Newsweek, January 2025
President Donald Trump entered the White House promising drastic and major reform of the way America is governed. To achieve even a portion of that, Trump needs to act rapidly. He may only have two years—at best—to drive it through. Trump has Republican majorities in the House and Senate and secured a conservative majority in the Supreme Court. He is also swapping out swathes of neutral federal roles for political appointments and plans to put his executive powers to full use.
All this will grease the wheels of the Trump train as it attempts to push through contentious policies such as ending birthright citizenship, deporting millions of undocumented migrants, sweeping import tariffs, drilling on federal lands, and more. Whilst some of these can be undertaken through executive actions, Trump may eventually hit the bumpers in Congress. Trump’s elevated approval numbers are low by relative standards, and he faces bitter political and legal fights in the months ahead.
