President Donald Trump followed through Tuesday on several actions he pledged to take on his first day in office, but he still has some major items left on the to-do list he made for himself during the presidential campaign.
Trump signed 46 executive orders and presidential actions on his first day back in the White House aimed at a variety of policy priorities he promised to address on Day One, such as border security, energy, production, transgender rights and pardoning the Jan. 6 Capitol rioters.
A few big issues Trump promised to address were not among those actions, including tariffs and ending the war in Ukraine.
Still on the to-do list
Tariffs
Weeks after his election, Trump promised that he would sign an executive order to implement a 25% tariff on products imported from Mexico and Canada, two of America’s biggest trading partners.
“On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States, and its ridiculous Open Borders,” Trump said on Truth Social on Nov. 25.
But Trump did not sign an order imposing tariffs on any foreign nation on his first day in office. Asked in the Oval Office on Monday evening, Trump said he was considering 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada, two top trading partners for the United States. Asked when the tariffs would be imposed, he said, “I think we’ll do it Feb. 1st.”
End the war in Ukraine
Trump also said he could end the war in Ukraine within 24 hours of taking office — or even earlier.
“That is a war that’s dying to be settled. I will get it settled before I even become president,” Trump said at a debate with Vice President Kamala Harris in Philadelphia in September.
Trump began backing off of that promise after the election. In remarks to the media at Mar-a-Lago, his estate in Florida, he was asked when he plans to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss an end to the war. Trump said it would be inappropriate to hold the meeting before his inauguration.
The war in Ukraine continues. When Trump was asked in the Oval Office on Monday about his promise to end the war on Day One, he said: “Well, there’s only half a day. I have another half a day left. We’ll see. We want to get it done.”
Asked again later about his promise, Trump said he needed to speak with Putin and teased that the conversation “could be very soon.”
Auto industry changes
Trump also pledged at a rally in September that said the auto industry would be “fueled by American energy,” “sourced by American suppliers” and built by American laborers on his “first day in office.”
But Trump’s executive orders did not include those specific measures aimed at the auto industry.
‘The largest deportation program in American history’
Trump also pledged at a rally in New York City in late October that he would “launch the largest deportation program in American history” on his first day.
While widespread deportations have not occurred yet, Trump did take steps to prioritize detaining, and ultimately deporting, people in the country illegally, an executive order titled “Protecting the American People Against Invasion.”
In the order, Trump authorized relevant Cabinet heads “to prioritize the prosecution of criminal offenses related to the unauthorized entry or continued unauthorized presence of aliens in the United States.”
Trump also called on the homeland security secretary to stand up the detention facilities required to carry out his deportation push.
Checked off the to-do list
Pardon Jan. 6 rioters
Trump said on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” in December that he would look to pardon those involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot on his “first day” in office, and he did just that. On Monday night he granted pardons to and commuted sentences for roughly 1,500 defendants charged with crimes related to the riot.
Back in December, Trump did not rule out pardoning those who pleaded guilty to assaulting police officers, saying he would look at “everything.” And he did end up issuing pardons to or commutations for those rioters, also calling for those in prison to be released “immediately.”
Act to end birthright citizenship
Trump pledged to end birthright citizenship on his first day in office, and he followed through, signing an order Monday that said children born to parents who are not legal, permanent residents should not be considered U.S. citizens. But his move was quickly met with legal challenges, and it could ultimately be struck down by the Supreme Court.
End Biden-era border policies
Trump has been focused on the border since his first campaign for president, and it was a centerpiece of his 2024 campaign. On the trail, he pledged to “terminate every open-borders policy of the Biden administration” on Day One.
What has that looked like on his first day in office? A slew of executive orders related to the border, including significant rollbacks of former President Joe Biden’s policies and orders, as well as orders related to widespread deportations.
In one order, Trump, among other policies:
- Revoked four specific Biden executive orders related to immigration enforcement and seeking asylum.
- Declared it U.S. policy “to faithfully execute the immigration laws against all inadmissible and removable aliens.”
- Created Homeland Security task forces in each state to further his immigration policies.
- Required all people in the United States illegally to register with the government.
- Barred federal funding to “sanctuary” jurisdictions that do not abide by federal immigration law.
- Asked his administration to “rescind” Biden administration policies he claims “led to the increased or continued presence of illegal aliens,” including limiting parole and Temporary Protected Status.
Another sets his administration’s priorities to secure the border — building a “physical wall and other barriers,” preventing illegal immigration and removing those who come to the country illegally, ending the use of the CBP One app used by migrants to schedule appointments at border checkpoints and blocking a parole program for migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela.
And another declares a national emergency on the border, calling for more resources to address it.
Cancel electric vehicle ‘mandate’
Trump fulfilled his pledge to cancel what he described as Biden’s “electric vehicle mandate,” signing an order undoing policies that he suggested favored electric vehicles, including subsidies and state emissions waivers.
The order also required agencies to “immediately pause” spending for Biden’s signature legislation, the Inflation Reduction Act, including funding for infrastructure related to electric vehicles.
‘Drill, drill, drill’
Trump told Fox News last month that he wanted to “drill, drill, drill” on Day One, and he did take a step aimed at expanding fracking and drilling efforts in Alaska.
Trump signed an order Monday titled “Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential,” which included measures to deregulate fracking in Alaska and prioritize permitting a pipeline and “export infrastructure.”
Trump also declared a “national energy emergency,” signing an executive order instructing agency heads in part to “facilitate the identification, leasing, siting, production, transportation, refining, and generation of domestic energy resources, including, but not limited to, on Federal lands.” The order says “energy” includes oil and natural gas, along with other energy resources.
Trump also followed through on another Day One pledge related to wind energy. After he promised in May to block wind production on Day One, he signed an executive order Monday night temporarily halting the consideration of wind energy projects on federal land and water.
Protecting ‘free speech’
Trump repeatedly accused Democrats and tech companies of working to censor social media platforms and promised a Day One executive order to “reclaim the right to Free Speech for all Americans.”
One of his early orders said the federal government is not allowed to facilitate conduct “that would unconstitutionally abridge the free speech of any American citizen” or use federal resources to do it. The order also directs the attorney general to investigate the Biden administration and find potential actions “that are inconsistent” with the order.
