The result of the Presidential Election on Nov. 5 was a major win for the GOP as they seized control of the presidency, moved to a majority in the United States Senate and have now slimly reclaimed the House of Representatives. Since then, president-elect Donald Trump has given more insight on what the first days of his administration may look like and has begun announcing picks for his cabinet.
Earlier last week, Trump appointed Stephen Miller and Thomas Homan to his cabinet. Both men played a role in Trump’s previous administration and are coming back to support Trump on his policies of immigration.
Miller is set to be the President-elects deputy chief of staff for policy; Homan, former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, will be in charge of U.S. borders, taking point as “Border Czar.” Trump has been outspoken about his plan for mass deportations of illegal immigrants. These picks will be critical to supporting Trump as he tries to further his immigration agenda.
On policy, Trump has expressed his plan to ax wasteful government spending through creating the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE — named after the crypto currency DOGE coin. He has appointed Elon Musk and former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to head the department.
While the role of the DOGE is to advise the federal government on their spending, the government is not required to take any advice the department gives because it is not an official government agency. This also means Musk and Ramaswamy will not have to follow the same rules and regulations as elected officials, which has sparked some ethical concerns within the federal government.
Trump also claims that he will shut down the U.S. Department of Education while in office and give education back to the states. The U.S. Department of Education helps fund K-12 schools and programs including Title I schools and special education programs like Individual Education Programs (IEPs) and funds federal student aid programs for college students including student loans, grants and work study programs.
Trump specifically has taken issue with Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives, commonly referred to as DEI, which he claims has given an unfair advantage to some minority groups. In a video statement, Trump said he would fine schools for engaging in DEI and use the funds to pay “restitution for victims” of the initiatives.
DEI initiatives aim to make workplaces, schools and other institutions and organizations accessible, representative and otherwise equitable to people of all identities and backgrounds.
To get American companies to bring manufacturing back to the U.S., Trump aims to place tariffs of at least 60 percent on China, 25 percent on Mexico, and 20 percent on all other imported goods. This has caused much worry among economists who only see the increase of cost incurred by the tariffs being passed onto consumers and not the manufacturers or other entities.
Throughout his campaign, Trump claimed that he would bring a swift end to the war in Ukraine. He has been in contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but his stance has caused worry among the global community as he has steered away from Ukraine’s claim on Crimea, stating that it is lost.
In response to this, countries like Poland have been working with other European nations in order to secure funding and military support for Ukraine in case the U.S. pulls its support once Trump takes office.