Trump 2.0 in the White House: More power and greater experience to push his agenda

On January 20, 2017, the first day of Donald Trump’s first era, the newly inaugurated president of the United States entered the Oval Office and, at that grave moment, in that solemn place… he noticed how well lit the room was. “How do they get the lighting to do that?” he marveled out loud, before inviting his daughter Ivanka and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to come in and take photos with him.

Reporters Peter Baker and Susan Glasser use that anecdote at the beginning of The Divider, perhaps the best book on those turbulent years in the White House, to introduce “America’s first reality television star turned president.”

With 71 days remaining before he crosses that threshold once more and assumes the role of president for a second term, the story of that first day serves as a stark reminder: Trump, who initially took office by surprise and with minimal understanding of the complexities of governing the world’s leading power, will now return armed with an intimate knowledge of Washington’s levers of power. After four years in political exile, he has had ample time to plot his revenge. In other words, he now stands poised to fulfill his promises — including the deportation of millions, the dismantling of progressive advances and “woke ideology,” potential persecution of his opponents, and enacting measures that could have severe consequences for global climate efforts. This time, he needs no introduction to where, or more importantly who, turns on the lights at the White House.

“So he came with a mission: to drain the swamp,” Republican supporter Dee Sharp recalled last Tuesday as she left the Palm Beach polling station where Trump voted on the day of his landslide victory over Kamala Harris. “But it took him too long to realize that he had surrounded himself with creatures from the swamp,” said Sharp. “This time it will be different.”

The first signs Trump has sent about how he plans to approach his second chance seem to prove Sharp right. The president-elect, fresh from declaring victory, began shaping his transition team by appointing Susie Wiles, the discreet and loyal architect of his successful campaign. This move aligns with what his future vice president, J.D. Vance, called “the greatest political comeback in the history of the United States.” Wiles is set to become Trump’s chief of staff, a position that has never been held by a woman.

The significance of the chief of staff position — akin to a shadow prime minister — cannot be overstated, nor can the degree of power it holds when it comes to organizing life within the official residence and managing access to the president. Fans of The West Wing will recall the pivotal role of Leo McGarry. Susie Wiles, who lists “creating order out of chaos” among her skills on LinkedIn, has made it a condition for accepting the role that she has final say over who enters the Oval Office. And that speaks volumes about the atmosphere that will surround Trump 2.0: the goal is to avoid the image of a four-ring circus, led by an erratic ringmaster, that characterized Trump’s first presidency. Or, as a common refrain circulating in Washington — an overwhelmingly Democratic city that has been in a gloomy mood since Election Day —, goes: “Trump may not have changed, but everything around him has.”

Whether these changes will be enough to temper the impulses of a man famous for his TV show catchphrase “You’re fired!” — and who made such decisions an art on Twitter during his presidency — remains uncertain. The fact that Trump announced Wiles’s appointment in a formal statement might suggest a shift in his approach to managing personnel. Reince Priebus, the first of four chiefs of staff during Trump’s 2017–2021 term, once noted that Trump “only likes two kinds of people: those who used to work for him, and those who are about to.”

For this new chapter, Trump is seeking loyal members of the MAGA movement who are unlikely to challenge him. This time, the list includes names such as the businessman Elon Musk, who has said he plans to work as an advisor in the containment of federal spending, or Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a famous anti-vaccine activist who, to the astonishment of the medical establishment, is being considered for a leadership role in health management. Other names include Senator Marco Rubio (Florida), rumored to be eyeing Secretary of State if Kennedy doesn’t prevent it, and Senator Mike Lee (Utah), who is being touted as Attorney General. North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum is seen as a candidate for “energy czar,” a role that would align with a climate-skeptical agenda. Venture capitalist Scott Bessent is also under consideration for Treasury Secretary.

Another pivotal figure is his next vice president, J.D. Vance. A staunch far-right populist and vocal cultural warrior, Vance is the most dependable heir to the MAGA legacy. He represents a choice with whom Trump appears to be far more at ease compared to Mike Pence, his vice president from eight years ago. Pence began his tenure in 2017, fully aware that his role would be largely ceremonial, and ended it under extraordinary circumstances — fleeing a mob of Trump supporters who, during the January 6 Capitol attack, called for him to be hanged.

A perfect storm of power

Unlike his first term, Trump’s upcoming Cabinet is poised to benefit from the advantageous backdrop of a Republican-controlled Senate, and all signs suggest that, pending final vote counts, the House of Representatives will also fall under Republican control. This positioning marks a stark contrast to 2017, as Trump 2.0 is not returning as a president who lost the popular vote or amid suspicions of foreign meddling. Instead, he will step into office with a strengthened mandate, well-situated to pursue his long-standing objectives: dismantling the bureaucratic machinery of Washington — potentially threatening thousands of federal jobs — and curbing the rights of transgender individuals, particularly in women’s sports and the military.

Adding to this unprecedented power is the backing of the Supreme Court, which now boasts a 6-3 conservative supermajority not seen since the 1930s. Notably, three of those justices were appointed by Trump during his first term. Should he succeed in persuading one of the three progressive justices to retire, he could solidify his influence over the court for decades.

This convergence of factors forms a perfect storm of power. As Yuval Levin, one of Washington’s most respected conservative thinkers, aptly states, “In the US, Congress [the legislative branch] is in charge of shaping the future, the courts [judicial] of reviewing the past, and the president [executive] of acting in the present.”

Trump — who showed little respect for the law and democratic traditions in his first presidency — returns to the White House in a scenario distinctly more favorable than before, with the confidence born from the support of a diverse coalition of voters. These backers stood by him despite his role in inciting the Capitol assault and the shadow of four criminal trials — now likely to fade away following his resounding electoral victory, reminiscent of the line in Blade Runner: “like tears in the rain.” These legal battles bolstered his image among supporters, allowing Trump to present himself as a victim of persecution.

Moreover, surviving two assassination attempts during the campaign further enhanced his standing as a fighter, even as someone touched by God. The rest of his comeback can be attributed to his strategic rhetoric and ability to tap into public frustration. Amid the discontent fueled by inflation and disillusionment with elite complacency, Trump managed to persuade voters to focus on the periods of economic prosperity during his first term. This selective memory overshadowed his administration’s more controversial moments, such as the cruel family separation policy at the border, the fact that he paved the way for the Supreme Court to overturn the right to abortion, and his infamous suggestion to inject bleach as a remedy for Covid-19.

In recent months, Trump has been promoting an agenda at large, unpredictable rallies that leans into extremism while reaffirming the “America First” doctrine. This ideology finds its clearest articulation in Project 2025, a blueprint created by a Washington think tank. Although Trump has tried to distance himself from this document, over a hundred of his allies contributed to its development, and his running mate, J.D. Vance, penned the foreword to a new book by its director, Kevin Roberts.

Regardless of his stance on Project 2025, there is an evident urgency to implement Trump’s agenda swiftly. His transition team is already preparing a slate of executive orders and presidential proclamations targeting climate and energy policy. These actions are part of a broader strategy to reshape the influence of federal agencies responsible for decisions on air and water quality, national parks, and gun control, transferring more power back to the states.

This agenda includes resuming oil and liquefied natural gas exploration and reviving coal mining — decisions that could undermine the autonomy of Native American tribes. Trump’s tension with these tribes dates back to his Atlantic City casino ventures, where their gambling operations posed direct competition, since gambling is allowed on Indian reservations.

Deportation

A centerpiece of Trump’s platform is his promise to carry out the largest deportation operation in U.S. history, using an 18th-century law that permits the expulsion of “enemies.” But before this move — on his first day in office — he plans to seal the border. It is not clear how he intends to carry out such a large-scale operation, nor how he will pay for it: there are around 11 million undocumented migrants in the U.S., although Republicans often inflates this figure to 15 million, citing supposed surges during Joe Biden’s presidency.

Among other measures, Trump — who won historic support from Latino voters — has promised to terminate DACA, the program that protects “Dreamers” — young people brought to the U.S. illegally who renew their status every two years. He also aims to revoke temporary protected status and humanitarian parole that has been granted to hundreds of thousands people from nations where their safety is at risk, and to end the practice of granting citizenship to children born in the U.S. whose parents are undocumented.

Economic promises

The practicality and impact of Trump’s economic promises also remain unclear. These proposals, seemingly made without thorough consideration of their repercussions, were effective in convincing millions of voters eager to believe in his ability to lower living costs and control inflation — despite the fact that the Federal Reserve has already taken measures to address inflation. His strategy includes a blend of higher import tariffs, deregulation, and tax cuts spanning from corporate taxes to property taxes, and even taxes on Social Security benefits, tips, and overtime pay. Experts warn that this array of populist initiatives could exacerbate the already formidable public deficit, potentially adding about $6 trillion over the next decade.

Trump’s protectionist policies aim to boost domestic manufacturing by imposing tariffs, a move that risks igniting further trade tensions with China — a nation with which the U.S. exchanges roughly $750 billion in goods and services annually. According to the Peterson Institute for International Economics, these measures could burden American households with an additional $2,600 in annual expenses.

In foreign affairs, Trump’s rhetoric continues to reflect the isolationist nationalism and disregard for conventional diplomacy that characterized his first term, leaving the global community on edge. He has promised a second term “free of war.” He has provided fewer details on his plans to stabilize the volatile situation in the Middle East (beyond foreseeably hardening U.S.’ line with Iran) than about his resolution to end the war between Russia and Ukraine. Trump said he would bring an end to the conflict in “24 hours,” but analysts suggest that a peace deal rushed through under these conditions could lead Kyiv to forfeit up to 20% of its territory.

Among the tasks slated for January 20, 2025 — Trump’s first day back in the Oval Office — will be processing pardons for hundreds of individuals imprisoned for their roles in the Capitol assault, whom he refers to as “hostages” of federal justice. Unlike his initial term, this time he will approach the day with intimate familiarity with the workings of the presidency, without worrying about how the lights are turned on. Nor will he be taking photos with his daughter and son-in-law. The couple was a prominent part of the first Trump administration, but are notably absent from plans for Trump’s White House 2.0.

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