Donald Trump has had four years to plot what he would do if he ever became president again. Today, he’ll start making that a reality — and Republicans in Congress are ready to fall in line. Trump is planning to sign some 200 executive orders once he’s sworn in for his second term this afternoon that will cover everything from immigration, to energy, to eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives from federal offices. Our colleagues Benjamin Guggenheim and Meredith Lee Hill scooped details you can read here. Meredith and Rachael Bade also reported late Sunday that advisers to Trump have discussed having him sign an order to "save" TikTok shortly after his swearing in — a move that could ratchet up tensions with GOP lawmakers who supported legislation forcing the app's parent company to sell or face a ban. (More on that below.) It’s sending a clear signal to Congress about who’s calling the shots in the new Republican trifecta. Trump plans to execute several orders on the border and energy that House and Senate Republicans would have loved to carry to Trump’s desk but need more time to muscle through the legislative branch. Expect Hill Republicans to build on Trump’s orders, attempting to write policies like “Remain in Mexico” and funding the southern border wall into law, so future administrations can’t overturn them on a whim. And Congress can say bye to being the one to rename the Gulf of Mexico — Trump’s about to do that, too. The executive moves also underscore just how tough it will be for Trump to wring big wins out of Congress. Speaker Mike Johnson is operating on a razor-thin margin in the House, with an incredibly ideologically diverse membership. Even his most ambitious timeline for getting sweeping legislation encompassing Trump’s signature border, energy and tax policies to the president’s desk drags out to Memorial Day. And that, Meredith writes, is only if all the different factions of Republicans play nice — hardly a safe gamble. As Meredith reports, congressional leaders are facing doubts about just how quickly they will be able to deliver major wins for Trump. “Everybody is feeling the pressure now of time,” said Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina, a member of the hard-right Freedom Caucus. “In a short period, we’ve got to make something happen.” That’s to say nothing of the Senate, where Majority Leader John Thune’s ability to speed through Trump’s appointees hinges in no small part on Democratic cooperation. For all of Republicans’ emphasis on getting Trump’s national security picks through quickly, only secretary of State nominee Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) is likely to come up for a vote today, as we previewed last week. Defense pick Pete Hegseth and CIA director nominee John Ratcliffe are expected to hit the floor later this week. Hegseth, in particular, is another reminder of Trump’s significant congressional influence — his nomination looked like it was toast weeks ago, and now he seems on track to get confirmed in the first week. Trump thanked Thune during his rally last night for “doing a great job in moving the process along quickly” for his nominees. “We’re going to have a lot of them hopefully approved very quickly,” he said. Also on stage last night were reflections of the new hierarchy of power in Washington. Notably, it was Tesla CEO Elon Musk (and his son X) who took the stage with the soon-to-be president inside the Capital One Arena — not JD Vance, his vice president and the former senator ostensibly in charge of advancing the new administration’s dealings on the Hill. Stay tuned to real-time coverage of the inauguration on our live blog beginning at 8 a.m. GOOD INAUGURATION MORNING. We’re Lisa Kashinsky and Mia McCarthy, your new Inside Congress co-authors. A little about us: We’re both from Massachusetts — though only one of us (Mia!) was actually born there — and we definitely run on Dunkin’. Lisa comes to the Congress team from the presidential campaign trail and has priors covering state government. Mia you might have seen on the Hill before; she mainly covered state delegations and JD Vance during the 2024 campaign. And we want to meet you! Email us at lkashinsky@politico.com and mmccarthy@politico.com to grab a coffee. Meet us at the Longworth Dunkin’, where we'll complain the whole time that Boston Dunkins are better. THE SKED The House is not in session. The Senate is in session. — Inauguration at the Rotunda: Per the 20th Amendment, Trump will be sworn in shortly after noon. And lawmakers are fretting there won't be enough room for all of them. — The Senate votes at 5:30 p.m. on passage of the Laken Riley Act. The rest of the week: The House is set to take up the Laken Riley Act, quickly sending it to Trump’s desk. The House is also set to vote on the Fix Our Forest Act and the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, among other bills. The Senate will take up nominations this week. There are no confirmation floor votes scheduled yet, but expect Rubio to be up first, likely today unless Democrats object. The Senate is also set to take up a bill from Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) on abortion, similar to the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act in the House. THE LEADERSHIP SUITE
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