After Donald J. Trump’s presidential election victory this past November, everyone on both sides of the political aisle has been anxious to know what he plans to accomplish during his administration. Outlined in his 2024 GOP Platform: Make America Great Again!, President Trump explains that he wants to spend the next four years focusing on the values central to America’s founding: strength, unity, independence, freedom, and patriotism.
But what will that actually look like? President Trump has promised within the first few hours on Day 1 to close the US border, finish building the country’s southern border wall, and carry out the largest domestic deportation mission in American history. This operation would take billions of dollars and millions of workers to be successful. While it would be arduous, however, Trump says he is confident that his plan will come to fruition and make the American people safe as his primary targets will be criminal gangs, those who commit crimes, and those with ties to terrorist organizations (NPR). Critics of Trump’s potential policies, however, feel that industries such as construction and agriculture that employ immigrant labor may suffer if there are fewer workers to fill these primarily unskilled jobs that are stereotypically unappealing to American workers. Fears that families will be targeted for separation and deportation continue to perpetuate though Trump has said that this is not his goal.
President Trump also plans to revisit Biden’s “Green New Deal” environmental agenda and return America to being predominantly energy-independent (meaning: America can supply all of our own needs for natural gas, oil, and electricity to power our expanding needs and not be dependent on foreign countries for these resources). In particular, he is seeking to reduce the cost of gas, which has been viewed as a problem during President Biden’s administration. In his rally at Madison Square Garden, the incoming president said: “We’re going to drill, baby, drill” (NPR). Critics have expressed concerns that Trump’s stance on energy independence will impact initiatives to reduce carbon emissions.
In the area of education, President Trump has vowed to strip schools of their federal funding if they teach students about race, gender, and DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion). Furthermore, he plans to use executive orders to ban transgender women from competing on women’s sports teams. In addition, the administration plans to have Trump’s Education Department’s Office of Civil Rights launch investigations into schools to find evidence for prosecution. President Trump has also promised to investigate schools that use race as a factor in admissions and hiring. He intends to overhaul Title IX with new rules that will determine how schools respond to sexual misconduct situations. Overall, Trump has said he wants to implement school initiatives that will “promote fair and patriotic civics education” (POLITICO).
Following through with a campaign promise that President Trump initiated during his first administration, the United States Navy will be expanded and strengthened. He wants to make the Navy the largest and best it has ever historically been. President Trump aims to build this branch of the military to at least 355 ships.
In addition, President Trump is aiming to reduce the amount of federal powers exerted on the American population. His first step? To create a new “Department of Government Efficiency,” headed by Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk. “DOGE” will examine the bureaucracy and propose ways to make the government more effective, more efficient, and less invasive in the lives of everyday Americans. In an interview, Musk stated that he is estimating $2 trillion in budget cuts.
It is certainly going to be an eventful time in American politics, and I for one know that I will be watching the news every night!
By: Sarah Lange
Co-Editor-in-Chief, Editor of Opinions and Politics
