Donald Trump awkwardly smiling in a creep way
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‘Press the limits of his presidential authority’: Trump is prepared to override Congress for his own agenda

Donald Trump intends to see his plans to deport millions and raise the cost of living for millions more to the very end, even if he has to skirt Congress to do it.

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In a private meeting with Senate Republicans, Trump told lawmakers that he intends to “press the limits of his presidential authority” in order to fulfill his promises of mass deportations and steep tariffs in the United States. In order to enact his plans, the president-elect has prepared over 100 executive orders to be issued during his first day in office. Trump has frequently touted his “Day One” plans to the press, announcing that he would enact sweeping changes to the immigration system, end the war in Ukraine, and pardon rioters who took part in the Jan. 6th attack on the Capitol building in the first 24 hours of his presidency.

Immigration has been a mainstay of Trump’s “America first” political platform. While on the campaign trail for the 2024 presidential election, Trump used undocumented immigrants as a scapegoat for virtually all American problems, from rising house costs to job loss to terrorist attacks. The president-elect has used increasingly violent rhetoric in order to refer to the undocumented migrant population, stirring his base into a frenzy of xenophobic hatred and fear.

Trump will not need much Congressional help in order to carry out his deportation plan, as the executive branch already controls the Department of Homeland Security – which could leverage in order to bolster his deportation efforts. Trump and has allies could also federalize the state-controlled National Guard in order to assist in deportation – one of the many ways he could make good on his promise to use the military in order to carry out his plans. While the Guard cannot be used to make arrests within U.S. borders, they could be used to assist in transportation and logistics for those who can. Trump could potentially use the National Emergencies Act in order to bypass Congress and secure Pentagon funding for his deportation efforts. After all, he’s done it before. Considering that Trump has promised his deportation campaign to be “the largest” in American history, he will likely marshal all the forces at his disposal.

Trump has also threatened steep tariffs in order to punish foreign nations and stoke nationalist support. The president-elect has promised to use tariffs as a form of “economic force” into order to annex Canada, and has also threatened Mexico and China with tariffs in apparent violation of a free trade deal. Trump also recently announced that he would be creating an “external revenue service” to collect income from tariffs on imports – despite the fact that the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency does that already.

In order to carry out his tariff plan without Congressional oversight, Trump could potentially use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act—a law that gives the president the power to impose tariffs and sanctions if he declares an economic emergency. Trump could also leverage the Trade Act of 1974, which allows the president employ tariffs as a matter of national security, in order to carry out his economic plans.

He did it during his first term in order to impose duties (a form of tariff) on steel and aluminum imports. Trump could also turn to a series of lesser known laws imposed in the 1930s which shifted tariff-making power toward the executive branch. Only Trump and those closest to him know the gory details of his Day One plans, but with Inauguration Day looming, Americans are soon to find out for themselves.


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