When President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated in January, he’ll assume the powers of the presidency with a surer sense of what he needs to perform and find out how to get it finished, after 4 years on the job and 4 years planning his return.
A Republican-controlled Senate seemingly places his nominees on a glide path to affirmation, whereas the query of Home management remains to be being decided.
This is what could also be in retailer for Trump’s second time period, based mostly on what he is mentioned since he left workplace in 2021.
Pardoning Jan. 6 rioters
Trump has praised those that breached the Capitol constructing on Jan. 6, 2021, as “patriots” and referred to them as “hostages” of a Justice Division “weaponized” in opposition to him. He has mentioned that those that have been arrested on account of their actions through the Capitol riot ought to be freed, and he vowed to pardon a “massive portion” of the greater than 1,000 individuals who have been convicted of or pleaded responsible to crimes stemming from the Jan. 6 assault.
Even earlier than his election victory, defendants have been making an attempt to delay their instances, anticipating pardons. At the least one defendant invoked Trump’s win in an effort to delay proceedings in his case; attorneys for 21-year-old Christopher Carnell mentioned in a submitting the day after the election that Trump has “made a number of clemency guarantees” to Jan. 6 defendants and wrote that Carnell is “anticipating to be relieved of the legal prosecution that he’s presently dealing with when the brand new administration takes workplace.”
They mentioned Carnell “is now awaiting additional info from the Workplace of the President-elect concerning the timing and anticipated scope of clemency actions related to his case.” His request was swiftly denied.
At a current Trump rally in North Carolina, an attendee yelled at Trump to “pardon the January sixers.” Trump appeared on the man and replied, “Yeah, it is true.”
Firing particular counsel Jack Smith
Trump instructed conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt lately that he’d hearth particular counsel Jack Smith, who has introduced two federal legal indictments in opposition to him, “inside two seconds” of changing into president. Smith was appointed impartial particular counsel by Legal professional Common Merrick Garland to supervise Trump’s federal legal investigations and instances.
Meting out with legal instances in opposition to him
The Justice Division and particular counsel Jack Smith’s workplace are engaged in lively discussions about find out how to wind down the continuing federal prosecutions in opposition to President-elect Donald Trump, in line with two individuals acquainted with the talks.
On the middle of the discussions is the Justice Division’s longstanding coverage in opposition to prosecuting a sitting president and the necessity to allow a clean transition to a second time period within the White Home for Trump, the sources mentioned.
Specialists instructed CBS Information the Justice Division is prone to drop Trump’s federal legal instances. Smith charged Trump with 4 counts stemming from his conduct after the 2020 election, as he and others sought to overturn his defeat in that race.
That case seemed to be heading for a spring 2024 trial earlier than Trump’s attorneys appealed a call associated to presidential immunity to the Supreme Court docket, which in July concluded former presidents can’t be prosecuted for official acts throughout their time in workplace.
In a separate federal legal case in Florida, Trump was accused of mishandling delicate authorities data. The choose dismissed the case in July, ruling Smith had been unlawfully appointed particular counsel by the lawyer normal. Smith has appealed the choice.
If he had been convicted within the federal instances, he may have tried to pardon himself as a result of the Structure confers broad pardon energy. However Trump cannot pardon himself from his New York conviction in a case stemming from a “hush cash” fee as a result of that is a state offense. His sentencing date is about for Nov. 26, nevertheless it stays to be seen whether or not that can go ahead.
Trump may merely transfer to dismiss the instances in opposition to him, mentioned Mark Tushnet, a constitutional legislation scholar at Harvard Regulation Faculty.
“He will not should pardon himself — because the chief government and chief legislation enforcement workplace of the U.S. authorities, he can merely order that the prosecutions be dismissed,” Tushnet mentioned.
In Fulton County, Georgia, Trump’s 2020 election interference case has been delayed amid allegations of impropriety in opposition to the district lawyer. That delay is prone to now be prolonged.
Lead Trump lawyer Steve Sadow instructed a choose in a listening to final December that proceedings wouldn’t be pushed off indefinitely if Trump received the presidency, suggesting 2029 is the 12 months the trial may resume.
Exerting extra affect on the Federal Reserve
Trump has given combined responses on the way forward for the Federal Reserve chair he appointed in 2018, Jerome Powell. In February, Trump mentioned he would not reappoint Powell.
However after Trump received this 12 months’s presidential election, Powell mentioned he wouldn’t depart if requested to resign by Trump. Powell’s time period expires in 2026.
In February, Trump mentioned he had a “couple of decisions” for Fed chair, however did not say who these choices is likely to be.
Trump has accused Powell of being “political.” Nonetheless, in July, he instructed Bloomberg Businessweek, “I might let him serve it out,” Trump mentioned, and he added, “particularly if I believed he was doing the appropriate factor.”
Past the query of who would lead the Fed is a much bigger concern: Trump has beforehand mentioned he thinks the U.S. president ought to have extra affect on Fed choices — a danger to the central financial institution’s historic independence from political meddling, in line with consultants.
“I really feel the president ought to have no less than a say in there. Yeah, I really feel that strongly,” Trump mentioned in an Aug. 8 press convention at his Mar-a-Lago membership in Florida. “I feel that, in my case, I made some huge cash, I used to be very profitable, and I feel I’ve a greater intuition than, in lots of instances, individuals that may be on the Federal Reserve or the chairman.”
Trump will anticipate the Fed to assist financial progress by persevering with to ease borrowing prices for shoppers and companies whereas containing inflation. That quantities to a fragile balancing act, given a few of the president-elect’s key financial insurance policies, like imposing stiff new tariffs, boosting federal spending and deporting undocumented immigrants, may result in larger costs.
Appointing new Supreme Court docket justices
Supreme Court docket justices generally attempt to time their retirements with a presidential administration comparable to the social gathering of the president who appointed them. When Trump takes workplace, there might be three justices who have been appointed by earlier Republican presidents — Chief Justice John Roberts, and Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito. Trump nominated the opposite three members of the conservative wing throughout his first time period — Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.
Thomas is the longest-serving member of the courtroom, having been nominated by President George H.W. Bush and confirmed by the Senate in 1991. Roberts and Alito have been each tapped for the courtroom by President George W. Bush in 2005 and 2006, respectively. Thomas, 76, and Alito, 74, are additionally the 2 oldest members of the Supreme Court docket.
None of these three justices have publicly indicated an curiosity in leaving the Supreme Court docket.
Trump’s Supreme Court docket nominations throughout his first time period widened the courtroom’s conservative majority from 6-3, and changing any of the three different members would preserve that ideological break up.
Any nominations throughout Trump’s second time period would seemingly be of youthful judges who may serve for many years, guaranteeing a conservative maintain on the courtroom for years to return. Gorsuch and Kavanaugh have been of their 50s when he nominated them, and Barrett was 48.
Trump instructed CBS Information in August that he’d launch a listing of potential Supreme Court docket nominees forward of the election, however that listing by no means arrived.
Deporting undocumented migrants en masse
At his ultimate marketing campaign cease in Pennsylvania earlier than Election Day, Trump once more promised to begin mass deportations, however acknowledged “it is horrible to do.”
“I do not need to do this. I am not wanting to do this,” Trump mentioned. “I feel it is horrible to do, however we’ve got no selection.”
Practically 80% of undocumented immigrants within the U.S. have been within the nation a decade or extra, and tens of millions of them work and have households right here. A concerted effort to spherical up, detain and deport individuals by the tens of millions wouldn’t solely elevate authorized and human rights considerations, it might price billions of {dollars} a 12 months.
However Trump instructed NBC Information after profitable the election that there’s “no price ticket.”
“It isn’t a query of a price ticket,” he instructed NBC, including, “We now have no selection. When individuals have killed and murdered, when drug lords have destroyed nations and now they are going to return to these nations as a result of they don’t seem to be staying right here. There isn’t a price ticket.”
Trump has mentioned he could begin with deporting undocumented migrants in Springfield, Ohio, and Aurora, Colorado — two communities focused by his marketing campaign rhetoric. He mentioned in his debate with Harris that in Springfield, migrants have been “consuming the canine” and cats, and mentioned of Aurora that it was being overrun by Venezuelan gangs. Native and state officers of each events disputed Trump’s claims.
Rolling again local weather and clear vitality insurance policies
Trump has lengthy forged doubts on the specter of local weather change and prioritized rising U.S. oil and fuel manufacturing. “Drill, child, drill” turned a chorus at marketing campaign rallies. He has vowed to unlock new lands for drilling, expedite drilling permits and pace up approval of pure fuel pipelines.
Trump has additionally expressed want to dismantle the Inflation Discount Act and redistribute any unspent local weather funds, which, amongst different issues, assist electrical car manufacturing, EV tax credit, and incentives for battery manufacturing and demanding mineral mining.
Such a transfer may show unpopular with shoppers, the automotive business and even some members of his personal social gathering, who’ve lately supported sure applications funded by the IRA which have introduced main manufacturing tasks and jobs to conservative districts. Eliminating the person tax credit for EV may very well be catastrophic for the automotive business, which continues to see EV gross sales numbers develop, and lots of firms are basing manufacturing targets on these rising gross sales numbers. If the tax incentive is revoked, it might make EVs dearer and more durable to promote.
Considered one of Trump’s most outstanding backers, billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk, has benefitted from EV incentives.
Throughout his first time period, Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Local weather Settlement, which included nationwide targets for decreasing greenhouse fuel emissions. Mr. Biden later rejoined the accords.
Trump’s document on local weather points has prompted warnings from scientists and local weather activists in regards to the accelerating risks of failing to maneuver quickly towards clear vitality and extra sustainable growth. “The science on local weather change is unforgiving, with yearly of delay locking in additional prices and extra irreversible adjustments,” mentioned Rachel Cleetus, the coverage director and lead economist for the Local weather and Vitality Program at UCS.
Local weather advocates say 4 extra years of Trump insurance policies will imply probably the most sturdy motion to battle local weather change will should be pursued on the state and native stage, in addition to by the enterprise sector.
Placing vaccine denier Robert F. Kennedy Jr. answerable for well being care
Kennedy’s identify has been floated to supervise quite a lot of health-related points in a second Trump administration, together with to run the Division of Well being and Human Providers. It is unclear, although, whether or not a nomination to a Cupboard place would obtain the required assist from Senate Republicans.
Sen. Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, instructed CNN that the Senate will “give nice deference to a president that simply received a shocking, what I feel is an Electoral School landslide when all is alleged is completed and a mandate.”
“He is being given a mandate to manipulate, and I feel presidents who’re given a mandate to manipulate deserve from the Senate the chance to encompass themselves with people who find themselves going to execute their insurance policies,” Rubio mentioned.
Kennedy has spent years selling false info and fears about vaccines, baselessly linking vaccines to autism lengthy after such claims have been disproven. He additionally falsely claimed COVID-19 was “ethnically focused” to assault sure ethnic teams whereas sparing Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese language individuals — a conspiracy principle that drew accusations of antisemitism and racism. Kennedy additionally claimed Trump would push to take away fluoride from consuming water, a pet challenge of Kennedy’s.
Kennedy has mentioned lately that he does not need to take vaccine choices away from People, however his skepticism of them and conspiracy-laden views on science and medication alarm public well being consultants.
Kennedy has additionally campaigned in opposition to pesticide use in agriculture and processed meals components.
Throughout a rally in Henderson, Nevada, Trump urged Kennedy would “work on well being and girls’s well being,” and mentioned on election night time that Kennedy is “going to go make America wholesome once more.”
In an interview with conservative commentator Tucker Carlson final week, Trump mentioned Kennedy “can do no matter he needs,” including that he’d just like the one-time impartial presidential candidate to take a look at pesticides and vaccines.
“I would like you to handle the ladies of this nation, the lads of this nation and the youngsters of this nation,” he mentioned.
When NBC Information lately requested Trump if “banning sure vaccines” is likely to be on the desk, Trump did not dismiss the thought outright, saying he would decide and referred to Kennedy as a gifted man with “robust views.”
Chopping taxes and enterprise laws
Trump has mentioned he would increase financial progress by a mixture of reducing taxes and eliminating laws on enterprise. Particularly, he’s anticipated to push Congress to increase the sweeping tax cuts enacted underneath the 2017 Tax Cuts & Jobs Act (TCJA), lots of that are set to run out on the finish of 2025.
Trump has additionally proposed reducing company taxes to fifteen% from their present stage of 21%; reversing a $10,000 deduction cap on state and native property taxes; ending taxes on tipped wages and additional time pay; and eliminating taxes on Social Safety advantages.
If Congress extends the TCJA cuts, revenue taxes would decline underneath Trump for People of all incomes, however the largest beneficiaries can be high-income households, in line with an evaluation by the College of Pennsylvania’s Penn Wharton Funds Mannequin.
Total, Trump’s tax cuts would decrease federal income by $5.8 trillion over the subsequent 10 years, including to the nation’s mounting debt, Penn Wharton estimates. The nationwide debt has grown considerably underneath each Trump and Mr. Biden within the final eight years.
On the regulatory entrance, Trump has pledged to take away federal restrictions on fossil gas manufacturing, eradicate purple tape in housing building and ease guidelines on cryptocurrencies, amongst different efforts. Traders anticipate such strikes to drive up company income and, in flip, inventory costs.
Imposing large tariff hikes
Trump has mentioned he needs to impose tariffs on all worldwide imports, which economists usually imagine will result in a rise within the worth of products.
Trump pledged to impose 10% across-the-board levies on all merchandise imported to the U.S. from abroad, one thing he says will shield American jobs and lift extra federal income, which means that he believes that top tariffs would pressure firms to deliver manufacturing again to the U.S., creating American jobs, and due to this fact extra taxable income.
However most economists say that would seemingly backfire. Producers would cross prices on to shoppers, successfully creating a brand new tax on People. Trump additionally proposed a levy of 60% or extra on Chinese language imports — so, in whole, if these tariffs have been enacted, a typical middle-class family would face an estimated $1,700 a 12 months in extra prices, in accordance to the non-partisan Peterson Institute for Worldwide Economics.
Rolling again protections for LGBTQ+ individuals
Trump has been inconsistent on questions surrounding LGBTQ rights, however throughout his first time period, he rolled again protections for LGBTQ individuals — particularly transgender people — and anti-trans rhetoric turned a theme of his 2024 marketing campaign. His marketing campaign spent tens of tens of millions on one such high-visibility advert that ran through the World Collection, NFL and faculty soccer video games with the memorable tagline “”Kamala is for they/them. Trump is for you.”
The Trump administration reversed a coverage that required colleges to permit transgender college students to make use of bogs that correspond with their gender id. His administration banned some transgender individuals from serving within the army — a coverage that Mr. Biden reversed. And he additionally tried to repeal well being protections for transgender individuals and sought to finish protections for transgender people in federal jail, amongst different insurance policies.
Throughout his marketing campaign, Trump pledged to make use of his second time period to punish docs who present gender affirming take care of minors and impose penalties for academics who focus on it with their minor college students.
Leaving abortion entry to be determined by states
The president-elect’s stances on abortion have been contradictory within the years since he started operating for the presidency. He is touted the Supreme Court docket’s 2022 choice overturning a constitutional proper to abortion in Roe v. Wade, taking credit score for appointing three of the justices who joined the bulk ruling.
He continuously says the difficulty ought to be left as much as the states — a few of which have imposed near-total abortion bans. Trump has additionally pledged to not signal a nationwide abortion ban.
“My view is now that we’ve got abortion the place all people needed it from a authorized standpoint, the states will decide by vote or laws, or maybe each, and no matter they resolve have to be the legislation of the land,” Trump mentioned in April.
On the presidential debate with Harris, Trump mentioned, “I am not signing a ban,” including that there is “no motive to signal a ban as a result of we have gotten what all people needed.” In October, he went additional, saying he’d veto a nationwide abortion ban.
Anti-abortion advocates have referred to as for additional restrictions on abortion by a legislation already on the books. They imagine the Comstock Act, which considerations the the delivery of supplies deemed as “obscene, lewd, lascivious, indecent, filthy or vile,” may very well be utilized to ban something used to help an abortion — not simply the mailing of abortion tablets. Trump instructed CBS Information in August that he wouldn’t implement the Comstock Act.
On IVF, one other reproductive rights concern that has come to the fore in current months, Trump has pledged to develop entry to the costly fertility therapies. The pledge got here in response to backlash following a ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court docket that decided that frozen embryos created through the IVF course of may very well be thought-about youngsters, elevating the opportunity of infanticide prosecutions in the event that they’re destroyed. This prompted clinics within the state to quickly halt therapies. Democrats have warned that Republicans need to prohibit entry to the procedures, whereas blaming the Alabama ruling and threats to fertility therapies in different states on Trump.
Trump introduced final month a brand new plan that may require the federal authorities to pay for the fertility therapies or require insurance coverage firms to cowl prices related to IVF. He has not mentioned how the federal government would pay for the excessive price of IVF, and the thought of an insurance coverage mandate for IVF therapies runs counter to one of many important pursuits of his first time period, the repeal of the Inexpensive Care Act. He did achieve killing the legislation’s particular person mandate by the enactment of his 2017 tax cuts.
Altering U.S. coverage on Israel’s warfare with Hamas and Hezbollah
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was among the many first international leaders to hail Trump’s victory.
“Your historic return to the White Home presents a brand new starting for America and a strong recommitment to the nice alliance between Israel and America,” Netanyahu mentioned in a tweet even earlier than Trump’s election win was confirmed.
Netanyahu spoke to Trump in a “heat and cordial” telephone name, his spokesperson mentioned, including that the 2 males “agreed to work collectively for Israel’s safety” and in addition mentioned “the Iranian risk.”
Trump has not mentioned how he’ll deal with Israel’s still-expanding wars in opposition to Iran-backed Hamas within the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon, however he is urged he can finish the conflagration within the coronary heart of the Center East shortly.
Netanyahu, underneath intense home and worldwide stress over his dealing with of the multi-front warfare, has relied closely on Washington, Israel’s closest ally, for army and diplomatic backing to proceed the battle. He might be urging Trump to maintain that very important assist coming amid intense worldwide stress over the humanitarian crises in Gaza and Lebanon, and rising home stress over his dealing with of the warfare.
However veteran Israeli diplomat, authorities adviser and now journalist Alon Pinkas instructed CBS Information forward of the U.S. election that in his view, Trump is a “very transactional man” who fails to grasp the complexities of the wars Israel is preventing and the motivation behind them.
“He is warfare averse,” Pinkas mentioned of Trump, including that the president-elect’s isolationist tendencies introduced “an important danger” for Israel.
Even when Trump have been to resolve to again away from lively assist for Israel and basically let Netanyahu do as he sees match, with out criticism or threats of suspending assist, Pinkas mentioned that would not be sufficient to make sure Israel’s safety.
“In the event you take a look at the final six months, about American involvement in intercepting Iranian ballistic missiles in April, in deploying a THAAD missile system in Israel simply three weeks in the past, in deterring Iran to the very best of their capability and offering Israel {hardware} and munitions that in any other case Israel could not have obtained,” mentioned Pinkas, “it isn’t sufficient that they write, the Congress…a clean verify of $3.8 billion, which is the annual army assist, and say, ‘depart us alone, do with it what you need.’ There must be lively American diplomacy.”
Pressuring Ukraine to cede floor to Russia to finish warfare
Trump will take over because the U.S. commander-in-chief amid the deadliest battle on the European continent since World Conflict II. He is mentioned he can finish the almost three-year warfare sparked by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine earlier than he even takes workplace.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy mentioned he had an “glorious” dialog with Trump after the election, including that that they had agreed to “advance” cooperation.
However on the marketing campaign path, Trump by no means mentioned how he would finish the warfare, and Ukrainians have voiced concern for months that he may achieve this by curbing the U.S. army and monetary assist — already price greater than $50 billion — which has been a lifeline for the nation’s protection, and pressure Zelenskyy to satisfy Russia’s calls for to cede occupied territory.
Any recent try to finish violence like that is prone to contain peace talks of some form, however Russian President Vladimir Putin has mentioned repeatedly that the warfare is not going to finish till the areas his forces have unilaterally and illegally annexed — round a fifth of Ukraine’s territory — are acknowledged as a part of Russia.
Zelenskyy insists that each one of Ukraine’s land have to be returned, and he is warned repeatedly that permitting Putin to grab floor will embolden the Russian chief, with direct implications for America.
“This aggression, and Putin’s military, can come to Europe, after which the residents of america, the troopers of america, should shield Europe as a result of they’re the NATO members,” Zelenskyy instructed CBS Information early this 12 months.
Heaping stress on NATO allies to cough up extra cash
There may be clear precedent for Trump’s stance on the U.S.-led NATO alliance that was born out of the army partnerships fashioned throughout World Conflict II. Throughout his first time period and since, Trump has made it clear that he feels America’s European NATO allies slipped into complacency, counting on their superpower accomplice for theoretical protection in what had been many years of peacetime.
He demanded publicly, repeatedly that a few of America’s oldest and closest allies meet their NATO membership dedication to commit no less than 2% of their annual GDP to their protection budgets. Trump accused some allies of freeloading – benefitting from the assure of NATO’s collective protection precept with out paying their justifiable share.
Whereas the European jitters over the Ukraine warfare are undoubtedly an element, his reprimands appear to have labored, to some extent. Nearly all of NATO member states now meet no less than the two% threshold. It is little surprise, maybe, that the one two nations that commit greater than the U.S. to protection, proportionally, are Poland, which borders Ukraine, and Estonia, which borders Russia.
There are nonetheless wider considerations, in the meantime, amongst NATO companions over the extent of Trump’s dedication to the alliance, and he vowed on the marketing campaign path to “essentially reevaluate NATO’s objective and mission.”
Alain Sherter,
,
Imtiaz Tyab,
Mary Cunningham,
Kaia Hubbard and
Tracy J. Wholf
contributed to this report.
