Donald Trump will launch his second White House term with aggressive moves to cut immigration and boost oil and gas production, but stopped short of imposing long-expected tariffs on the morning of his inauguration.
As the incoming president prepared to take the oath of office on Monday morning, senior officials in his administration said he would sign a host of executive orders to fulfil campaign pledges from securing the border to improving US energy security.
Officials said Trump would declare national emergencies on energy in a bid to lower petrol prices and on the border to take new measures to stop undocumented migrants.
He was also set to direct federal agencies to take new steps to lower inflation, as a top priority, though officials did not outline any specific measures to achieve this.
Trump will not immediately impose new tariffs, despite campaign promises to introduce a universal levy on global imports and higher rates for China, Canada and Mexico.
The apparent hesitance suggests that his top aides are still grappling with how aggressively to slap levies on America’s top trading partners.
The dollar dropped 1 per cent against a basket of six peers in US morning trading, putting it on course for its biggest daily decline in more than five months.
Trump will be sworn in as the 47th US president at midday local time and deliver his inaugural address on Capitol Hill in a ceremony that was moved indoors due to subfreezing temperatures.
Trump is re-entering the White House with broader support from the public and the US business community than when he left office in 2021 under the cloud of his efforts to overturn his defeat to Joe Biden.
But he still faces the daunting task of delivering on his promise to lower the cost of living for middle-class households, a key pledge that was most potent political weapon in his victorious campaign against Kamala Harris.
“[The cost of living] is a crucial issue that necessitates decisive action,” a senior Trump adviser told reporters on Monday morning.
Trump is counting on moves to boost domestic oil and gas production to help reach that goal.
Many economists fear that some of Trump’s policies, such as plans for additional tariffs and the crackdown on immigration, will further stoke inflation rather than reduce it.
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