Explainer | What is Trump’s second-term agenda? Revenge, trade wars and mass deportations
- Donald Trump has laid out a sweeping set of policy goals should he win a second term
- Here is a look at some of the policies the Republican front runner wants to institute
Republican former US president Donald Trump plans to punish his political enemies, deport millions of migrants and reshape global trade with pricey tariffs if he wins a second White House term in the November 2024 presidential election, according to his campaign and media reports.
Trade
He has also said he should have the authority to set higher tariffs on countries that have established tariffs on American imports.
Federal Bureaucracy
Trump would seek to decimate what he terms the “deep state” – career federal employees he says are clandestinely pursuing their own agendas – through an executive order that would reclassify thousands of workers to enable them to be fired. That would likely be challenged in court. He has vowed to fire what he terms “corrupt” actors in national security positions and “root out” his political opponents.
Trump would require every federal employee to pass a new civil service test of his own creation. His team is also vetting scores of potential hires who could be counted on to implement his policies or perhaps investigate Trump’s political enemies.
He would crack down on federal whistle-blowers who are typically shielded by law and would institute an independent body to “monitor” US intelligence agencies.
Trump also would seek to bring independent regulatory agencies such as the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission under presidential control.