Trump plans executive actions on economy, immigration, eliminating federal DEI
WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump will order a "national energy emergency" and issue a "presidential memorandum on inflation" as part of a slew of executive actions on his first day in office, incoming White House officials told reporters Monday morning.
Among the actions described by the official includes orders related to immigration and transgender Americans, as well as orders aimed at the elimination of diversity, equity, and inclusion programs across federal agencies.
Trump and his advisers have also prepared an executive order directing the incoming attorney general and the heads of all departments and agencies to review law enforcement conduct over the last four years, multiple sources familiar with the matter said.
That order -- which advisers are calling "ending weaponization in the federal government" -- doesn't explicitly direct any criminal investigations, but asks for a review of law enforcement activity and actions taken by the intelligence community over the course of Joe Biden's presidency.
It's not clear if Trump will sign that order on Monday, but it's a sign that Trump's administration plans to "investigate the investigators," as he has previously indicated he would.
Trump's top advisers, including his incoming DOJ leadership, are preparing for a storm of legal challenges to some of his most controversial actions, one top adviser told ABC News.
"We're going to get sued on all of these things," the adviser said, adding that the volume of litigation is expected to be a full-time job for Trump's Department of Justice.
During Trump's first administration, he faced upwards of 400 lawsuits challenging his actions. His advisers anticipate more than that this time around.
There will be a team inside the DOJ that is just dedicated to defending Trump's actions in court, sources said.
Economic actions
As part of Trump's executive actions that are expected to be signed "as soon as possible," officials said Trump will "put an end to the [Biden administration's] electric vehicle mandate." Another order will focus solely on Alaska, which officials said has "an incredible abundance of natural resources."
Officials said these moves were not only intended to spur the economy and bring down costs, but also "strengthen our nation's national security," citing the impending "AI race with China."
The primary order Trump is expected to sign Monday will focus on "unleashing" American energy, which officials said would emphasize "cutting the red tape and the burdens and regulations that have held back our economy, have held back investments, job creation and natural resource production."
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The national energy emergency Trump expects to sign will "unlock a variety of different authorities that will enable our nation to quickly build again, to produce more natural resources, to create jobs, to create prosperity and to strengthen our nation's national security," officials said.
Officials did not share details on the presidential memorandum to address inflation, saying only that it would be an "all-of-government approach to bringing down costs for all American citizens."
Drilling reached record highs during the Biden administration -- but Biden he also took executive actions to ban future offshore oil and natural gas drilling on America's East and West coasts, the Eastern Gulf of Mexico and Alaska's North Bering Sea.
Immigration actions
On a call with reporters Monday morning, incoming White House officials previewed a series of executive orders and other actions the new Trump administration plans to take relating to the border and immigration.
"We will protect the American people against invasion," one of the incoming officials said. "This is about national security. This is about public safety. And this is about the victims of some of the most violent, abusive criminals we've seen enter our country in our lifetime. And it ends today."
Among the executive actions outlined, the incoming officials said Trump will declare a national emergency at the border and clarify the military's role in "protecting the territorial integrity of the United States."
The orders will reinstate the "Remain in Mexico" policy, end the practice of "Catch and Release," and complete the building of the wall at the southern border, officials said.
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They will designate drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, end the ability for migrants caught between ports of entry to claim asylum, and suspend the resettlement of refugees for at least four months, they said.
Trump will also seek to end birthright citizenship, in which the federal government recognizes the American citizenship for the children of migrants born in the United States, officials said.
Officials also said Trump will order "enhance vetting and screening" of migrants and direct agencies to provide recommendations for suspending entry for migrants from "countries of particular concern."
He will also create Homeland Security task forces to target undocumented gang members and criminals, and restore the death penalty when a law enforcement officer is murdered by an undocumented migrant, officials said.
While one of the incoming officials said the call was a "preview" of the "actions to be taken today," it was not clear from the call that all the orders would happen Monday. In addition, many of the plans would require help from international partners like Mexico and would almost certainly spark legal battles.
DEI actions
An incoming official said orders related to diversity, equity, and inclusion policies in the federal government are intended to create "equal treatment" and end DEI in the federal government.
Saying it was "very fitting" for the orders to be coming on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the official said orders will ask for the Office of Management and Budget and The U.S. Office of Personnel Management to coordinate with the various agencies to "terminate" all DEI programs in the agency, including positions that have been renamed.
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This also includes environmental justice programs, equity related grants, equity action plans, and equity initiatives, according to the official.
There will also be a monthly meeting planned between members of the Department of Justice and Deputy Secretary of Trump admin agencies to assess any other DEI programs that officials plan to dismantle further, the official said.
Specific programs the orders will look to end include the Federal Aviation Administration recruiting "individuals who suffer from severe intellectual disabilities" and the USDA spending a billion dollars on environmental justice.
While the action does not address any private companies' use of DEI programs, the incoming Trump official, when asked, said to "wait and see" regarding further action regarding private companies.
"Private business should wait and see. We have more actions on DEI very soon," the official said.
Transgender actions
Incoming Trump White House officials outlined a series of first-day executive actions that they described as efforts to "restore sanity," including executive orders declaring that the U.S. government will only recognize a person's gender assigned at birth, prohibiting federal funds from being used in programs that acknowledge people who identify as transgender.
Among the most tangible changes Americans might see is a change to passports, rescinding a rule under Biden that allowed Americans to mark "X" as their gender marker on their U.S. passport applications.
Trump also plans to rescind rules set by Biden that withheld federal money from schools, including colleges, unless they followed certain rules to protect trans students from harassment.
Entities that receive federal dollars like prisons and shelters also would have to designate "single sex" spaces, officials said, assigning people to certain areas based on their gender assigned at birth.
In announcing the changes, which could have sweeping implications, officials took few questions from reporters and did not provide specifics.
"It is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female. These are sexes that are not changeable, and they are grounded in fundamental and incontrovertible reality," one official said.
The incoming White House officials did not share the specific text of Trump's planned executive orders. They will be circulated to the press once they are signed by the president, officials said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
