Trump aides are calling it "Shock and Awe." There will be 100 executive orders (EO) and other executive actions starting Monday, Jan. 20.
Indeed, most executive actions aren't going to "shock" a lot of people. Trump has talked about all of them in the campaign and during his years in exile since his defeat in 2020. The scope of some of the EOs is broader than some on the left have been predicting, and narrower than some on the right were hoping for.
The audacious nature of the 100 EOs masks the probability that almost all of them will be challenged in federal court. Even if the challenges are eventually unsuccessful, some of the executive orders will be picked apart or canceled altogether.
The EOs that have garnered the most interest and that have been the target of a hysterical scare campaign on the left are the orders relating to illegal aliens. In fact, the first actions taken by Customs and Border Protection (CPB) will be to pick up illegal aliens who have committed felonies.
“That’s the low-hanging fruit," said Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford. “People that recently crossed, people that were legally present and committed other crimes, people that the court has ordered them removed — that’s well over a million people. Start working through that process.”
In the meantime, Trump is going to reinstitute the most effective guard against illegal immigration in history: Title 42. The measure was adopted during the pandemic as a public health rule, but Trump is planning to stretch the definition to cover the current border crisis. This will set offer howls of outrage among open borders advocates and will be challenged in court.
Trump has several other actions planned to secure the border.
Trump could also move to allow use of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which would authorize some state and local law enforcement to aid Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, Axios has reported.
On another front, Trump has vowed to issue an executive order to strip away birthright citizenship, which ensures children born to parents who do not have legal status in America are American citizens. That will likely set up a clash over the 14th Amendment that could wind up at the Supreme Court.
Trump has also promised to strip some federal funds from going to sanctuary states and cities. He tried the same thing during his first term, and was slapped down by appeals courts because, according to Eugene Volokh, the policy "ran afoul of constitutional limits on federal power and on executive power over the budget." Trump is hoping that the 54 judges he appointed to the appeals courts will take a different view of the constitutionality of denying funds to sanctuary cities.
Other EOs that Trump is expected to sign include actions on energy and trade.
“We will begin charging those that make money off us with Trade, and they will start paying, FINALLY, their fair share,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. He also announced that on Jan. 20, he would develop an “External Revenue Service." This new agency will “collect tariffs, duties, and all revenue” from overseas.
On foreign policy, China should prepare itself.
In addition to slapping China with tariffs, Trump has vowed to rescind its designated status of “permanent normal trade relations,” also known as “most favored nation.” The status was granted more than two decades ago as China prepared to enter the World Trade Organization.
Such a move is popular among congressional Republicans, who think granting China “normal” status and allowing the nation into the WTO was detrimental to the American economy. But the move would likely require congressional action.
On Ukraine, although Trump has said he could stop the war in "24 hours," it will take considerably longer, given the animosity between the two countries. But Ukraine's President Zelensky finally appears ready to deal. How far he will go for a ceasefire will determine how long the negotiations take.
Not all of Trump's day-one actions will require an EO. Many of the actions will be to rescind Biden administration EOs. Trump is trying to do as much as he can as president, because he knows that once he's forced to work through Congress, a quagmire will ensue.
This appears to be the fate of all presidents, present and future. Congress has abandoned its constitutional responsibility to govern. "It is the duty of the President to propose and it is the privilege of the Congress to dispose," said FDR. It's a shame that this president will have to do both.
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