In his first days in office, Donald Trump plans to issue sweeping executive orders that will revive key policies he put in place during his first administration while also tearing down new policies erected by his once-rival-soon-to-be predecessor, Joe Biden, according to two sources briefed by the incoming administration on Sunday.
In a phone call with congressional GOP leaders, Trump’s incoming deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, gave Republicans their clearest picture yet of what Trump plans to do during his first hours in the White House.
On immigration, the executive orders are expected to designate various cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, declare a national border emergency that allows the military to build more of Trump’s infamous border wall and revive a signature 2019 Trump policy titled “Remain in Mexico,” which requires those seeking asylum to remain in Mexico while asylum requests are processed.
Immigration will likely grab the most headlines in Trump’s first days, as the incoming administration has promised to start the process of deporting millions of immigrants who came to the United States illegally on Day One.
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Miller told the group that Trump also plans to implement sweeping government reforms, including creating a process for removing career government officials that Trump staffers believe are insubordinate to the president, rewriting federal hiring rules and rescinding government hiring programs on diversity, equity and inclusion.
Trump also plans, according to the sources, to sign executive orders on Schedule F, the federal employee classification created at the end of the president-elect’s first term, to make certain civil servants more like existing political appointees and more easily fireable by a new administration.
On energy, one of the incoming president’s most discussed issues on the campaign trail, Miller told lawmakers to expect an “energy omnibus” to address a wide array of issues, including terminating Biden’s newly implemented ban on offshore drilling. Trump’s first wave of executive orders will also repeal Biden’s electric vehicle mandate and expedite the development of Alaskan energy production.
A spokesperson for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Reese Gorman and Jasmine Wright are reporters at NOTUS.
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