Donald Trump is set to reverse Barack Obama’s decision to reroute the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline, according to breaking reports. 

The Republican president – who has been in been in power for just five days – is expected to sign an executive order that would push forward the pipeline’s construction. This would come a month after the Obama administration announced its plans to cancel the $3.8 billion project.

The 1,172-mile-long pipeline was set to carry around 470,000 barrels of crude oil every day, which sparked fears over its potential effects on the Missouri River. If it were to be contaminated, North Dakota’s Standing Rock Sioux tribes would have their clean water supply, and their livelihoods, ruined.

Although the reports are yet to be confirmed, press secretary Sean Spicer hinted at Trump’s planned executive order earlier this week. “I'm not going to get in front of the President's executive actions, but I will tell you that (the Dakota pipeline could) increase jobs, increase economic grown, and tap into America's energy supply,” he revealed. “That's something that he's been very clear about.”

Spicer added that the former reality TV star was “very, very keen” to make the most of America’s “natural resources.”

This isn’t the first time Trump has attempted to reverse the progress of Obama’s administration. Steps are already being taken to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which has provided healthcare to nearly $20 million U.S citizens. On Monday, the billionaire also dealt a major blow to women’s rights by signing a brutal anti-abortion order, which would stop all U.S funding to international family planning organisations.