Trump plans Day 1 actions on border, federal workers

Nancy Cook, Bloomberg News on Jan 9, 2025

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WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump is planning a flurry of executive orders around immigration, energy, federal workers and regulatory reform in the early hours after his Jan. 20 inauguration, part of a sweeping effort to quickly implement his policy agenda upon taking office.

The plans include immigration executive actions to tighten restrictions on border crossings; mandate the federal government to finish the unbuilt area of the border wall; set up the mechanics to carry out mass deportations; and deprive sanctuary cities of federal resources until they stop serving as a safe place for migrants.

The coming orders were described by people familiar with the efforts who requested anonymity to detail the plans ahead of their announcement.

“The American people can bank on President Trump using his executive power on day one to deliver on the promises he made to them on the campaign trail,” said Karoline Leavitt, a transition spokeswoman, in a statement.

The Trump team also intends to try to shrink the federal workforce by putting a hiring freeze on the government and mandating federal employees to return to the office for in-person work, a position billionaire Elon Musk has been pushing as the head of the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency. What is unclear is how these executive orders will work with the swathes of federal workers who are unionized, one person said.

On energy, Trump is expected to authorize new drilling on federal lands as part of his initial push. And the Trump team intends to put out an executive order that freezes all regulations put forth by President Joe Biden and not yet finalized. Biden did this on his first day in office, as have past presidents.

In recent weeks, the Trump team has been working behind-the-scenes to make sure its initial months are as productive as possible. While chief of staff Susie Wiles has said she views the first 100 days as an artificial metric, she and the entire Trump team see the first two years — before midterm elections could imperil Republican majorities in the House and Senate — as the best opportunity for the term-limited incoming president to achieve his sweeping goals.

Trump and his allies have made clear they intend to quickly implement a wide swath of executive actions in a bid to satisfy campaign promises and reverse policies implemented by Biden.

Asked about his plans for his Inauguration Day, Trump told reporters Wednesday at the Capitol that his first order of business would be “closing the border.”

“It’s going to be closed, and we’re going to have to take people out that are criminals,” Trump said.

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