Newly sworn-in president talks up 'complete restoration of America, and the revolution of common sense'.
America has formally made Donald Trump president again, and the billionaire Republican announced executive orders on illegal immigration and energy policy after being sworn in.
“Today, I will sign a series of historic executive orders. With these actions, we will begin the complete restoration of America, and the revolution of common sense,” said Trump, who at midday Monday became only the second U.S. president to serve nonconsecutive terms, after Grover Cleveland in the late 1800s.
His administration’s Day 1 actions tied to immigration were having some immediate effects. For example, a government app called CBP One that has allowed migrants to enter the U.S. legally with eligibility to work has been shut down, with existing appointments canceled for its users.
But Trump’s orders tied to energy policy were expected to take time to have an impact.
Trump said in a wide-ranging inaugural address that his first order would be to declare a national emergency at the southern border. The president also said he’ll direct his cabinet to defeat inflation, and will declare a national energy XLE emergency to address “escalating energy prices” that helped cause “the inflation crisis.”
“With my actions today, we will end the Green New Deal, and we will revoke the electric-vehicle mandate, saving our auto industry and keeping my sacred pledge to our great American auto workers. In other words, you will be able to buy the car of your choice,” Trump said.
Trump and his fellow Republicans have blasted the Biden administration’s tailpipe-emissions regulation as an “EV mandate.” The rule, rolled out in March, calls for automakers to sell more EVs and hybrids over time, though it drew election-year tweaks after lobbying by car dealers and other industry players. It’s not a true mandate for buyers in 2025, and it can be reworked, but that likely won’t occur quickly, as MarketWatch has noted.
In a similar vein, Trump’s energy emergency “will likely have little to no impact on #gasprices or fuel prices in the short-term,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, in a social-media post Monday afternoon. A president “can de-regulate, but there is no direct action that can be issued requiring oil companies to raise production,” the analyst said. Other analysts have said Trump could deliver lower prices for fossil fuels RB00 but “mixed” performances for shares of oil and gas companies.
Trump had long been expected to go big on executive orders and other actions on Monday. An incoming White House official said 10 immigration orders were among those coming Monday afternoon, according to multiple published reports.
“All illegal entry will immediately be halted, and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came,” Trump said during his speech. He promised to send troops to the southern border, as well as an end to ”catch-and-release” policies and a reinstatement of his first term’s “Remain in Mexico” policy, which required that asylum seekers wait in Mexico for hearings in U.S. immigration court.
The immigration-related orders will include one that aims to finish construction of the border wall, along with others that suspend refugee resettlement for four months and end asylum access. Another order tied to immigration will seek to end birthright citizenship, though that’s expected to face legal challenges.
Certain industries rely heavily on undocumented workers, and players in those sectors could face some headwinds from a major crackdown. The industries most exposed are construction ITB, with 13.7% of its workforce being undocumented; agriculture MOO, at 12.7%; and hospitality PEJ, at 7.1%, according to estimates from the American Immigration Council, which opposes mass deportations.
Trump did not announce any new tariffs during his inauguration speech but said that he “will immediately begin the overhaul of our trade system to protect American workers and families.” Economists warn that his proposed levies would boost inflation at a time when Americans are already frustrated with elevated prices.
The president said in late November that one of his “many first executive orders” on Jan. 20 would lead to 25% tariffs on all imports from Mexico and Canada unless those countries help him crack down on immigration into the U.S. as well as on the inflow of drugs such as fentanyl. However, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday morning that Trump’s plans don’t include new tariffs but, instead, orders for “federal agencies to investigate and remedy persistent trade deficits and address unfair trade and currency policies” — namely with China, Mexico and Canada.
During his first term in office, Trump’s moves on trade often hit markets SPX, but he has continued to embrace protectionism and recently described “tariff” as his favorite word. Supporters of tariffs, among them the Coalition for a Prosperous America, maintain that they’re an “essential tool for rebuilding the U.S. industrial base, fostering long-term economic growth and reducing dependence on foreign imports.”
Multiple published reports have suggested that the Trump administration’s tariffs could end up smaller than promised — whether by implementing levies gradually in an effort to avoid a surge in inflation or by only targeting critical sectors such as medical gear, energy production and defense-industry suppliers.
Other Trump actions on Monday — which is both Inauguration Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday — could touch on boosting the cryptocurrency industry BTCUSD .
The crypto industry IBIT has been lobbying for executive orders during Trump’s first 100 days that would establish a U.S. bitcoin reserve, ensure the industry can access banking services and create a crypto advisory council, and the sector has been expecting that at least one of those orders could come Monday, according to a Reuters report. A Bloomberg News report said there could be a crypto-focused order on Monday to establish the advisory council and designate crypto as a national imperative or priority.
One analyst recently told MarketWatch that bitcoin may either rise to a record high above $125,000 or fall toward $77,000 in this year’s first quarter, with the key being whether Trump follows through soon after his inauguration on his promises to the crypto industry.
Among Trump’s Day 1 orders will be ones that will roll back some of his predecessor’s policies. It’s similar to how Joe Biden targeted a number of Trump initiatives by rolling out a raft of orders on the day of his presidential inauguration four years ago.
Trump has also promised to pardon many individuals involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The pardons are expected to go to people convicted of nonviolent Jan. 6 offenses, and he plans to commute the sentences of others convicted of more serious offenses, according to a CNN report citing unnamed sources.
In addition, Trump said Sunday that he would issue an executive order stalling a federal ban on TikTok after he’s sworn in.
