As the dust settles on the U.S. Election, companies are quickly analyzing the impact for businesses, federal civil and criminal enforcement priorities and the implications for ethics and compliance. When a new Administration comes into power, change is inevitable and can be far-reaching.  Given the change with President Trump’s return to the White House, and in light of several of his stated intentions, companies should prepare for a new environment and adjust priorities accordingly.

The Trump Administration’s focus will be on spurring economic growth, reducing inflation, limiting the size of the federal government and regulations, aggressive trade and immigration policies and an overall objective of eliminating the “deep state” or “administrative state.”  As part  of this latter effort, the Trump Administration will be digging into the U.S. Department of Justice, the FBI and the intelligence agencies to make reforms, and increase oversight and control of prosecutors and law enforcement.  This is an important initiative and could have far-reaching implications for criminal prosecutions and compliance strategies.

Additionally, and no less significant, the new Administration is likely to make real changes in United States foreign policy, including key issues such as the status of the Ukraine-Russia war, the Middle East conflict, and the US relationship with its European allies and NATO. 

There are a number of significant questions that have to be reviewed.  But let us remember, we are not writing on a blank slate.  We have President Trump’s first term, 2016 to 2020, which provides some indicators of President Trump’s likely activities and initiatives.

Notwithstanding this perspective, we need to acknowledge that the new Trump Administration has identified several different initiatives, and even questioned some of its actions during the first Administration.  Indeed, in some cases, the Trump Administration has explained that they relied too much on “traditional” government operatives.  In this respect, the Trump Administration intends to take more aggressive actions to achieve their objectives.

From the Ethics and Compliance perspective. the Trump Administration’s most significant initiatives include:

1.  A “new” Foreign Policy designed to end the Russia-Ukraine war, increase pressure on China and Iran, and reduce United States roles in NATO and foreign affairs.

2.  Increased trade sanctions, tariffs and trade wars.

3.  Department of Justice reforms and increased control over law enforcement.

4. Elimination of federal regulations, and reduced enforcement of environmental, labor and workplace issues.

5. Reduction in size of federal government, federal spending, and reform of federal civil service.

As explained in the following posts, much of the federal government’s activity will continue with little to no change.  There are many activities that the federal government is responsible for and those activities will continue. Even within the Department of Justice, which will come under intense scrutiny, much of its civil and criminal enforcement will continue unabated.  We will dig into some of these in the following posts.