- Trump inauguration moves indoors
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Donald Trump's will have a very hectic Monday – if he gets around to just a handful of his 'Day One' pledges.
The 78-year-old will be sworn-in as president, host a rally, end the war in Ukraine, start mass deportation raids across the country, and nix electric car mandates and pardon thousands who were convicted for their parts in the January 6 Capitol Riot.
Promises for his first 24 hours back in the Oval Office range from tariffs to transgender athletes playing on girls sports teams, with a series of executive orders being readied for the president's signature.
It will round out the day following an inauguration ceremony that got moved indoors because of a dangerous polar vortex threatening D.C. and large parts of the country.
His MAGA bonanza inauguration kicked off when Trump headed for D.C. Saturday to host fireworks at his Virginia golf club.
Before he brings in his sweeping policy plan, his loyal supporters and high rollers will take in the festivities marking his historic return to the White House.
Mass deportations
'On day one, I will launch the largest deportation program in American history to get the criminals out,' Trump declared at his Madison Square Garden rally.
There are signs that the wheels are in motion for such a move even before Trump takes office.
Ending illegal immigration was one of Trump's top campaing pledges, in a race where he said migrants 'infest our country.' That line drew howls from critics, and his policy to get law enforcement to eject millions of people who came here illegally is certain to draw lawsuits and scrutiny.
There were reports Monday that preparations are underway for a mass immigration raid in Chicago as soon as Tuesday. 'Well, it's got to happen, and if it doesn't happen, we're not going to have a country any longer,' Trump told NBC before heading to Washington.
Trump's team has yet to specify how he would carry out the massive nationwide effort, with millions of migrants estimated to be living here illegally. Luckily for Trump, the Senate is already teeing up another immigration measure, now that the Senate voted to break a filibuster of the Laken Riley Act requiring detention of migrants charged with certain crimes. A vote Monday could get the bill to his desk on his second day in office.
Trump, who has blasted flows of illegal immigration into the country, has vowed to carry out mass deportations
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Ending Russia's war in Ukraine
Finally putting an end to Russia's three-year old war against Ukraine is likely to be among the first plans to fall by the wayside, if facts on the ground are an indication.
'That is a war that’s dying to be settled. I will get it settled before I even become president,' Trump said in his debate with VP Kamala Harris.
On Wednesday Russia blasted Ukraine with yet another volley of ballistic missiles attacks, taking out key power infrastructure in winter.
Trump said he will have the Ukraine war 'settled' by the time he takes office, although Russia has continued to hammer Ukraine with ballistic missile attacks
Nevertheless, Trump is determined to apply his negotiating skills to the conflict, and Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov praised some of his recent statements that echoed Moscow's narrative on NATO membership.
Trump has touted his relations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin, but Ukraine has been refusing Moscow's demands to concede territory seized in the war.
Trump has made so many domestic policy pronouncements for his first stay that it will be hard for him to fit them all in, especially now that he has added a speech at DC's Capital One Arena after moving the festivities indoors.
Trump appears to have avoided having to carry out a threat that all hell would break out if there isn't a Gaza cease fire and hostage release deal before he takes office. That came together in the final days of the Biden administration with an assist from his negotiator.
Pardon of January 6 defendants
Trump has said he would pardon January 6 defendants on his first day – and 'maybe the first nine minutes.'
That came after a campaign where he played a rendition of the National Anthem sung by incarcerated January 6 defendants.
Trump's pick for AG Pam Bondi got quizzed during her confirmation hearing how she would respond to Trump pardons of those convicted of violent attacks on police officers.
Trump may feel he owes mass pardons to his MAGA base, but not all members of his party are okay with it. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) warned against it at the Bondi hearing. 'Folks, I was the last Senate member out of the chamber on January 6th. I saw Capitol police officers bleeding, bruised, and I saw damage to a certain extent as we were exiting. To call those people patriots is not in my lexicon,' he said.
Trump has left little doubt that January 6 pardons are on tap. But how many – and whether to extend them to violent offenders convicted of attacking police officers – could be politically tricky
Tariffs
Many experts credit Trump's win to Americans' economic worries, and Trump has vowed to make tariffs a key Day One priority. He has kept up his drum beat during the transition, talking up tariffs on China as well as allies like Canada or Denmark who reject his ideas.
Trump said he would slap 25 percent tariffs on Mexico and Canada on 'ALL products coming into the United States', blasting the neighbors with contributing to open borders days after his election. That brought immediate attention from Canada's outgoing PM Justin Trudeau and new Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.
He has also vowed big tariffs on China, although the country's vice president, Han Zheng, as his representative at the inauguration.
Oil drilling and cars
Trump's 'drill, baby, drill' mantra was a Trump refrain in nearly all of his campaign rallies. If featured in one of his most curious comments of the campaign, when Trump told Sean Hannity he wouldn't be a dictator 'except for Day One.'
He later explained that he was referring to closing the border and 'drill, drill, drill.'
Trump has vowed to wipe away environmental regulations and unleash American energy. He has repeatedly stressed his support for fracking, and blasted Harris for her statements on it.
The U.S. became the world's top crude oil producer in 2018 and retains the title by a wider margin now. Trump has called to boost production even more. One of Biden's last official acts was to designate new national monuments in California that are protected from new oil and gas leasing. Trump said he would reverse it, but congressional action is likely required.
Trump has vowed to roll back governmental incentives to buy electric cars, which he frequently attacks despite his budding friendship with Tesla boss Elon Musk. 'The day I take office, I will cancel Crooked Joe’s electric vehicle mandate,' Trump said.
The incentives are meant to wean the nation from gas-powered cars, but Biden's efforts to build electric vehicle charging stations have been slow and costly.
Women's sports and gender affirming care
Trump repeatedly raised hot-button cultural issues in his campaign, where he railed against D.E.I. and repeatedly vowed to 'keep men out of women's sports.'
It's another issue he listed on his 'first day' to-do list.
The decisions of whether to let transgender athletes participate in sports is made at the local school and league level. But Trump's administration does have leverage, through federal education funds, which are a major part of university support.
Trump also vowed on 'day one' to 'revoke Joe Biden’s cruel policies on so-called "gender affirming care."'
Trump's team has had months to prepare to try to counteract some of President Biden's executive orders.
'Look, I can undo almost everything Biden did, he through executive order. And on Day One, much of that will be undone,' Trump told Time.
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