WASHINGTON – Donald Trump will be sworn in as U.S. president on Monday, ushering in another four-year term with promises to push the limits of executive power, deport millions of immigrants, and transform the role of the U.S. on the world stage.
Even before Trump was to take office at noon ET (1700 GMT), aides detailed a raft of executive actions that he will sign immediately, including 10 focused on border security and immigration, his top priority.
The president will declare a national emergency at the southern border, send armed troops to the region and reimpose a policy forcing asylum seekers to wait in Mexico for their U.S. court dates, an incoming White House official told reporters.
Trump will take steps to curtail legal immigration by issuing an order intended to end birthright citizenship for U.S.-born children whose parents lack legal immigration status, the official said. He also plans to suspend the U.S. refugee resettlement program for at least four months.
Moreover, he plans to designate criminal cartels as designated foreign terrorist organizations, the official said.
Separately, Donald Trump will sign an executive order declaring a national energy emergency aimed at “unleashing affordable and reliable American energy,” an official with the incoming White House said on Monday.
No details were provided for either measure, but the official said Trump’s orders would cut “the red tape and the burden and regulations” to boost U.S. energy production and lower costs for American consumers.
On the Alaska initiative, the official said Trump would take “decisive action to unleash Alaska’s natural resource potential,” citing an abundance of resources such as oil and gas, seafood, timber and critical minerals.
Donald Trump will also sign a memorandum aimed at fighting inflation after he takes office that calls for an “all of government” response to bring down costs for Americans, an incoming White House official said.
The official offered no details on specific actions called for in the memo to be released later on Monday, but said they would be “decisive actions.”
Additionally, Trump will issue a broad trade memo on Monday that stops short of imposing new tariffs on his first day in office, but rather directs federal agencies to evaluate U.S. trade relationships with China, Canada, and Mexico, according to an incoming Trump administration official.
The official, confirming a Wall Street Journal report, said Trump will direct agencies to investigate and remedy persistent trade deficits and address unfair trade and currency policies by other nations.
The memo will single out China, Canada, and Mexico for scrutiny but will not announce new tariffs, the official said. It will direct agencies to assess Beijing’s compliance with its 2020 trade deal with the U.S., as well as the status of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, the official added.
