Here Are 15 Things Trump Has Done Since His Inauguration
The Hill recently published a piece summarizing what has occurred in the first 50 days of Donald Trump’s presidency, as well as what he has accomplished. Trump hasn’t signed a lot of legislation, but The Hill notes that he has signed 16 executive orders so far. Barack Obama signed 17 at this point in his presidency.
Here are 15 things Trump has done since his inauguration.
1. An executive order pausing refugees and immigration from six Islamic countries. Among the first of Trump’s actions was this executive order; it originally applied to seven countries, but was struck down by the activist Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals following a bumpy rollout. The revised executive order no longer applies to Iraq, but still applies to Somalia, Iran, Libya, Yemen, Syria, and Sudan, and doesn’t prioritize Christians who face persecution in these countries.
2. An executive order cracking down on sanctuary cities. The order strips funding from sanctuary cities and invokes “public shaming” against these cities by compiling “a comprehensive list of criminal actions committed by aliens” that take place in sanctuary cities.
3. The aforementioned executive order also stated the wall will start being built. Granted, the process has been slow and there have been issues regarding how to pay for it, but at least Trump is making a serious attempt at securing the border.
4. Nominated Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court. The nomination was lauded by conservatives, who almost uniformly consider Gorsuch a solid replacement for the late Justice Antonin Scalia. Gorsuch’s confirmation hearings are scheduled to start on March 20.
5. Reinstated the “Mexico City Policy” banning federal funding for international abortions. The policy was reversed by Barack Obama, but Trump put it back into effect when he took office. The Daily Wire‘s Frank Camp has more details on it here.
6. Repealed an unconstitutional Obama regulation on guns. The regulation basically prevented seniors who had trouble maintaining finances from obtaining firearms without due process. That didn’t stop the media from mischaracterizing it as the Republicans allowing crazy old people to purchase guns.
7. The Obama regulation raising automobile emissions standards has also been repealed.
8. Approved the construction of the Keystone and Dakota Access Pipelines. This was an important move to help create jobs and increase the supply of oil.
9. Froze the Obama administration’s last-minute $220 million funding to the Palestinian Authority (PA). The Obama administration bypassed the objections of congressional Republicans in its waning hours to provide the aid to the PA. The Trump administration put the funding on hold until further review.
10. Exited from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief Ben Shapiro wrote: “He’s killed the Trans-Pacific Partnership without a suitable plan for replacement, opening the door wide to Chinese influence in the Pacific and pleasing the very labor unions that have helped make American business less competitive.”
11. Slapped Iran with new sanctions. The sanctions were aimed at punishing Iran for sponsoring terrorism and conducting a ballistic missile test, as the Daily Wire explained here.
12. Repealed the Obama regulation banning lead bullets for hunting and fishing tackle.
13. Beefed up immigration enforcement. According to Shapiro, Trump’s executive actions on immigration included:
1. Broaden Enforcement Priorities. According to Section 5(c), the Secretary of Homeland Security has now been granted the power to prioritize for removal those who “have committed acts that constitute a chargeable criminal offense.” This means anyone who has crossed the border illegally. Whereas under President Obama, other crimes were prioritized, now illegal presence in the country has become a priority for law enforcement. The executive action also extends prioritization to false use of a Social Security number, for example (Section 5(d)), or taking public benefits illegally (Section 5(e)).
2. Add Agents. The order grants the Secretary the ability to hire 10,000 additional law enforcement officers with money to be found under current allocations.
3. Allow States To Help Police Immigration. Whereas the Obama administration sued the Arizona state government for aiding in enforcement of federal immigration law, Section 8(b) of the order allows States and local law enforcement officials to “perform the functions of immigration officers in relation to investigation, apprehension, or detention of alients in the United States.”
14. Trumpcare. Trump rolled out his replacement for Obamacare, and it’s a disaster.
15. Released a budget. The budget makes cuts to various departments and agencies, but increases spending for defense and other agencies, while cutting taxes, as Shapiro explains here.
