What Trump might do on Day One of his presidency

• Trump has promised to do a variety of different things on “Day One” of his second term.
• Much of his agenda will take time to implement, but there are things he could start immediately.
• That includes executive orders and firing government officials.

Over the past two years of President-elect Donald Trump’s third presidential campaign, he frequently promised to enact certain promises on “day one” of his new administration.

“​​Many things will be done on day one,” Trump said at a town hall with Tucker Carlson in Phoenix in late October. “Your head will spin when you see what’s going to happen.”

Some aspects of Trump’s agenda, particularly his promises to eliminate taxes on tips, overtime, and Social Security benefits, will require Congress to act.

But much of his signature promises can be set into motion via executive orders, which he will be able to issue as soon as he enters office. He will also be able to issue pardons and fire government officials as early as day one.

Executive orders: Immigration and likely legal challenges

Some of Trump’s most readily achievable promises are related to immigration, an area where the White House and Executive Branch have a significant say. In the closing days of the campaign, Trump underlined his commitment to getting to work right away on building “the largest deportation force” in the nation’s history. The American Civil Liberties Union and other organizations have said they would challenge Trump’s actions in court, meaning that anything begun on Day One will only be the beginning of a potentially long legal fight.

Trump also repeatedly promised to curtail parole, which allows immigrants to temporarily live in the US, often for humanitarian reasons. He also pushed debunked claims about secret “migrant flights,” which he also promised to ban on day one.

Trump has promised to issue several executive orders when he takes office, though some of them are likely to be challenged in court.

For example, Trump has pledged to sign an executive order revoking birthright citizenship, which is enshrined in the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution.

During the Republican primary, he pledged to take executive action “banning schools from promoting critical race theory or transgender insanity.”

It’s likely that such an action could mirror an executive order President Joe Biden revoked after taking office, which at the time prohibited the federal government and federal contractors from conducting workplace trainings on “divisive concepts.” A federal judge later blocked prohibitions on certain trainings.

Pardons and personnel decisions: Firing Jack Smith, pardoning January 6 rioters

Some of Trump’s promises are more simple and involve firing government officials he does not like.

That includes Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is currently leading the Department of Justice’s prosecution of Trump for his role in the January 6 insurrection and Trump’s mishandling of classified documents. Smith is already reportedly looking into winding down those investigations in order to comply with a longstanding department policy that sitting presidents cannot be prosecuted.

“I would fire him within two seconds,” Trump told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt in late October. “He’ll be one of the first things addressed.”

At a Bitcoin conference in July, Trump also pledged to fire Gary Gensler, the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, on “day one” and appoint a replacement. Gensler has angered many in the cryptocurrency community, which Trump and his campaigned courted ahead of the 2024 election.

Trump has also pledged to pardon January 6 rioters “if they’re innocent,” which he would be able to do as soon as his first day in office.

“Day One” promises that Trump may not be able to fulfill

Some “day one” commitments are simply not possible.

At times during the campaign, Trump pledged to “end inflation” just hours after taking office. But no one, including the president, can single-handedly lower broad price levels set across the entire US economy.

The Federal Reserve, the nation’s central bank, is tasked with monitoring inflation and adjusting interest rates up or down as needed, and the Fed takes its political independence seriously. Far from ending inflation, economists are worried that Trump’s expansive tariffs could lead prices spiking even higher.

“Starting on day one of my new administration, we will end inflation and we will make America affordable again because the prices are too high,” Trump said at a rally in Wisconsin in October.

Prices reached record highs earlier in the Biden administration, but since then inflation has continued to cool.