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DAY ONE: Here’s what Trump could do on his first day in office

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From The Center Square

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President-elect Donald Trump, who is set to take office Monday, has made a series of promises of major executive actions on “day one” in office.

One of the simplest and more controversial of those “day one” plans is to pardon some of the Jan. 6 protesters currently behind bars or facing prosecution. The president has broad power to pardon, shown most recently when President Joe Biden pardoned his own son for crimes he committed or may have committed over more than a decade span.

But Trump’s “day one” executive orders are far from limited to pardons.

On energy policy, Trump has pledged to open up domestic oil drilling in a major way in an effort to lower costs for Americans and boost the energy industry. He has also promised to end a Biden-era rule that would require more than half of Americans to transition to electric vehicles over the next decade.

Trump has also consistently tapped into America’s frustration over the border crisis and broken immigration system.

Since President Joe Biden took office, more than 12 million illegal immigrants have entered the U.S., overwhelming some cities and raising national security concerns, since some migrants are on the federal terror watch list.

Trump has also promised to end transgender participation in women’s sports, something lawmakers in the House have already passed a bill to quench.

Trump has threatened “day one” tariffs as well, though it is unclear how wide-ranging those tariffs could be, since Trump likes to wield them as a negotiating tool against other nations.

On foreign policy, a ceasefire in the war between Hamas and Israel apparently has been reached, just days before Trump took office. In the Ukraine-Russia war, Trump promised on the campaign trail to put an end to that war “in 24 hours.”

In a series of campaign speeches and media interviews, Trump has promised some “day one” actions to address the border and immigration crises.

These actions include:

• Trump has plans to reinstate Title 42, a COVID-era policy that helps shut down the southern border.

• Trump has said he would also reinstate “Remain in Mexico,” a policy that Trump used during his first term that requires asylum seekers to wait in Mexico for their claim to be processed. Biden ended that policy and let migrants in and asked questions later.

• According to Politico, Trump is considering designating cartels south of the border as terrorist organizations, a policy once pushed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis when he was running for president that could open up a flood of new resources and executive powers at the border. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott designated the violent Venezuelan prison gang, Tren de Aragua, a foreign terrorist organization last year.

• Trump has threatened to end birthright citizenship for the children of illegal immigrants born in the U.S., but it remains unclear if he has the Constitutional authority to do so since birthright citizenship is enshrined in the 14th Amendment.

• Trump has made overtly clear that he plans to kickstart a massive, never-before-seen deportation program for the millions of illegal immigrants in the U.S. Trump’s appointee as border czar, Tom Homan, has been clear saying publicly that Trump named this as a top priority when choosing him for the job.

“On day one, we will SHUT DOWN THE BORDER and start deporting millions of Biden’s Illegal Criminals,” Trump said over the summer during the campaign. “We will once again put AMERICANS First and MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN!”

conflict

Russia rejects offer to swap territory gained with Ukraine

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Quick Hit:

The Kremlin has flatly rejected a proposal by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to swap Russian-held Ukrainian land for territory in Russia’s Kursk region controlled by Kyiv. Moscow insists it will not negotiate on its occupied land and has vowed to expel Ukrainian forces from Kursk.

Key Details:

  • The Ukrainian president suggested exchanging parts of Kursk that Ukraine controls for unspecified Russian-occupied Ukrainian land.
  • Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declared the idea “impossible” and insisted Russia would never discuss swapping territory.
  • Russian forces continue fighting to push Ukrainian troops out of Kursk, while Ukraine attempts to regain control of its own land.

Diving Deeper:

Russia has firmly rejected a proposed land swap suggested by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, dismissing any notion of trading occupied Ukrainian territory for parts of Russia’s Kursk region that Kyiv seized in a cross-border attack last year.

The idea, which Zelensky discussed with The Guardian, was aimed at finding a diplomatic path toward ending the war. “We will swap one territory for another,” Zelensky said, though he did not specify which Russian-occupied areas Ukraine would demand in return. He emphasized that every piece of Ukrainian land is important, declining to name any priorities.

Moscow’s response was swift and unequivocal. “This is impossible,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “Russia has never discussed and will not discuss the exchange of its territory.” He reaffirmed Russia’s determination to remove Ukrainian forces from Kursk, either by force or by expulsion.

Ukraine’s military made a surprise incursion into Kursk last August, securing pockets of land that Russian forces have been struggling to reclaim. President Vladimir Putin previously assured Russians that Ukrainian troops would be removed but declined to specify a timeline.

Currently, Russia occupies nearly 20% of Ukraine—more than 112,000 square kilometers—while Ukraine controls around 450 square kilometers of Kursk, according to battlefield maps.

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U.S. Seizes Fentanyl Shipment From Canada In Seattle, As Washington Pressures Ottawa on Crime Networks

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Sam Cooper

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers have intercepted a shipment containing more than one pound of fentanyl from Canada, marking the latest sign of an accelerating crisis along the BC-Washington border. The fentanyl, concealed within a package believed to have originated in British Columbia, was discovered during a targeted enforcement operation at a Seattle shipping facility on February 6.

The package contained a brown, rock-like substance wrapped in plastic bags. Subsequent testing confirmed it was fentanyl, the synthetic opioid driving tens of thousands of overdose deaths in North America each year.

Area Port Director Rene Ortega, speaking about the seizure, underscored its broader implications. “Fentanyl is an extremely dangerous synthetic drug that continues to devastate communities across the United States,” Ortega said. “CBP remains committed to using every available tool to stop these lethal substances before they reach our streets.”

The latest seizure is part of an escalating pattern that has prompted increasingly aggressive responses from Washington. President Donald Trump has warned of sweeping tariffs in the coming weeks unless Ottawa delivers a credible, actionable plan to crack down on transnational crime networks driving fentanyl production. These networks—operating primarily out of British Columbia—are deeply entrenched with organized crime groups from China and Mexico.

The Bureau has reported extensively on Washington’s mounting frustration with Canada’s handling of the fentanyl crisis. BC Mayor Brad West, who has been in direct communication with senior U.S. officials, has described an urgent shift in tone from American law enforcement and intelligence agencies. In a high-level 2023 meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, West was briefed on just how seriously Washington views Canada’s role in the illicit drug trade.

“This is no longer just a Canadian domestic issue,” West told The Bureau. “Secretary Blinken made it clear that the Biden administration sees fentanyl as an existential threat. They’re building a global coalition and need Canada fully on board. If we don’t show real progress, the U.S. will protect itself by any means—tariffs or otherwise.”

Concerns extend beyond law enforcement. According to multiple sources with direct knowledge of U.S. intelligence assessments, American agencies have begun withholding key evidence from their Canadian counterparts, citing a lack of confidence that Ottawa will act on it. West confirmed that in his ongoing discussions with senior U.S. officials, they have voiced alarm over the level of access major figures in Asian organized crime appear to have within Canada’s political class.

“They’re basically asking, ‘What’s going on in Canada?’” West said.

The frustration is not new. For years, U.S. and international law enforcement agencies have sought to curb the transnational reach of organizations like Sam Gor, the powerful Asian organized crime syndicate that dominates much of the fentanyl precursor supply chain. But Canada’s response has been widely seen as inadequate. Critics argue that political sensitivities and reluctance to confront entrenched criminal networks have left Canadian law enforcement hamstrung.

The question now is whether Ottawa will take decisive action. Bringing forward measures as sweeping as a RICO-style anti-mafia statute or invoking the notwithstanding clause to bypass legal obstacles to tougher enforcement would represent a sharp departure from the status quo. Both approaches would require confronting entrenched political, legal and economic interests, as well as explaining why existing laws have failed to secure convictions against the most powerful actors in organized crime.

West believes the shifting geopolitical landscape may force Ottawa’s hand. Washington’s patience, he warns, ran thin years ago—and the U.S. is now signaling it will no longer wait.

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