President-elect Donald J. Trump will be inaugurated Monday, marking only the second time in United States history where a president will serve two non-consecutive terms — the first being Grover Cleveland as the 22nd and 24th president. Prior to the inauguration, Trump has announced numerous policies that he will aim to implement or retract, taking advantage of the fact that both the Senate and the House of Representatives are under Republican control for at least the next two years.
One of Trump’s proposed changes is the elimination of the Department of Education, possibly creating difficulties in the provision of financial aid and the enforcement of civil rights laws at universities. Trump has also promised stricter immigration policies, which include launching large-scale deportations and reinstating travel bans. Policies such as these which will affect institutions of higher education has led the University community to engage with the upcoming transition in a variety of ways.
University students will be paying close attention to the inauguration and incoming administration. Third-year College student Kierany Lewis, who was involved with the Kamala Harris 2024 campaign throughout the fall semester, expressed concern about Trump’s reelection, saying that this was not the outcome she was hoping for. Nevertheless, she is optimistic for the 2026 midterm elections, where incumbent parties tend to fare poorly.
Lewis said that one issue in particular that she worries might have a direct impact on the University is immigration policy.
“I’m definitely kind of worried about some of the immigration policies, because I know a lot of students on Grounds … whose parents are immigrants,” Lewis said. “It’s really upsetting to me that students now have to worry about that.”
Second-year College student Ryan Shoztic, whose political views are more moderate, also spoke about immigration policy, particularly as it relates to academic visas and how the Trump administration might change certain aspects of the visa program, such as paths to citizenship afterwards. He said he thinks this will be the issue that will most directly affect the University community because of the number of international students on Grounds.
“I really think that is something that affects a lot of people at this University,” Shoztic said. “We have so many brilliant minds who I’m very close with who really bring great value to the University.”
Political organizations on Grounds such as the University Democrats have also weighed in with their thoughts on the transition. Tristan Tapolcai, University Democrats Secretary and first-year College student, spoke ahead of the inauguration and subsequent Presidential transition. He said that with Democrats becoming the opposition party to the Presidency, it will be important to make their voices heard.
One way UDems aims to achieve this will be by attending protests, such as the People’s March in Washington, D.C., Jan. 18. The People’s March began in 2017 in response to President Trump’s first inauguration — this year, thousands gathered in protest of Trump’s policies.
Tapolcai said that he is hopeful that there will be bipartisan support for certain issues such as economic policy, despite both the House and Senate being under Republican control. He said that he thinks once Republican rhetoric picks up and right-wing policies start being implemented, college students and Americans in general will mobilize to counter Trump’s efforts and policies.
“We’re hopeful that [a Republican Presidency] is really going to energize people to become involved in politics,” Tapolcai said. “When … policies [are] being passed by the trifecta, people are going to be really motivated to get involved and see the change that they want enacted.”
The Cavalier Daily also reached out to the College Republicans for comment, but did not hear back by the time this article was published.
The Miller Center hosted an event titled “State of the Trump Transition” Jan. 13 and brought together four panelists — including former political staffers and Miller Center fellows — that discussed the inauguration, confirmation hearings and policies that Trump will attempt to enact. The event was moderated by William Antholis, Miller Center director and CEO, and drew an audience of around eighty people.
Panelist Dan Meyer, who served as Chief of Staff to Speakers of the House Kevin McCarthy and Newt Gingrich, spoke extensively on the process to confirm appointees to Trump’s cabinet, specifically focusing on which Republican Senators might vote against Trump’s picks. A simple majority of 51 senators is needed to approve appointees to ambassador positions and to the president’s cabinet — Republicans currently hold a majority of 53 seats.
After mentioning notable moderate Republicans Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Meyer said that he would keep an eye on former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on voting against Trump’s appointees because he will likely not be running for reelection.
“I’m just speculating, but my guess is he’s not going to run again, so he doesn’t have to worry about electoral politics anymore,” Meyer said. “He’s got very firm views, particularly on foreign policy … he’d be one to watch.”
Kathryn Dunn Tenpas, a Miller Center practitioner senior fellow, said that she has been comparing this Presidential transition to Trump’s first transition in 2017. One difference she mentioned included Trump firing key members in his transition team in his first term, which left him in a much weaker place, with fewer appointments already made at this time.
Tenpas also spoke to how different congresspeople may vote on appointments and said that some Senators’ interests in reelection may outweigh their loyalty to President Trump.
“Congress, they’re on their own track,” Tenpas said. “Even though [Republicans] want to support President Trump, they care about their own hide first.”
Another topic that was extensively discussed during the event was the Department of Government Efficiency which was proposed by Trump and will potentially be led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. It has since been revealed that Ramaswamy is likely to step away from the department. Although it is unclear how it will work in relation to government agencies, the department will aim to restructure bureaucratic processes and agencies and cut spending to ultimately decrease the size of the federal government.
Tenpas said that she hopes Musk and Ramaswamy will realize that the complexity of American government contributes to its functionality.
“I find it somewhat insulting when people who are hedge fund Silicon Valley gazillionaires are saying ‘this is what you need to do to improve government,” Tenpas said. “My hope is that they realize how complex our system is [and] start to appreciate that there is a reason for that complexity.”
For her part, panelist Mara Rudman, who served as deputy assistant to the president for national security affairs under the Clinton and Obama administrations, said she believes that Musk and Ramaswamy will quickly become bored and frustrated because of how difficult the government is to change.
“I don’t think they begin to understand what they’re getting into,” Rudman said. “I have zero expectation that they’ll come to appreciate any of the complexities, but I have a high expectation that the frustration level will be very high.”
The University is also hosting other events which allow students to hear from political speakers about the presidential and congressional transition. One of these events, held by the Karsh Institute of Democracy, hosted former Congressman Will Hurd to speak on public trust in Congress last Tuesday. Another event which will be held by the Miller Center Tuesday will host several speakers to share their thoughts on race and gender in the 2024 electorate.
The inauguration will begin Monday morning at 11:30, and Trump’s swearing-in will take place around noon. Although the inauguration usually takes place outdoors, where crowds are able to see the President-elect being sworn in on the Capitol steps, the ceremony will take place inside the Capitol Rotunda Monday due to inclement weather conditions.
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