Local analyst explains what Americans can expect when Trump takes office

November 9, 2016 9:46 pm

When President Elect Donald Trump takes office in January, Brown University political analyst Jim Morone predicts Congress will move on many of the issues the Republican promised voters he’d deliver on.

"Clearly the Republican Congress cowered they are frightened of him. So, I would guess for 6 to 9 months it is his call and he will have very wide latitude to behave as he wants,” said Morone.

Morone says we should expect lots of tough talk on immigration including a possible change in the current rules, deregulation on environmental matters, a repeal of Obamacare and an an effort to reshape the court system.

Trump currently has one appointment, and with two justices over 80 could have 2 more over the next 4 years.

"If Donald Trump wants to change America for a nation what he does is find conservative advisers who tell him here is a list of judges go. He stocks the courts with those judges and there’s extraordinary things they can do to change America,” said Morone.

That could mean major decisions like abolishing minimum wage and overturning Roe–V–Wade.

"There’s four votes for it already. If Kennedy were to retire that would be the fifth vote. Now, Scalia’s vote which Trump gets to immediately appoint that doesn’t overturn Roe–V–Wade it’s the next justice retirement,” said Morone.

As for other promises Trump has made, like renegotiating NAFTA and withdrawing support from the Trans–Pacific Partnership Morone says it’s not that easy.

"It’s fairly difficult to do. These kinds of things take time. You can’t simply come in and say here’s an executive order go. There’s a long bureaucratic process,” said Morone.