Reader Q&A

How quickly and easily can Trump make changes? What is the future of women's health? Can RFK ban vaccines? All that and more...

How quickly can Trump begin to make major changes?

Trump and his allies have made a lot of campaign promises. Some of them he’ll be able to accomplish relatively quickly. Others, he’ll need the help of Congress. Currently, control of the House is still up in the air (it will likely take days for the remainder of the votes to be counted.), but Republicans have control of the Senate.

During his victory speech, Trump said that voters had given him a “powerful mandate,” which is the idea that the voters have spoken and like his ideas, and he is empowered to move forward with his campaign promises. In many ways, he will be more empowered than he was in 2016, when he won the electoral college but lost the popular vote.

Since Trump was last in office, the Supreme Court has granted presidents broad immunity for official acts. Whether or not acts are official or unofficial must be decided by a court. While the Supreme Court gave a few examples of official acts, they kicked most of the decision making back to the lower court, which has not ruled yet.

Mass Deportations 

Trump has promised to conduct militarized mass deportations of undocumented immigrants as soon as he gets into office. Longtime Trump adviser Stephen Miller, who is likely to return to the White House and lead immigration policy, said on Fox News on Wednesday that mass deportations will start on Inauguration Day, “the instant [Trump] takes the oath of office.”