Donald Trump doesn’t want to waste any time. For his first day back in the White House, he made big promises during his election campaign: mass deportations, lifting environmental protection measures, and pardoning his supporters. The 78-year-old had repeatedly flirted with wanting to be dictator “only on day one.”
But even with the backing of a Republican-led Congress, Trump cannot do whatever he wants as the 47th president. On some issues, Democrats in Parliament have a say, Republican majorities in the chambers are narrow, and courts can block or overturn measures. That’s why the president-elect plans, as his predecessors did, to resort to presidential decrees – the so-called executive orders. Trump has already said he will rescind three of Biden’s executive orders on his first day: one on the growth of AI, one on expanding background checks on gun purchases and one on promoting diversity, equity and inclusion among government employees.
In addition, his chief of staff Susie Wiles has indicated that Trump wants to reinstate several executive orders from his first term in office. The measures that Biden repealed include Trump’s withdrawal from the World Health Organization, his entry ban on people from some predominantly Muslim countries and his withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement.
What Trump plans to do on his first day in the White House – and where the hurdles lie:
