Mr. Trump's transition team, like his campaign operation, has had a much smaller staff than previous Republican nominees, and hasn't produced the voluminous policy proposals and potential legislation sought by other candidates, including Mitt Romney four years ago.
Instead, they produce mostly two-page and 20-page memos on specific items about the function of certain agencies and what issues will be a priority on the first day, the first 100 days, and the first 200 days, according to three transition team members.
A chief of staff should be named within two weeks, and there will be a rush to have his cabinet nominated and approved within two weeks of inauguration, said Mike Leavitt, a former Utah governor advising the transition team. "The priority is to put a team on the field," Mr. Leavitt said. "You'll start to see significant proposals roll out, though not necessarily the expectation that they will pass right away. But there is a need to get the proposals on the table. I don't know how prepared they are at this point." Mr. Trump sketched a broad outline of his first days in office during an October speech in Gettysburg, Pa., a blueprint that was overshadowed by his threat in the speech to sue the women who had accused him of sexual misconduct. His actions, he said, would be aimed at cleaning up corruption and "special interest collusion." He promised to protect American workers and "restore security and constitutional rule of law."
The plan included a hiring freeze on new federal workers, with exceptions for positions in the military, public safety and public health. He promised to eliminate two regulations for every new rule created during his time in office. He proposed a five-year ban on lobbying for officials who leave the executive and legislative branches of government.
In his first days in office, Mr. Trump has said, he plans to announce he will reopen the North American Free Trade Agreement, and will withdraw consideration of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. He plans to order his commerce secretary to identify, and then remedy, all foreign trade "abuses that unfairly impact American workers." He plans to lift restrictions on tapping energy reserves, approve the Keystone XL pipeline and cancel billions in payments to United Nations climate-change programs.
The New York businessman has vowed to cancel President Obama's promise to protect from deportation undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children, and start deporting as many as two million undocumented immigrants with criminal records.
The first 100 days of the Trump administration "will focus on three to five structural reforms from day one, including controlling the southern border," Mr. Gingrich said. "It will almost certainly include very dramatic civil-service reform to allow us to fire people who are incompetent or corrupt or breaking the law."
Several of Mr. Trump's early initiatives could likely be accomplished through executive orders and regulatory changes, which would make it easy for him to execute because he can bypass Congress. But he could also seek congressional input to foster a better relationship with lawmakers, and his senior staff will have to decide soon on what agenda to set.
