Trump set to begin second term as Inauguration Day arrives | The Excerpt
On Monday’s episode of The Excerpt podcast: It's Inauguration Day. Here's what to expect. Plus, Paste BN White House Correspondent Joey Garrison discusses what Donald Trump plans as part of his first 100 executive actions in his second term. A ceasefire has begun between Israel and Hamas. What's next for TikTok? Trump proposes 50% U.S. ownership. Santa Ana winds threaten again this week as fires continue to burn in Southern California. Four teams remain in the NFL Playoffs, with next weekend's conference championship games now set.
Hit play on the player below to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript beneath it. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.
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Taylor Wilson:
Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson and today is Monday, January 20th, 2025. This is The Excerpt.
Today, it's Inauguration Day. What's Donald Trump planning as part of his first actions in his return to the White House? Plus, a ceasefire is underway between Israel and Hamas. And what's next for TikTok?
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It's Inauguration Day in America. Ceremonies have been shifted inside amid bitterly cold temperatures in Washington, but otherwise the day's major beats will remain in place, including performances by acts like Carrie Underwood, while the presidential parade was moved to Capital One Arena in DC. The 20th Amendment outlines the date on which power transfers from one president to another, and it even dictates the transition down to the minute. According to the amendment, the president-elect officially becomes the sitting president at the stroke of noon on January 20th. That's true regardless of whether the president has taken the presidential oath of office or not. Generally speaking though, the day is meticulously planned to make sure the oath has been taken by or as close as possible to noon Eastern Time. As for Trump's first week and beyond, he's planning 100 immediate executive actions. I caught up with Paste BN White House correspondent Joey Garrison for a look ahead. Joey, thanks for wrapping on today.
Joey Garrison:
Hey, thanks for having me on.
Taylor Wilson:
See now Donald Trump is planning 100 executive actions shortly after he takes office this week. Let's start with immigration, a huge part of his campaign to get back to the White House. What are his immediate plans for, be it mass deportations, Title 42, and really the border in general?
Joey Garrison:
First of all, let's just think about that for a second. 100 executive actions. That is an enormous amount right off the bat, and that's a very whole number that the Trump folks have been talking about for a while. They want to really make a statement, say, "Hey, there's a changing of the guard underway here. This is a huge transformation of America, and we are going to do it right off the bat." One Republican senator called it shock and awe to describe what's in store, and there's been a huge build up to this moment. You'll recall Trump loved the executive pen when he was president and he showed that he is going to use it in various things, when he can, now. Now on the immigration that you asked about, of course, Trump promised over and over as probably his biggest as campaign promise, to seal the southern border.
First thing will be to revive the Title 42 authority to enable the federal government to quickly expel asylum seekers at the US-Mexico border. This emergency health authority was used during Covid by both the Trump and Biden administrations, but Biden ended the policy in 2023, and that led to a quick spike encounters of migrants at the border. Trump wants to bring back Title 42. His promise for "mass deportations." This is where he wants to deport every American in this country here illegally, starting with criminals.
To carry that out, he has suggested a possible order or directive that would expand the authority of immigration agents as well as using the military, and so there could be some sort of order or directive executive-wise on this line. He also wants to, of course, continue to expand the border wall and look for executive order or directive on that. Of course, he talked about throughout his first run as well, about expanding the wall at the southern border or the barrier. He built about 452 miles of barriers along the southern border when he was president the first go-around, but only about 40 of those miles were placed where a barrier didn't previously exist. He's indicated that he wants to really double down on border wall action this time.
Taylor Wilson:
You know Joey, Donald Trump has leaned into this mantra of drill baby drill. What are some of the expectations for his immediate actions when it comes to energy this week and beyond?
Joey Garrison:
Yeah, I mean, right off the bat, I mean, he said repeatedly since Biden moved to ban offshore drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts that he plans on swiftly overturning that action. That's debatable whether he can actually do that, but he intends to try to make that happen. He's also looking to create a new National Energy Council that's going to be led by Doug Burgum, incoming nominee for Secretary of the Interior. The idea behind this council is to find new ways for "energy dominance."
He's also talked about getting rid of what he's called the electric vehicle mandate, which is a rule that requires auto manufacturers to cut greenhouse gas emissions by half by 2027. Because of that rule, that's forcing many auto manufacturers to choose to build electric vehicles. Trump has campaigned hard against electric vehicles, and he said he's going to eliminate this EPA rule that Biden pushed. So those are some of the things that you can expect all for this idea of, "Hey, we're going to increase the domestic production of oil here in the United States," which ironically comes at a time when we're actually at an all time high in oil production here in the US.
Taylor Wilson:
All right, it's a big week, Joey. Joey Garrison covers the White House for Paste BN. Thank you, sir.
Joey Garrison:
Hey, it's a big week, indeed. Thank you.
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Taylor Wilson:
Hamas released three Israeli hostages and Israel released 90 Palestinian prisoners yesterday, on the first day of a ceasefire. Fireworks were launched in celebration while buses carried Palestinian prisoners to Ramallah on the West Bank where thousands of people waited to welcome them. Those freed from Israeli prisons included 69 women and 21 teenage boys from the West Bank and Jerusalem, according to Hamas. In Tel Aviv, hundreds of cheered and cried in a square outside the defense headquarters as a live broadcast from Gaza showed three female hostages getting into a Red Cross vehicle surrounded by Hamas fighters. The truce calls for fighting to stop, aid to be sent into Gaza, and 33 of the nearly 100 remaining Israeli and foreign hostages to go free over the six-week first phase in return for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. It's believed many hostages are dead. The first phase of the truce early yesterday came after a three-hour delay when Israel continued pounding Gaza with airstrikes, killing 13 people, according to Palestinian health authorities.
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Just hours after a brief shutdown of TikTok across the nation, President-elect Donald Trump proposed to let the US own half of the social media platform to satisfy a law requiring the Chinese-owned app to divest its US operations. Trump said he decided to rescue TikTok because the platform, used by 170 million Americans, helped him reach young voters as a tremendous, in his words, audience and the end of its operations in the US would cost Americans jobs. At a rally yesterday, he said, "We don't want to give our business to China. We don't want to give our business to other people." Trump said the US government would not be putting up any money, rather it would be providing approval for the agreement. Earlier in the day, Trump said that he would sign an executive order when he returns to the White House this afternoon that would give TikTok the ability to operate in the US without going into detail. Last week, the Supreme Court upheld a bipartisan law that President Joe Biden signed and declined to enforce or intervene to halt as it kicked in, effectively banning the platform stateside. You can read more with a link in today's show notes.
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The NFL's Conference Championship games are now set. The Buffalo Bills beat the Baltimore Ravens yesterday in a snowy western New York game that saw multiple huge missed catches, including one late that would've potentially forced overtime. They'll take on the Kansas City Chiefs for yet another playoff rematch with the winner heading to the Super Bowl. On the NFC side, the Philadelphia Eagles won to advance against the Washington Commanders in a divisional rivalry matchup coming off a big upset win on Saturday of the Lions. Championship Sunday is set for next weekend, and we've got you covered until then with Paste BN Sports.
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The Santa Ana winds that fanned the fires devastating Southern California are forecast to return as firefighters continue working to douse the deadly blazes that have destroyed more than 10,000 homes, businesses, and other structures. The National Weather Service said in its red flag warning that humidity is expected to fall sharply, and a strong Santa Ana wind is expected to develop today, at least through tomorrow. Peak wind speeds are forecast to reach 50 to 70 miles an hour along the coasts and valleys, according to the Weather Service Office in Los Angeles. Those winds could create new fire problems and worsen existing ones. The Eaton Fire near Pasadena was around 81% contained as of last night, and the Palisades Fire was 56% contained. The Eaton fire has killed at least 17 people, according to the LA County Medical Examiner, at least 10 have died in the Palisades Fire. President-elect Donald Trump said that he will visit Southern California on Friday to survey the damage caused by the fires. His visit will likely be the first official trip of his second term as president.
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And today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Martin Luther King III:
Ultimately, there will be a day where at least many elements of the dream that Dad envisioned will become reality. Now, that does not mean we've not made strides in progress, but it still means if you took a measuring stick, you would have to say, "You know what? We've got a long way to go."
Taylor Wilson:
That's his son, Martin Luther King III. For more on the life and legacy of Dr. King, head to usatoday.com.
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And thanks for listening to The Excerpt. You can get the podcast wherever you get your pods, and if you're on a smart speaker, just ask for The Excerpt. I'm Taylor Wilson, and I'll be back tomorrow with more of The Excerpt from Paste BN.