With Donald Trump‘s return to the White House for a second term just days away, Americans — and the rest of the world — are bracing themselves for several bold and potentially controversial policy changes.
From policies on immigration, the climate crisis, foreign wars and tariffs, the impact will be felt in all aspects of American life and across the globe.
While some of his proposals would require congressional approval, many wouldn’t.
Here is a summary of the key policies he has said he would pursue during his second term in office.
Immigration, the border and mass deportations
Trump has vowed to implement the most sweeping mass deportation effort in American history
Olivier Touron / AFP via Getty Images
He has pledged to limit access to asylum at the US-Mexico border and has said he would end “catch-and-release” — the release of migrants into the community while they await their immigration court hearings. He would also reinstate Remain in Mexico, a policy from his first term that required asylum seekers to wait in Mexico while their cases were processed.
Mr Trump has said he will employ the National Guard and, if necessary, federal troops, to achieve his objectives. He has pledged to build huge detention camps to intern migrants.
The president-elect has also announced plans to challenge the longstanding interpretation of the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution by seeking to end automatic citizenship for children born to immigrants.
He has indicated he may revoke protected legal status for certain groups, such as Haitians and Venezuelans, and pledged to reinstate the “travel ban”. This limits entry from several predominantly Muslim countries — a policy that led to numerous legal battles during his first term.
Abortion and healthcare
Trump appointed three justices to the US Supreme Court who were part of the majority who overturned Roe v Wade’s constitutional protection for abortion
Frederic J Brown / AFP via Getty Images
Mr Trump’s policies and rhetoric on reproductive healthcare are somewhat contradictory. He appointed three justices to the Supreme Court who were part of the majority who overturned Roe v Wade‘s constitutional protection for abortion. He likely would continue to appoint federal judges who would uphold abortion limits.
On the other hand, he has said a federal abortion ban is unnecessary and that the issue should be left to each state (weeks before that, he refused to say whether he would veto such a ban). He has also commented that a ban on abortions after six weeks of gestation is “too short”, but has held conflicting views on the subject. Many Republicans have said that such a restriction is overly harsh and that any legislation should include exceptions for rape, incest and the health of the mother.
Mr Trump has suggested he would not seek to limit access to the abortion drug mifepristone after the Supreme Court rejected a challenge to the government’s approach to regulating it. However, Project 2025, the 900-page conservative blueprint for the next Republican president, suggested using a 19th-century law to ban the mailing of abortion pills. Mr Trump has also said he would make In vitro fertilisation (IVF) free for women, despite Republicans in Congress repeatedly blocking legislation that would protect the treatment.
On healthcare in general, in a radical shake-up, the president-elect has nominated vaccine sceptic Robert F Kennedy Jr for health secretary. Mr Kennedy has repeatedly peddled the debunked claim that vaccines cause autism. He has called for eliminating “toxic additives and pesticide residues” in food, promoting alternative medicine and ending fluoridation of public water.
Climate change and energy policies
Mr Trump has said he will again pull the United States out of the Paris Climate Accords, a framework for reducing global greenhouse gas emissions
Astrid Riecken / Getty Images
Mr Trump vowed to boost US fossil fuel production by easing the permission process for drilling on federal land and encouraging the development of new natural gas pipelines. He said he would reauthorise oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. On the campaign trail, he summarised his policy with the declaration: “Drill, baby, drill”.
He has previously dismissed the climate crisis as an “expensive hoax”, and described it as “mythical”. He has said he will again pull the United States out of the Paris Climate Accords, a framework for reducing global greenhouse gas emissions, and would support increased nuclear energy production. During his first term, he rolled back many environmental policies. He is especially opposed to wind power, falsely claiming wind turbines cause cancer, kill birds and “drive the whales crazy” and criticising the British government for investing in more offshore wind turbines.
He has also said he will roll back Joe Biden‘s electric vehicle mandates and other policies to reduce auto emissions.
Foreign policy – Gaza, Ukraine and Nato
Trump has backed Israel’s mission in Gaza, but has also urged it to wrap up its offensive
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Mr Trump has criticised American aid to Ukraine in its war with Russia and has vowed to “fundamentally re-evaluate” the country’s approach. On the campaign trail, he said he could end the war in 24 hours if elected — although he has not said how he would achieve this. With his election win sealed, Mr Trump renewed his calls for the war to end in December. He wrote on Truth Social: “I know Vladimir well. This is his time to act. China can help. The World is waiting!”
Mr Trump has refused to say whether he has spoken to Mr Putin since being elected president.
The president-elect has backed Israel’s mission in Gaza and has previously pushed a plan that would allow Israel to gain greater control over the Palestinians. While he has urged Israel to wrap up its offensive, he has also said there would be “hell to pay” if Hamas does not free its Israeli hostages by his inauguration.
Mr Trump can be expected to continue the Biden administration’s policy of arming Israel.
Domestically he has advocated an aggressive response to pro-Palestinian protests. He has suggested he would strip foreign students of their visas if they express antisemitic or anti-American views. Mr Trump also said he would “stop the suffering and destruction in Lebanon”, but did not elaborate on how he would achieve this.
Trump has targeted China in particular, implementing a 60% tariff on all Chinese goods
Andrew Harrer / Bloomberg via Getty Images
Mr Trump has said “tariff” is his favourite word in the dictionary, and that he will impose between a 10 and 20 per cent across-the-board tariff on all imports of US goods worth $3 trillion (£2.4tn). He has said the plans will eliminate the trade deficit, but critics say it would cause higher prices for American consumers and global economic instability.
He has targeted China, implementing a 60 per cent tariff on all Chinese goods and proposing the gradual elimination of imports of goods such as electronics, steel and pharmaceuticals over four years. He plans to prohibit Chinese companies from owning US real estate and infrastructure in the energy and tech sectors.
He has also stated that he should have the power to impose higher tariffs on countries with levied tariffs on US imports. He has warned of a potential 200 per cent tariff on certain imported cars, specifically targeting vehicles from Mexico. Additionally, he has hinted that even close allies, including the European Union, could face increased duties on their products.
The president-elect has vowed to keep in place a broad sweep of 2017 tax cuts that he signed while in office
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In addition to his trade and energy agendas, Mr Trump has promised to slash federal regulations limiting job creation. He has vowed to maintain many 2017 tax cuts he signed in office. The cuts are set to expire at the end of 2025, but he has pledged to make them permanent.
He has also pledged to reduce the corporate tax rate from 21 per cent to 15 per cent for companies that manufacture in the US
Mr Trump has proposed to seek legislation removing taxes on tips and overtime pay, aiming to support waiters and other service workers. He has also promised not to tax or reduce Social Security benefits.
Additionally, Mr Trump has said that he would pressure the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates, though he would stop short of directly demanding it.
Most, if not all, of his tax proposals would require approval from Congress. Budget analysts have cautioned that such widespread tax cuts could significantly increase the federal debt.
Trump has vowed to direct all federal agencies to eliminate programmes that ‘promote gender transition at any age’
Ira L Black / Corbis via Getty Images
Trump has threatened to withhold federal funds from schools teaching certain race-related curricula. He has instructed the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights to investigate these programmes and potentially revoke their funding.
His administration previously took similar actions. Under former education secretary Betsy DeVos, the Civil Rights Office determined that allowing transgender women to compete on women’s sports teams violated Title IX, a federal anti-discrimination law. She used this interpretation to threaten local school boards with legal action or funding cuts.
Mr Trump has vowed to direct all federal agencies to eliminate programmes that “promote gender transition at any age”; cut funding to hospitals providing gender-affirming care; and push for a federal law that would not legally recognise transgender individuals. He has also promised to rescind federal LGBTQ+ non-discrimination policies and has previously banned transgender people from serving in the military.
He has pledged to require US colleges and universities to uphold “American tradition and Western civilisation” by eliminating diversity programmes and to direct the Justice Department to pursue civil rights cases against schools practising racial discrimination. For K-12 schools (schools that offer education from kindergarten through to 12th grade), he supports programmes that allow parents to use public funds for private or religious education.
Additionally, Project 2025 proposes replacing the Biden-Harris administration’s policies with those that promote “heterosexual, intact marriage”.
Press freedom, democracy and purging federal bureaucracy
Trump has said he could pardon those convicted of crimes related to the January 6 Capitol insurrection
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Mr Trump has at times pledged to use federal law enforcement agencies to investigate his political opponents, including election officials, attorneys, and party donors. In this context, he has mooted the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate President Biden, although he has not specified the grounds for such an inquiry.
He has also indicated that he would consider firing a US attorney who did not comply with his directives. This would depart from the longstanding policy of maintaining an independent federal law-enforcement system.
Additionally, he has proposed using the government’s regulatory powers to target his critics, such as television networks. He regularly calls the press “fake news” and the “enemy of the people”, and recently demanded that CBS News lose its broadcast licence.
The president-elect has vowed to dismantle what he calls the “deep state”, referring to career federal employees whom he claims are secretly advancing their agendas. He has suggested issuing an executive order to reclassify thousands of federal workers, making it easier to fire them, though this move would likely face legal challenges.
He has announced the formation of an independent government efficiency panel, co-led by billionaire X owner Elon Musk, to identify and eliminate waste in the federal government. The panel “will pave the way for my Administration to dismantle Government Bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure Federal Agencies,” the president-elect said.
Mr Trump has signalled that he would crack down on federal whistle-blowers, typically protected by law, and establish an independent body to “monitor” US intelligence agencies.
