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Trump signs slew of executive orders on Day 1

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has begun his promised flurry of executive action on Day 1.

With his first batch of memoranda and orders, Trump repealed dozens of former President Joe Biden’s actions, withdrew the U.S. from the Paris climate accords, put a temporary freeze on new federal regulations and commanded federal law enforcement to end all cases and investigations of any Trump supporters, among other actions.

Trump, meanwhile, has additional executive orders awaiting his signature as he returns to the White House for the first time since his swearing-in earlier in the day. Those documents would end diversity, equity and inclusion funding, crack down on border crossings and ease regulations on oil and natural gas production. The Republican has promised dozens of actions, though it’s unclear whether he’ll make good on his pledge to do them all on his first day.

Here’s a look at some of Trump’s initial actions and upcoming plans:

The economy

In a made-for-TV display at Capital One Arena on Monday evening, Trump signed a largely symbolic memorandum that he described as directing every federal agency to combat consumer inflation.

By repealing Biden actions, Trump also is trying to ease regulatory burdens on oil and natural gas production, something he promises will help bring down costs of all consumer goods. Trump specifically wants to make it easier to extract fossil fuels in Alaska.

On trade, the president said he expects to impose 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico starting on Feb. 1, but declined to flesh out his plans for taxing Chinese imports.

America First

Trump will sign an order renaming the Gulf of Mexico, making it the Gulf of America. And the highest mountain in North America, now known as Denali, will revert back to Mount McKinley, its name until President Barack Obama changed it. The renaming is to honor “American greatness,” according to a preview of the orders posted online by Trump’s incoming press secretary.

He signed an order that flags must be at full height at every future Inauguration Day. The order came because former President Jimmy Carter’s death had prompted flags to be at half-staff. Trump demanded they be moved up Monday..

Immigration

Trump reversed several immigration orders from Biden’s presidency, including one that narrowed deportation priorities to people who commit serious crimes, are deemed national security threats, or were stopped at the border. It returns the government to Trump’s first-term policy that everyone in the country illegally is a priority for deportation.

The president declared a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border, and he plans to send U.S. troops to help support immigration agents and restrict refugees and asylum. He’s also pledged to restart a policy that forced asylum seekers to wait over the border in Mexico, but officials didn’t say whether Mexico would accept migrants again. During the previous effort, squalid and fetid camps grew on the border and were marred by gang violence. Trump is also promising to end birthright citizenship, but it’s unclear how he’d do it — it’s enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.

Trump also is ending the CBP One app, a Biden-era border app that gave legal entry to nearly 1 million migrants.

Climate and energy

As expected, Trump signed documents he said will formally withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate agreements. He made the same move during his first term but Biden reversed it.

Additionally, Trump plans to declare an declare an energy emergency as he promises to “drill, baby, drill,” and says he will eliminate what he calls Biden’s electric vehicle mandate.

Overhauling federal

bureaucracy

Trump has halted federal government hires, excepting the military and other parts of government that went unnamed. He added a freeze on new federal regulations while he builds out his second administration.

Additionally, he is expected to make it easier to fire thousands of federal workers by reclassifying certain employees as political appointees rather than merit system employees whose jobs are protected through changes in administrations.

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