Trump to sign close to 100 executive orders on day one in office

Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States on Monday. In his inaugural address, he stated his plans to sign a series of executive orders on his first day, addressing issues ranging from energy to immigration and national security.

Multiple US media outlets reported that the number of executive orders expected to be signed was close to 100, while Reuters reported that more than 200 orders and directives could be issued. In linking immigration and national security, Trump announced the designation of Mexican drug cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) and defined illegal immigration into the US as a national emergency.

Over the past two decades, the Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) designation has been widely used for armed groups operating in Muslim-majority countries, most prominently al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS) group. Instead of mentioning IS or "radical Islamic extremism" as he did during his previous presidency, Trump focused on designating drug cartels as one of America's biggest enemies.

Trump stated he would invoke the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 to remove foreign gangs and designate drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. He also said that he would deploy US troops to the southern border and reinstate the “Remain in Mexico” policy. Another immigration-related action he took was to try to end birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants born in the US, which is likely to face legal challenges as birthright citizenship is enshrined in the US Constitution.

In his inaugural address, Trump once again touted the role his team played in achieving a ceasefire between Hamas in Gaza and Israel, and said he hoped his presidential legacy would be that of a peacemaker. “My proudest legacy will be as a peacemaker and unifier. That’s what I want to be: a peacemaker and unifier,” Trump said. “I’m happy to say that, as of yesterday, the day before I took office, hostages in the Middle East are coming home to be reunited with their families.”

The first phase of the three-stage ceasefire went into effect this weekend, and while there were jubilant celebrations across Gaza over the news, it is unclear if peace can be maintained into the second and third phases. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that Israel has the right to resume fighting after the ceasefire ends, raising concerns about whether Israel will halt its military operations.

Trump also made vague criticisms of US military support for foreign conflicts in his speech. “We have a government that gives unlimited funds to defend foreign borders but refuses to defend American borders or, more importantly, its own people,” Trump said. During his campaign, Trump reiterated his desire to ensure that the US is no longer embroiled in any wars. At the same time, most of Trump’s supporters, as well as major donors, hold pro-Israel sentiments, and Trump has appointed pro-Israel hardliners to several key positions in his government.

The new US President said he would also immediately declare a national energy emergency and vowed to increase US oil production to the point that the country could export it around the world. “We will be a wealthy nation again, and the liquid gold beneath our feet will help make that happen,” he said. According to a White House document seen by Reuters, the US will also withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement for a second time.

Trump’s return to the White House is likely to usher in a departure from the Biden administration’s global energy trade policies, which have seen historic changes over the past four years. Under Biden, Iran’s oil exports have boomed while Russia has become a target of US sanctions. As a result, China has bought cheap Russian and Iranian oil in large quantities, while the oil-rich Gulf monarchies have lost market share in Asia. Former Trump administration officials and Arab diplomats had previously told Middle East Eye that they expect Trump to quickly reimpose sanctions on Iran.

The US is already the world’s largest oil producer under Biden, but Trump has pledged to expand drilling further across the US, which he says is to lower domestic energy prices and reduce the country’s dependence on the Arab Gulf states. Trump also highlighted his plans to reform the global trading system using tariffs, saying that he would establish an “external tax bureau.”

The President pledged to impose a 10 percent tariff on all global imports, a 60 percent tariff on Chinese products, and a 25 percent tariff on the US’s neighbors, Canada and Mexico. Trump said these tariffs would be beneficial to US economic growth and help reduce the US deficit. However, opponents of the policy say that it would only result in higher costs for consumers.

Trump's speech made no mention of another economic tool that he frequently used during his first term: sanctions. Trump imposed sanctions on multiple countries, including Iran and NATO ally Turkey, as well as China. While sanctions are likely to play a role in Trump’s second presidential term, he also shared his concerns about them during his campaign. “I was a user of sanctions, but I would put them on and take them off as quickly as possible because ultimately it kills your dollar, it kills everything the dollar represents,” Trump said at the time. “So I would use them very powerfully on the countries that should be sanctioned and then I would take them off because, look, you’re losing Iran. You’re losing Russia,” he added.