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When we asked CNN readers for their questions about the incoming Trump 2.0 administration, we got a lot of nervous and scared feedback.
People have legitimate worries about President-elect Donald Trump’s promises of mass deportation, how his pledges to cut taxes will affect Social Security benefits and even whether he will leave office in 2029 when his term ends.
Here are the best answers from our reporters based on what we know right now for some of the many questions that poured in. Note: We’ve edited some questions for style or to focus them on a single issue. I just included first names and state of residence based on the submissions.
CNN’s Catherine Shoichet has written extensively about immigrants in the US. Here’s what Shoichet wrote in response:
Immigrant advocates and legal experts I’ve spoken with are very concerned about how the second Trump administration will approach deportations, given the intensity of his rhetoric during the presidential campaign and the announcements he’s made so far about who will be shaping immigration policy in his government.
“The truth is, if you don’t have status in this country, as this person doesn’t, then you are at risk. … I don’t think anyone can assume that they are safe from his proposals, unless they have a legal basis to be in this country,” said Lisa Graybill, vice president of law and policy at the National Immigration Law Center.
Former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Tom Homan, who Trump has tapped as his “border czar,” has said the administration will initially focus on public safety and national security threats. He’s also said he wants to increase worksite raids and that deporting families together would be a way to avoid separating them.
Advocates caution that even those who aren’t the intended targets of an enforcement operation can end up in the wrong place at the wrong time. They’re urging those with concerns to consult with immigration attorneys now about their cases, to connect with local immigrant advocacy organizations and to put plans in place for their families.
American Immigration Lawyers Association President Kelli Stump said she’s been urging clients to stay calm and do everything they can now to prepare. “I get that people are scared and they’re nervous,” she said, “but it’s not time now to wait around and find out what will happen. It’s time to act.”
Presidents have wide authority to declare a national emergency. Trump declared a national emergency when he was president the first time in order to unlock border wall funding that Congress refused to give him. Plus, President Joe Biden also deployed military personnel to the border to help border officials when a Covid-era policy that allowed the government to quickly turn away certain migrants expired.
How exactly Trump might use the military remains unclear. He has previously said that when he refers to the military, he would focus on National Guard troops and that local law enforcement would be key in his plans. Some states with Republican governors have already deployed National Guard troops to the border.
Trump has also said he could invoke a law from 1798, the Alien Enemies Act – meant to be invoked if the US is at war or if a foreign power threatens to invade or has done so – to help in his deportation plan.
Some countries will take deportees, but others will not. The US currently has the capacity to detain around 40,000 noncitizens daily.
Stephen Miller, the aide who has formulated much of Trump’s policy and thinking on immigration, has endorsed the idea of large detention camps to hold those awaiting deportation. The term “concentration camp” is a sensitive one given its connotation of the Holocaust. Immigrant rights groups already complain about conditions in detention centers.
But it’s important to remember that anyone being deported should, by law, have access to a court hearing in the immigration court system. Currently, there is a yearslong backlog. There are many questions about Trump’s plan, not the least of which is how a large system of detention and deportation camps would be paid for.
Another comparison might be the internment by the US of Japanese Americans during World War II. Notably, during Trump’s first term, the US Supreme Court overturned the 1944 ruling, Korematsu v. US, that justified the detention of Japanese Americans. The court did so in 2018 when it also upheld his ban on travel to the US by people from certain countries, most of them majority Muslim.
I took this question to Jim Sciutto, CNN’s chief national security analyst and the author of “The Return of Great Powers: Russia, China, and the Next World War.” His response:
I don’t speak to anyone in the US, Europe or Ukraine who expects business as usual. The question is not if Trump will change the US approach, but how much.
For my book, several former Trump administration officials told me they expected him to end US support for Ukraine in a second term, part of a broader effort to improve US relations with Russia.
That said, there is another school of thought that Trump – seeing the damage done by the US withdrawal from Afghanistan – would not want to invite accusations of weakness if Ukraine were to fall or otherwise be further occupied by Russia. We don’t know yet.
What is clear is that he has said multiple times he intends to end the war. The question is: How far will he be willing to go to do that? And can he end it, given (Russian President Vladimir) Putin sees the Ukraine war as a strategic interest?
His early Cabinet appointments are contradictory given some – such as (secretary of state pick Marco) Rubio and (incoming national security adviser Mike) Waltz – have in the past expressed support for Ukraine, while (director of national intelligence pick Tulsi) Gabbard blamed the invasion on NATO.
Who knows what Trump’s state of mind will be in January 2029, but he will have to leave office then, according to the US Constitution.
Here’s how the 22nd Amendment begins: “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice.”
Trump cannot run for president again.
If the US managed to hold an election during a global pandemic in 2020, it seems all but certain that there will be an election in 2028. Changing the Constitution is a long and onerous process. There hasn’t been a new amendment ratified since the 1990s.
The 20th Amendment lays out contingency plans for what happens in the extremely unlikely event there is no president-elect on Inauguration Day, but none of those plans include the sitting president staying in office.
CNN’s Tami Luhby covers Social Security and other social safety net programs. This is her response:
Trump has promised to protect Social Security and not raise the retirement age or make other cuts. However, if nothing is done, the entitlement program’s combined trust funds will run dry in 2035, according to Social Security’s trustees. After that, the program will only be able to pay 83% of benefits owed.
But Trump’s campaign promises, including eliminating taxes on Social Security benefits, tips and overtime, could drain critical tax revenue from the trust funds, speeding up their exhaustion by three years, a government watchdog found.
For more, read Luhby’s story on how a second Trump term could affect Social Security benefits.
A village in Italy is offering $1 houses to people frustrated with the US election results.
There’s also been an uptick in interest in so-called “golden visas,” which are essentially purchased by rich people to get foreign citizenship or residence.
Other countries offer dual citizenship to people who can prove they have ancestral links.
But seriously. Whether you were born in the US or immigrated here, you know that power shifts in this country. It also shifts back.
After every election, there are those frustrated with the result who look at leaving the country. But it never ends up being an exodus.
For those not familiar, “IDR/ICR/IBR” is a reference to income-driven repayment plans that base monthly payments on a borrower’s income and family size. The following answer comes from CNN’s Katie Lobosco, who covers education policy:
It’s unlikely the Trump administration would claw back student loan forgiveness that’s already been granted – and the president-elect has not suggested that this is something on his to-do list.
That said, there’s a pending lawsuit – currently before the 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals – challenging the loan forgiveness provision in Biden’s repayment plan, SAVE (Saving on a Valuable Education). It’s possible that a ruling against Biden’s plan could also apply to the forgiveness provisions in other income-driven repayment plans, including Pay As You Earn, or PAYE, and Income-Contingent Repayment, or ICR.
Still, even if the court finds that debt cannot be forgiven under some income-driven plans, many experts say that it would be very difficult administratively to reverse student loan relief already granted.
American voters gave Trump access to all of the country’s secrets when they elected him. And while most high-level US officials other than the president are traditionally vetted for security clearance, the president technically has the power to share secrets with whomever he chooses. CNN reported that Trump’s team has dispensed with background checks conducted by the FBI for some of his Cabinet picks in an effort to speed up the process.
Trump supports rescheduling cannabis as a lower-risk drug, a process that was started by the Biden administration. He made that clear when he broke with Republicans in Florida to vote for legalizing recreational marijuana in that state (the measure got a majority of votes, but fell short of the 60% threshold required under Florida law).
He did not specifically endorse the SAFER Banking Act, but he did pledge to work with Congress to get safer banking laws for state-authorized companies.
A president has broad powers if he invokes the Insurrection Act, which allows for the unilateral deployment of troops domestically under limited circumstances to defend constitutional rights. Those powers are constrained by the Posse Comitatus Act, a longstanding federal law that curbs the use of military to enforce domestic laws unless authorized by Congress.
However, that law includes exceptions for rebellion and terrorism, giving the president broad discretion in deciding whether and when to invoke the Insurrection Act. Trump thought about using the military against protesters during his first term, but he faced opposition from within the Pentagon. For his second term, Trump has promised to find military officials more loyal to him and that he’ll fight an “enemy from within” of political opponents.
There were a number of questions in this vein. It’s true that Trump won the election with less than 50% of the vote. It was far from a landslide, and the country remains divided. For just about every Trump supporter, there’s someone who voted the other way.
Regardless, Trump says he’ll radically transform US government, something every American should be aware of. CNN is here to report on and give context to what Trump is promising, what he delivers and how those pledges and actions represent a new direction for the country.
Here’s an answer from CNN’s climate reporter Ella Nilsen:
Some climate groups have been formally urging Biden to declare a climate emergency for a little under a year, although the idea has been around for some time. Biden has issued plenty of executive orders on climate at the start of his administration, some of which were undone by courts.
If Biden issued an executive order now at the end of his presidency, it would be quickly undone when Trump takes office. Many climate experts believe the more effective and durable way to fund the clean energy transition comes from Biden’s 2022 climate law, which poured hundreds of billions into federal tax credits for businesses and consumers alike to invest in renewables, electric vehicles and energy efficient appliances.
That law is investing heavily in clean energy manufacturing and already transforming the American economy. Of course, it’s not totally safe either – Republicans are talking about repealing chunks of the law to help pay for another round of tax cuts. But since the law has poured hundreds of billions and thousands of jobs into Republican districts, there are plenty of Republicans that have a stake in defending it too.
Trump’s past remarks provide some insight into how a second term can impact the LGBTQ community. The president-elect has labeled gender-affirming surgery for minors as “child sexual mutilation.” He pledged to make surgeries illegal under a Trump White House, promising to sign executive orders instructing federal agencies to not promote gender transitioning at any age.
He has also repeatedly spoken out against transgender athletes participating in women’s sports. Trump has said that on day one of his administration, he would reverse a rule implemented by Biden under Title IX that expanded protections for LGBTQ+ students.
It is possible, but perhaps unlikely. At least one person mentioned by Trump as an “enemy from within,” Sen.-elect Adam Schiff of California, told NPR he doesn’t want or need a preemptive pardon, adding that he has faith in the US system.
“I think this is frankly so implausible as not to be worthy of much consideration,” Schiff said. “I would urge the president not to do that. I think it would seem defensive and unnecessary.”
Interestingly, there were people who asked Trump for preemptive pardons before he left office the first time – including Trump’s pick to be attorney general in his second term, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, who withdrew his name from consideration for the role on Thursday. Trump did not grant those pardons.
