January 20, 2025
Newly reinstated President Donald Trump and his allies have readied historic activity for the hours ahead, with a wave of executive orders to be signed this afternoon and more likely to follow in the days to come.
The promises of "shock and awe" have steadily grown. Trump first promised 100 early actions, but that total is rising. By Sunday evening, he said up to 200 executive actions were on the docket.
The orders are set to range across a variety of topics.
On energy, Trump is set to invoke a national economic emergency to open up new powers and spur increased energy production.
"I will also declare a national economic emergency," he said in his inaugural address. "We will drill baby drill."
The TikTok app is also in focus. Trump promised Sunday that he would sign an extension to give the company a reprieve even as legal questions abound about whether he has the authority.
On tariffs, Trump underlined Monday his plans for historic duties while a report from the Wall Street Journal on Monday morning outlined a plan in which Trump would outline his trade vision but not impose new tariffs immediately.
An incoming White House official referred a question on the topic Monday morning to the report and declined to offer additional details.
Trump is also set to sign a presidential memorandum on inflation that will direct federal agencies to look into various ways to bring down costs.
For investors and business leaders set to try to sift through the flurry, many questions clearly remain unanswered both about the orders and their impacts.
In a Monday note, Capital Economics pointed out "the only real certainty is that the path ahead in markets is likely to remain bumpy."
Either way, Trump is clearly aiming to make a splash. During an inauguration eve rally in Washington, Trump said some of his advisers suggested spacing out orders over a series of weeks.
“Like hell we’re going to do it over weeks; we’re going to sign them at the beginning,” Trump said.
Trump is also promising surprises, with a wide array of other issues that could also be addressed, from the federal workforce to crypto to student loans and more. Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) could also be given some formal role in the wave of orders.
Overall, Trump’s primary focus Monday will be on immigration — with orders that could quickly lead to new enforcement actions in the US and on the southern border, even as immigration through Mexico has slowed over the last year.
Trump on Monday promised it would be the beginning of his promised mass deportations , but with economic consequences that could be more gradual.
Not so much for another raft of orders teed up on energy.
Trump aims to quickly empower energy companies within hours.
On Monday, an incoming White House official offered a range of details of the coming energy plans. Much of the early focus will be on orders to cut red tape and regulation of the sector.
Increasing access to natural resources is another key aspect for the Trump team. One executive order is planned specifically on natural resources in Alaska, where the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is located and offshore drilling was hotly debated during the Biden era.
According to the White House official, the logic behind declaring an emergency is that high energy prices are an undue burden on American consumers and that the coming race for artificial intelligence dominance will require huge increases in energy.
"We will be a rich nation again it's that liquid gold under our feet that will help us do it," Trump added in his inaugural address.
Trump also promised Sunday to use his new emergency powers to spur energy development, achieve the lowest electricity rate on earth, and "double" the amount of energy produced in the US.
Other energy plans that appear on the docket are reversing Biden's pause on approvals of liquefied natural gas exports as well as rules around electric vehicles and tailpipe emissions.
Trump is also expected to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accords, an international climate treaty that Trump withdrew from once before but Biden rejoined during his term.
One area of some uncertainty around energy is whether Trump can reverse Biden's move earlier this month to "permanently" protect more than 625 million acres of the US ocean from offshore drilling.
Trump has vowed to reverse it but questions remain about whether that's a day one move or one that takes a little longer.
"We believe that [Trump] does have the authority to reverse it on day one, and we will defend that position in court," said Mike Sommers, the president of the American Petroleum Institute, in a recent call with reporters.
In November, Trump promised specific day one tariff action against Canada and Mexico, saying that on Jan. 20, he would "sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States" because of his concerns about drugs and crime.
But that doesn't appear to be happening, at least not in the immediate hours.
Monday's Wall Street Journal report outlined a plan for the new president to outline his vision and direct federal agencies to study trade policies and the US relationship with China but stop short of imposing new tariffs at least on day one.
Read more: How do tariffs work, and who really pays them?
An incoming White House official referred questions on Trump's trade policy Monday to the paper's report.
But Trump remains likely to go big on tariffs in the weeks ahead and could roll those plans out more gradually — at least in part not to spook markets.
In his inaugural address, Trump focused on how he plans to "enrich Americans" and also touted his plans to create a new "External Revenue Service" as a clearinghouse for the revenues he hopes to obtain.
Some early moderation has been expected for weeks with Tobin Marcus, the head of US Policy and Politics at Wolfe Research, recently writing of his "expectations for 'big but slow' tariffs [where Trump] will ultimately implement major tariffs rather than just making threats for leverage, but many of the big moves will take time."
At his confirmation hearing this week to be the new Treasury secretary, Scott Bessent also underlined the ambitious plans as he defended sweeping tariffs and said that a plank of Trump's coming agenda will be "a more generalized tariff as a revenue raiser for the federal budget."
Of course, Trump and his team are also likely to unveil surprises and a litany of other day one topics in the mix.
Amid a flurry of weekend drama over TikTok's fate in the US, the president-elect on Sunday said he planned to issue the tech company a reprieve when he takes office.
"I will issue an executive order on Monday to extend the period of time before the law’s prohibitions take effect, so that we can make a deal to protect our national security,” Trump posted. “The order will also confirm that there will be no liability for any company that helped keep TikTok from going dark before my order."
TikTok itself responded by coming back online and thanking Trump even as questions swirled about whether Trump could offer such assurances.
In response to TikTok’s move, Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, the chair of the influential Senate intelligence committee, underlined that companies that help TikTok “could face hundreds of billions of dollars of ruinous liability under the law, not just from DOJ, but also under securities law, shareholder lawsuits, and state AGs."
Much of the day one focus for Trump will also be on the federal bureaucracy as he moves forward on long-promised plans to bring government workers — even traditionally nonpolitical ones — under his administration's more direct control.
Student loans could also be on the day one agenda as Trump had vowed to reverse many of Biden's moves toward forgiveness. But the shape remains unclear, with a debate about whether Congress should take up that issue instead.
Read more: Should you refinance your student loans?
Trump also alluded Sunday evening to his plan to pardon his supporters who were convicted of their roles in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US capitol.
"Tomorrow everybody in this very large arena will be very happy with my decision" on the rioters convicted for their roles that day, Trump said.
Trump will also surely use his renewed presidential powers to send a raft of his long-ago-announced nominees to the Senate.
Some are likely to then receive quick approval, like anticipated (for now) Treasury nominee Bessent who had a confirmation hearing this week that touched on tariffs and the Federal Reserve.
He is set for a final Senate Finance Committee vote on Tuesday followed by an expected quick confirmation on the Senate floor soon after that.
This post has been updated with additional developments.
Ben Werschkul is Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance.
Every Friday, Yahoo Finance's Rachelle Akuffo , Rick Newman , and Ben Werschkul bring you a unique look at how US policy and government affect your bottom line on Capitol Gains. Watch or listen to Capitol Gains on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.
