Hell" as the Justice Department pursued charges over their involvement in the incident. More than 1,500 people have faced charges related to Jan. 6 but the scope of Trump's planned pardons remains unclear, especially whether they will include those convicted of violent offenses.

The rest of the day

Trump’s actual day one schedule was changed last minute due to inclement weather, with the Inauguration itself being moved inside the Capitol Rotunda, a move not seen since President Ronald Reagan’s second inauguration in 1985. 

After the swearing-in ceremony, Trump plans to travel to the Capital One arena, which will be open for the crowd to watch the ceremony on a large screen. After that appearance, he is expected to make his way to the White House to begin signing his many planned executive orders.