President-elect Donald Trump has promised a busy first day in office. On the campaign trail, he vowed that Day One will include actions in a number of policy areas, from immigration to energy and more.
A change in political party in the White House typically comes with a reversal of policies from the previous administration. In this case, Trump is expected to overturn a number of actions put in place by President Joe Biden. Voters who cast ballots for Trump during the November 2024 election will also be looking for him to follow through on his campaign promises.
On the first day of his previous term, Trump signed only one executive order, which targeted the Affordable Care Act. This time around, he is expected to sign more than one executive order. Questions remain, though, about how many goals from Trump’s list he’ll be able to accomplish on his first day.
Additionally, some of the policies will require Congressional approval. Here are a few policy areas where the president-elect has made promises for his first day in office:
Immigration
Immigration, an area Trump focused on heavily during his rallies, will likely be a large focus on Day One. He has promised his supporters that he will launch a mass deportation effort and close the Southern border.
“On Day One, I will launch the largest deportation program in American history to get the criminals out. I will rescue every city and town that has been invaded and conquered, and we will put these vicious and bloodthirsty criminals in jail, then kick them the hell out of our country as fast as possible,” Trump said during a rally at Madison Square Garden in October.
Trump has shrugged off concerns about the cost of the large-scale deportation plans. His incoming border czar, Tom Homan, said Chicago will be “ground zero” for the plans on Day One.
In 2023, Trump said on his first day back in the White House, he will end “every open borders policy of the Biden administration.”
“I’ll also use Title 42 to end the child trafficking crisis by returning all trafficked children to their families and their home countries. We’ll do that immediately,” Trump said in October 2023.
The incoming president also said he will end birthright citizenship, which is automatic citizenship for everyone born in the United States. He reiterated that during an interview with NBC’s Kristen Welker during “Meet the Press” in December.
“You promised to end birthright citizenship on Day One,” Welker said.
“Correct,” Trump said.
“Is that still your plan?” Welker asked.
“Yeah. Absolutely,” Trump said.
Economy
More of Trump’s Day One promises are related to the other cornerstone issue of his campaign, the economy.
“On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States, and its ridiculous Open Borders,” the president-elect wrote in a post on his social media platform Truth Social in November.
Trump has vowed to impose a 25 percent tariff on everything imported from Mexico and Canada and add a 10 percent tariff to duties already imposed on goods from China.
Energy
The president-elect has made a number of references to reversing climate policies and increasing oil and gas production. He vowed to cancel what he calls the Biden administration’s “electric vehicle mandate” and increase car manufacturing in the U.S. on Jan. 20.
“I will end the electric vehicle mandate on Day One. Thereby saving the U.S. auto industry from complete obliteration, which is happening right now and saving U.S. customers thousands and thousands of dollars per car,” Trump said during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in July.
More of his Day One plans relate to approving more drilling and pipelines. “Drill, baby, drill” was a constant refrain from Trump on the campaign trail.
“We will — right from Day One, we’re going to drill, drill, drill. Drill, baby, drill,” Trump said in January 2024.
Other executive orders could roll back environmental protections and halt wind projects. He has a one-year goal of reducing energy prices by 50 percent.
Jan. 6, 2021
During the December interview with Welker, Trump again vowed to pardon his supporters who attacked the U.S. Capitol four years ago. More than 1,500 people have been charged in the attack.
“Those people have suffered long and hard. And there may be some exceptions to it. I have to look … you know, if somebody was radical, crazy,” Trump said.
The incoming president has the power to pardon anyone who was convicted in federal court. He also can tell the attorney general to stand down so prosecutions do not continue.
Military
Trump promised to end reimbursement for members of the military who get abortions. The president-elect also has said he will restrict gender-affirming health care for members of the military who are transgender.
“On Day One, I will revoke Joe Biden’s cruel policies on so-called ‘gender affirming care’ — ridiculous — a process that includes giving kids puberty blockers, mutating their physical appearance, and ultimately performing surgery on minor children. Can you believe this? I will sign a new executive order instructing every federal agency to cease all programs that promote the concept of sex and gender transition at any age. I will then ask Congress to permanently stop federal taxpayer dollars from being used to promote or pay for these procedures, and pass a law prohibiting child sexual mutilation in all 50 states,” Trump said in a video published to his campaign website in February 2023.
Education
Another priority on the day Trump takes office is to roll back protections for students who are transgender. An action from the Biden administration had protected students who are transgender from discrimination in schools.
Trump said he will sign an executive order to cut federal funding to schools with vaccine mandates and schools that are pushing critical race theory and other “inappropriate racial, sexual or political content.” That is an example of a campaign promise that would likely need Congressional approval.
“I will not give one penny to any school that has a vaccine mandate or mask mandate. And I will do something that’s amazing to me that I even have to mention this. I will keep men out of women’s sports 100 percent immediately first day,” said then-candidate Trump during a rally in West Palm Beach, Florida, in October 2023.
Russia-Ukraine War
“They’re dying, Russians and Ukrainians. I want them to stop dying. And I’ll have that done — I’ll have that done in 24 hours,” Trump said in New Hampshire in May 2023.
Trump said he can end the war in a day, although Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has pushed back on that timeline.
The president-elect has close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and has criticized Biden for giving money to Ukraine.
