Dem
51
GOP
49
We have written about Donald Trump's plans for a second term in detail as far back as last May. He's not keeping them a secret. More recently we discussed his plans here and here. His previous goals dealt with pardons, firing civil servants, education, law enforcement, gender issues, crime, guns, and "freedom cities." These are all more-or-less legitimate policy issues except the pardons and the idea of firing 50,000 top civil servants and replacing them with his lackeys.
But now he seems to have latched onto a new idea: Christian nationalism. This is the concept that the founding parents were Christians, so Christian theology should rule the country. The role model here is Iran, with some minor substitutions. In reality, many of the founding parents were not Christians, but deists who didn't worship Jesus and believed that God created the world and then went off on vacation so it is up to people to figure out how to solve their problems and not ask for help.
Trump has enlisted former director of OMB Russell Vought to work out the details. He is currently active in a group preparing for a second Trump term and is considered a potential chief of staff for Trump v2.0. Vought has strongly embraced the idea that the secularization of America is an evil to be fought. One of his ideas is invoking the Insurrection Act on day one, thus making the president an effective dictator who can suppress all dissent by force. Another pet idea of his is having Trump use a line-item veto to eliminate items he doesn't like in the budget bill. Actually, Congress once passed a bill, the Line Item Veto Act, authorizing the president to cross out any items in the budget he disliked, but the Supreme Court said "we think not" and declared the law to be unconstitutional. But who cares what the Supreme Court thinks? They are a bunch of old fuddy duddies and aren't with the program.
One specific issue Vought is working on is immigration. He wants only people who accept his God's teachings to be let in. That might not actually be a good criterion for Trump, since most of the people showing up at the Mexican border are Catholics who worship the same God that Vought does. Vought is also working with Project 2025, which is developing a plan to radically restructure the federal government to bring it in line with Trump's thinking. Among other things, it would make the president essentially a dictator and sideline all administrative agencies, and, to a considerable extent, also Congress.
Vought is also a supporter of the concept of "Natural Law." This is the belief that laws passed by Congress cannot overrule laws in the Bible. Biblical law overrides secular law and decisions by judges. It is more-or-less the translation of Sharia law into English.
Vought is not the only person who has Trump's ear. So does former NSA Michael Flynn, who not only supports Christian nationalism, but is also organizing an Army of God to put Christianity at the center of American life. Another person Trump listens to is William Wolfe, a former Trump administration official who wants to overturn same-sex marriage, end abortion, and also reduce access to contraceptives (which will increase the demand for abortions). In short, Trump has big plans for the country if he wins. (V)