If you were hoping for moderate Republicans in Congress to dial down Donald Trump’s most extreme plans on immigration and tariffs, think again. Trump is not waiting for Congress to catch up. In fact, he’s making it clear that he’s ready to move full speed ahead with his MAGA vision, no holds barred. During a recent meeting with Senate Republicans, Trump revealed his plan to take action right away—no waiting around. And to back it up, he’s already prepared over 100 executive orders.
What does that mean? Well, Trump has been digging into some old laws from around 50 years ago, figuring out how he can use them to push his plans through without having to wait for Congress to sign off. He’s not worried about stepping on any constitutional toes; he’s ready to take his chances with the courts.
For example, when it comes to mass deportations, he’s looking at the 1976 National Emergencies Act to help pay for it. This was the same act he used during his first term to fund parts of his border wall. And while previous presidents used this law for things like national emergencies (like after the 9/11 attacks), Trump is eyeing it as a way to bypass Congress and get what he wants.
And that’s not all. Trump is also eyeing a 1944 law—Title 42 of the Public Health Service Act—which allows the government to expel migrants during health emergencies. While the CDC used it during the COVID-19 pandemic, Trump seems to be trying to find a new health crisis to justify using it again.
But here’s where things get even more interesting. Trump is reportedly planning to challenge the Constitution itself by issuing an executive order to limit birthright citizenship. This is despite the fact that the 14th Amendment clearly guarantees it. Instead of going through the tough process of changing the Constitution, Trump’s plan seems to be to issue an executive order and let the Supreme Court figure it out.
When it comes to tariffs, Trump’s eyeing two laws from the 1970s that could give him the power to slap tariffs on foreign goods, even without Congressional approval. The 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the 1974 Trade Act give presidents the power to impose tariffs during national emergencies or for national security reasons. Of course, the Supreme Court has held that any policy with major economic and political impact should be closely scrutinized to see if Congress actually meant to give such power. The Court has used the “major questions doctrine” to strike down some of Biden’s policies, so it’ll be interesting to see if they hold Trump to the same standard.
To add to the drama, Trump recently announced plans to create an “external revenue service” to collect revenue from foreign sources. This might sound like a clever workaround, but it raises the question of whether Congress would actually approve it.
And then there are the tariffs themselves. Trump proposed a 25% tariff on all products from Mexico and Canada, and a 10% tariff on goods from China. That would amount to a staggering $272 billion in taxes. The catch? These tariffs would be paid by American businesses importing these goods—and guess who gets stuck with the bill? Yep, American consumers.
Already, business groups are pushing back, asking for exceptions to these tariffs. And, not surprisingly, many of America’s wealthiest business owners are heading to Washington D.C. for Trump’s inauguration, perhaps hoping to make their voices heard before these plans go into effect.
In the coming months, it looks like Trump is ready to test the limits of presidential power—and it’s anyone’s guess how far he’ll be able to go.
