Trump's blizzard of orders faces stormy ride

by Danny Kemp and Frankie Taggart

Donald Trump has claimed a mandate from God to reshape America -- but the earthly powers of the US courts, a super-thin majority in Congress and foreign capitals may have other ideas.

The Republican president unleashed a "shock and awe" blitz of executive orders in his first 24 hours back in power that overturned many of his predecessor Joe Biden's policies.

The question now is how many of the 78-year-old's sweeping directives -- on everything from immigration to gender, climate and the TikTok video app -- will actually succeed.

"The storm of executive orders from Trump -- particularly those aimed at immigration and birthright citizenship -- are probably going to end up as big constitutional losers," veteran political strategist Mike Fahey told AFP.

Many of Trump's orders focused on immigration -- including the declaration of a national emergency on the US southern border with Mexico.

But the one ending the automatic right to citizenship for anyone born in the United States could cause him the most problems. The right is enshrined in the US Constitution, and has also been upheld by the US Supreme Court.

Rights groups have already filed lawsuits against the move.

"You could be right. You'll find out," Trump said Monday during an Oval Office signing ceremony when asked whether his birthright citizenship plans could be derailed.

Another early target for lawsuits is the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, a cost-cutting agency headed by billionaire Elon Musk.

- 'Edges of executive power' -

Trump is far from the first US president to issue a flurry of orders to show policy wins from day one.

And for America's greatest political showman, the visuals may be as important as the substance. His pardons for more than 1,500 of the pro-Trump rioters who attacked the US Capitol in 2021 will also appeal to his supporters.

"These types of changes are red meat for his base," said Nicholas Jacobs, associate professor of government at Maine's liberal arts Colby College.

"While much of it is symbolic and will face legal challenges, it is exactly the type of dramatic action his supporters want to see."

But Trump's blizzard of orders was exceptional and genuinely tests the limits of presidential power.

Trump is feeling so emboldened by his election win that he even declared in his inaugural address that he was "saved by God to make America great again" after surviving an assassin's bullet at a July campaign rally.

"The basic nature and the sheer number of Trump's Day One actions suggest a presidency that will press hard on the edges of executive power," said Fahey.

Trump will also try to get some of his executive orders enshrined by Congress to prevent a future president from doing exactly what he has done to many of Biden's prized achievements.

But Trump's tiny majority in the House of Representatives means passing any legislation will be a struggle.

- 'Biggest obstacle' -

The courts could be a still bigger problem, even if the US Supreme Court is now conservative-dominated thanks to Trump's three appointments to the nine-member bench in his first term.

"The biggest obstacle Trump faces in implementing his wide-ranging agenda is the legal system," said political analyst Gerard Filitti, senior counsel at legal think tank The Lawfare Project.

On the world stage, Trump is counting that a return of his disruptive style will force other countries to make deals -- but that depends on whether they are ready to play the game.

Trump said he would impose 25 percent tariffs on Mexico and Canada, "take back" the Panama Canal and get Denmark to sell Greenland to the United States.

On TikTok, he has ordered a 75-day pause on enforcing a law effectively banning TikTok in the US, as he floated an idea of partnering with the app's Chinese owner.

"I may do the deal or I may not do the deal," Trump said.

On his order to declare drug cartels as terrorist organizations, he said "Mexico probably doesn't want that but we have to do it."

Trump has even made out-of-this-world promises, claiming it was America's "manifest destiny" to "plant the Stars and Stripes" on the planet Mars.