On November 5th, 2024, America elected its 47th president. Despite mixed feelings on the newly reelected president, one emotion remains constant across America for many: uncertainty about what is to come. 

 As someone who moved to America from England, I often feel I have  a unique perspective as I have the ability to perceive American policies from an external view due to my strong connection to Europe.

 As I returned home to the UK for Thanksgiving many asked me how our country could possibly re-elect Trump. Many also reminded me of the impact that this will have for European countries, especially those in NATO as Trump threatens to withdraw from it.  Over in America though, we don’t have a choice to question the result. 

Like many, I am frustrated. Amongst this frustration, though, I recognize the far more urgent need to focus on the upcoming Trump term as it has the ability to reshape America. Turning it into a country that represents his extremist policies and beliefs that are often not based on clear fact.

Trump will be inaugurated into office on January 20, 2025. He has expressed his intention and willingness to use his ‘trifecta’ control over the federal government to ensure the efficient passage of his favored policies.

Trump has said throughout his campaign that on day one of his presidency he plans to close the Mexican border and launch the largest domestic deportation operation in American history. NPR has stated that groups like the American Immigration Council have projected that this alone could cost America billions of dollars to implement. 

Not only is this a large cost but the impact economically could also be devastating.  Undocumented immigrants are the backbone of the unskilled labor economy, a case study by the Center for Migration Studies revealed that they contribute over 97 billion dollars in local, state, as well as Federal taxes. 

Losing that large amount of money would have a significant impact on the economy and put 10 million citizens into hardship. Undocumented immigrants also often do the jobs that documented Americans are disproportionately against doing to begin with. According to The Guardian, it is estimated that 8-9 million of them are doing jobs that either are underemployed or are simply unfavorable for documented Americans.

Outside of  immigration, Trump’s allies have also been arranging key executive orders that will help him achieve his agenda while in office. It is believed that he will be re-imposing his schedule F executive order that would reclassify a large amount of federal staff as “at-will employees” which will decrease their civil protections. 

This policy would pave the way for civil service workers to be replaced by political partisans who are more invested in carrying out Trump’s policies. This would happen through reclassification. Thousands of Civil Servants who are nonpartisan experts—scientists, doctors, lawyers, economists — whose work is to advise and inform policymakers would be reclassified to be the same as political appointees who are changed from administration to administration. 

When this was originally proposed back in 2020 according to the Independent Office of Budget and Management estimated this reclassification would impact 88 percent of its workforce. The job of these experts is supposed to be done in a way that is fact-driven and devoid of politics but instead they will  have to constantly fear for their jobs and make sure their actions follow Trumpsim versus providing non-partisan information.  

This order would allow them to be fired at will and replaced with employees that support Trump’s goals for office. Outside of reclassification NPR has stated there would also be a substantial impact on Federal Unions that negotiate contracts and help members with complaints about their work environment.

In the weeks since the election, Trump has started to appoint  his cabinet of executives. Beyond the ‘Border Czar’, he has made other notable selections. Viviek Ramasawmay and Elon Musk have been placed in charge of government efficiency, as reported by the New York Times. 

 Their panel will focus on identifying regulations that should be eliminated by Trump. They plan to “focus particularly on driving change through executive action based on existing legislation rather than by passing new laws,”  notes The Hill.  

Musk and Ramaswamy believe several recent Supreme Court decisions have taken aim at the power of the administrative state. They argue  that there are many current federal regulations that  exceed agency authority and could be the first to be eliminated.

Removing these regulations would lead to cuts within the government workforce. This would lead to fewer employees being required to enforce as many regulations, and the agency itself would produce fewer regulations once its scope of authority is “properly limited” (The Hill).

After examining the upcoming plans of the Trump administration it is easy to declare that Trump’s policy, if implemented, will have a devastating impact within our country. From marginalizing undocumented migrants that are an undeniable backbone within our country to demanding loyalty above ethicality within our Federal government.

 These pieces of Trump’s new legislation emphasize the new age he plans to bring to America in 2025. Though it is  unclear if these ideas will go as far as planned, there seems to be a clear layout of what he wishes to accomplish within the first few months, or even days.