“This will forever be remembered as the day the American people took back control of their country,” said President-elect Donald Trump. his victory speech on Wednesdaypromising to “turn it around.”
The United States veered far to the right on Election Day. Republicans aligned with Trump’s Make America Great Again movement now have a majority in the Senate and will likely regain control of the House of Representatives when all the votes are counted.
Trump’s MAGA organization has “regained control of their country,” as they have already revealed during the campaign with big plans for how Republicans intend to use this power.
The big difference in Trump’s victory in the 2016 election is that this time he is better prepared, said Stormy-Annika Mildner, director of the Aspen Institute Germany, an independent research institute.
“Trump has learned that it can be a problem if there are disloyals in his party,” Mildner told DW, adding that he is expected to deal only with true supporters. “And with the massive turnover of people in services and officials downstream, there will no longer be the important thing that was there from 2016 to 2020: more people who prevented the worst things from happening at some point.”
Republicans have a clear agenda
Mildner expects that the Project 2025 strategy paper that was made public this summer will play a role in the new agenda.
Although Trump has officially distanced himself from the manifesto by the conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation, media reports have revealed that at least some of his supporters were involved in its creation. These people may take high positions in the new government, said Mildner.
Trump also adopted key demands on paper during his campaign, floating proposals on immigration policy and border protection that were consistent with those of the think tank. He promised, for example, “the largest divestment in American history,” in addition to dramatically expanding the exploitation of climate-damaging fossil fuels and environmental regulations.
Trump will aim to reorganize federal agencies
Government agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will be key drivers of these initiatives. The 32-page chapter in the EPA’s Project 2025 paper was written by Mandy Gunasekara, the agency’s chief of staff during Trump’s first presidency who is being tipped as the next leader.
During Trump’s first administration, the EPA’s powers were reduced and many employees were laid off — changes the Biden administration largely reversed. The New York Times quoted Gunasekara as saying that in Trump’s second term, the plan will be to “demolish and rebuild” the organization’s structures.
“You can use agencies that are part of the executive branch, like the Environmental Protection Agency, to regulate the public interest,” Mildner said. “Or you can shut them down by giving them managers who just say, ‘We’re not doing anything about this’.”
Although this is predicted to be the case in the field of climate protection, Trump is expected to make far-reaching regulations in other areas such as immigration and border security, or the extraction of fossil fuels, he said.
Observers are also eagerly waiting to see who Trump will nominate to lead the Justice Department, as he has announced his intention to use it to prosecute political opponents. Public broadcaster NPR counted more than 100 such threats from Trump during the election campaign.
Packing the judges
In addition to the politicization of public prosecutors’ offices, Trump will also have the power to appoint conservatives to high court offices. Republicans now hold a majority in the Senate, which must approve such appointments, until the midterm elections in late 2026. During Trump’s first term, 234 justices were appointed—including three to the Supreme Court.
“Trump remade the judiciary in his first term,” George Washington University professor John Collins told Reuters. “Now you have the opportunity to reinforce that vision to an entire generation.”
So the Republican Party will want to use this opportunity to do a major reorganization of the state within the guidelines given by the constitution. The constitution itself is likely to remain untouched, Mildner predicted, because constitutional amendments are complex and could hurt Republicans if they end up arguing again.
Balance checks and balances
Although the White House, Congress and the Supreme Court are all now dominated by conservatives, Mildner remains confident that other institutions such as the media will fulfill their role in providing checks and balances.
Democratic states are also preparing for tough political battles against the Trump administration. New York Governor Kathy Hochul spoke directly to Trump on Wednesday, saying: “If you try to hurt New Yorkers or take away their rights, I will fight you every step of the way.”
Mildner said he sees resilience and resilience in the United States. “That’s why I can’t say that this is the end of American democracy,” he said.
But that doesn’t mean political divisions will be overcome under Trump, he added. “These four years will contribute to further polarization.”
This article was originally written in German.