Trump Administration Status: Reported by Reuters

White House Readies Executive-Action Playbook for a Democratic Congress

By AFNS Research Desk · November 4, 2026 · 1 min read

The south facade of the White House (file image) — Photo: Ad Meskens / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)

Summary

Reuters reports that senior White House officials have spent months identifying actions Trump could take without Congress, on tariffs, visas, housing and spending, in case Democrats took control. Democrats are now projected to win both chambers.

Reuters reports Stephen Miller and OMB Director Russell Vought have worked with the White House Counsel's Office since April on actions that don't need Congress
Options include new tariffs on critical minerals and wind turbines and tighter visa rules for students and temporary foreign workers (Reuters)
Vought is reviewing which priorities can move with money Congress has already appropriated, and wants grant-rule changes that give political appointees more say (Reuters)
Trump said he expects to issue vetoes for "a month or two" before reaching compromises (Reuters)

Status: Reported by Reuters. Reuters' report ran on Nov. 1, before the vote, and cites a White House official and two people familiar with the plans. We link the Reuters text as syndicated by Investing.com and as republished by Republic World.

Senior White House officials have spent months identifying actions President Trump could take without Congress, on tariffs, visas, housing and spending, in case Democrats took control and launched investigations, Reuters reports. Democrats are now projected to win both chambers (CNBC).

Who is planning, and what's on the list

According to Reuters, deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller and Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought have worked with the White House Counsel's Office since April. The options include new tariffs on imports of critical minerals and wind turbines and tighter visa rules for international students and temporary foreign workers.

Vought is reviewing which priorities can move forward with money Congress has already appropriated. Reuters says he also wants to change federal grant rules to give political appointees more say over which programs get funding.