Analysis: Trump’s plan for radical reform of the US government

The president-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, promised to completely remake the government and exercise new power as head of state.

The ambitious promises, if enacted, would transform society. Some of his most repeated promises in the election campaign include:

• Mass deportation of 11 million illegal immigrants
• Southern border closure [com o México] and end of birthright citizenship
• Unprecedented tariffs on foreign goods from all countries, but especially China
• Expansive tax cuts to benefit corporations, tipped workers, seniors on Social Security, Northeast homeowners and many others
• Trillions in government spending cuts with help from Elon Musk
• Reforming the nation’s healthcare and food systems with the help of vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
• Rollback of regulations aimed at addressing climate change
• Building a New Missile Defense Shield with Help from Former NFL Player Herschel Walker and More

Now Americans will discover what was hyperbole and what was real – what is achievable and what he will be able to push through alone, with the help of Congress and without interference from the courts.

His promise to end Russia’s war against Ukraine “within 24 hours,” for example, seems exaggerated.

The promise of a mass deportation effort, on the other hand, is very serious. It appears to be supported by some clear planning, but there is a lack of public details.

Is there a master plan?

During the campaign, Trump tried to distance himself from Project 2025, a controversial and detailed plan for a federal government published by conservatives at the Heritage Foundation in anticipation of a second term for the businessman.

While the Republican may not want to be associated with this project, it was designed by his allies — at least 140 people associated with Project 2025 worked in the Trump administration, according to a review by Steve Contorno of CNN.

There is certainly some overlap between much of what the 900-page Project 2025 proposes and what Trump has said he will do in a series of very simple “Agenda47” videos on his website laying out his plans for a second term.

In an Agenda47 video, for example, Trump promises to have an executive order ready to end birthright citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants.

The 14th Amendment to the US Constitution guarantees birthright citizenship, so legal fights are possible if this happens.

One of Protect 2025’s “policy maestros,” Russell Vought, was caught on a hidden camera by undercover journalists talking about an aggressive agenda he was writing to kick off the new Trump administration in its first 180 days.

Vought served as director of the Office of Management and Budget during the Republican’s first term.

Mass deportations

Trump’s most aggressive promise is the arrest and deportation of millions of illegal immigrants. The Republican is expected to take office with a series of executive orders already written to reinstate border policies scrapped by the Biden administration.

This “yo-yo” of US immigration policy takes place given that Congress has failed to approve significant reform on the subject for decades.

What’s unclear is how exactly Trump will close the U.S. border and whether that will include the Army, National Guard or local law enforcement agencies.

Trump adviser Stephen Miller told Fox News he expects deportations to begin the moment Trump takes office on January 20, 2025.

“They begin on inauguration day, as soon as he takes the oath of office,” he highlighted.

But it remains unclear how the deportations will work. Rep. Carlos Gimenez, a Republican from Florida, told Pamela Brown of CNN, this Thursday (7) that expects all illegal immigrants to continue to have a hearing before being deported.

This will require the hiring of large numbers of government employees if deportations are to be expanded to a massive scale. The current process is long.

“I agree; It will be a very, very big task. And my hope is, and I hope, that we simply follow the law”, ponders Gimenez.

Priscilla Alvarez, from CNN, reported that there have already been discussions among Trump allies and some in the private sector to detain and deport migrants on a large scale — although any such operation would come with a high price.

She noted that Tom Homan, who was acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement during Trump’s first term, said a deportation effort would begin with anyone accused of a crime.

It is unclear what would happen to so-called “Dreamers,” people brought to the U.S. as children and who have lived most of their lives in the country.

Some of them are protected by an Obama administration-era program, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which Trump tried unsuccessfully to end during his first term.

This content was originally published in Analysis: Trump’s plan for radical reform of the US government on the CNN Brasil website.

Source: CNN Brasil