The arrival of Donald Trump will lead to a lot of policy change, some which will be much quicker than people expect. Prior to the election, the party of Lincoln’s nominee returned to the site of his greatest speech, the historic Gettysberg, to lay out his “contract with the American people” for the first 100 days in office.
And, in manner less succinct than the white stitching on his iconic red baseball caps, he went as far as to continue his talk of being the “greatest” by reducing the 100 days to one within the speech by saying that he would have “a very busy first day”.
It was a list that was long and far reaching and while some of the plans he proposed can be achieved just by the stroke of a pen from his seat in the Oval Office, like the hiring freeze for new federal workers, other policies will take longer as they need to navigate their path through red tape of relevant agencies.
However, policies such as the repeal of Obamacare or his infrastructure proposal need to go through congress, and with the House having been won by the Republicans and headed by speaker Paul Ryan, who despite wavering support for Trump has delighted in his appointment, he has doubled down on Trumps proposal to repeal Obamacare.
Immigration:
Trump’s rhetoric on immigration has defined his presidential campaign. His Gettysburg address had slightly more carefully selected words than his previous speeches but his proposal remains one of the most divisive issues.
While his policy has evolved and quietly dropped the call to remove all undocumented immigrants, a move that would be harmful to the economy and almost impossible to enforce, he has reinforced his plans to deport undocumented immigrants who have a criminal record, which can be achieved from as little as being unable to pay a parking fine.
He will also “suspend immigration from terror-prone regions where vetting cannot safely occur”. The terror prone regions have remained vague and undefined but Syria would most likely be at the top of the list, this is despite the two years it takes for refugees to be allowed into the country that involves vetting from a multitude of agencies and has been likened by some to when 900 Jewish refugees were turned away from America and sent back to Europe in 1939 during the second world war.
Finally, the wall, for obvious reasons this couldn’t happen on the first day, but he is firm in his commitment to, “build a wall” along the southern border of the states with Mexico and that Mexico will pay for it. This is despite Mexican politicians saying that they will not pay for the wall and many within Congress planning to block any legislation brought forth by Trump for this policy.
Foreign Policy:
Prior to the Republican convention Trump said America would help NATO allies who came under attack only if they had fulfilled their “obligations” within the alliance. This is the first time in post-world war two history that a candidate for US president had ever proposed putting conditions on Americas defence of their allies.
These conditions extended to suggesting he would withdraw troops from countries that failed to pay more for American protection, without explaining exactly what he expected from those countries.
His “American First” and isolationist view has remained rigid throughout his campaign despite his flip flop approach, which has led him to hold contrasting views on key issues from claiming to oppose the invasion of Iraq yet having recordings from the Howard Stern radio show showing he had backed the war in Iraq.
His first 100 days will most likely be similar; he has said he will have a plan to beat ISIS, though he has not informed anyone of the details in case he lets the “bad guys know” but has confirmed he plans to the “bomb the hell” out of them.
Trade:
A Trump presidency will try to break from the traditional Republican love of free trade by imposing a set of protectionist policies that would close America’s economic borders and create an isolationist presidency.
First on the agenda would be the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Canada and Mexico and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and agreement between the US and 12 European countries. TPP would be cancelled and he would endeavour to renegotiate NAFTA.
All hopes for Brexiters post-Brexit that Britain would be able to negotiate trade with Trump after Obama promised they would be at the bottom of the list post Brexit have been dashed, as it now appears they may not even be able to get on the list.
Climate Change:
Climate change barely got a look in throughout this election campaign, with no questions about it occurring during the debates.
However, the little he has said on the issue is alarming for environmentalists with promises to stop the payments from the US to the United Nations climate change programs and use the money for infrastructure projects in the US.
He is also a fan of fossil fuels and will lift restrictions on fracking and increase the production of oil and natural gas in America and is a major threat to activists who are currently fighting at Standing Rock against the Keystone Pipeline project.
Reproductive Rights:
Women have already begun trying to get a prescription for an IUD implant (a form of long term birth control) before his appointment in January as he promised throughout his campaign to defund Planned Parenthood and repeal Obamacare, causing many women to express concern about what his administration might mean for their reproductive rights and health care options.
While women flooded social media to urge others to get birth control now, Planned Parenthood issued a statement on where it stands: “These doors stay open” the organisation Tweeted.
However, despite this positive tone, Cecile Richards, the President of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, warned of the hardships ahead: “There are almost no words to capture the threat that this election result poses to our democracy, to our economic security, to access to reproductive health care and most especially to the safety and dignity of people of colour.”
However, what is certain is that he plans to appoint a Judge to the Supreme Court who he thinks would vote for overturning Roe Vs Wade and all strides to improve reproductive rights and care in the states will be revoked and reduced.
While there are structures in place to ensure gridlock and red tape to slow the progression of policy, with Republicans in control of the House and Senate, Trump will be a force to be reckoned with initially.
Below is a transcript of his, “Contract with the American People” from his address at Gettysburg:
“What follows is my 100-day action plan to Make America Great Again. It is a contract between myself and the American voter — and begins with restoring honesty, accountability and change to Washington.
Therefore, on the first day of my term of office, my administration will immediately pursue the following six measures to clean up the corruption and special interest collusion in Washington, DC:
* FIRST, propose a Constitutional Amendment to impose term limits on all members of Congress;
* SECOND, a hiring freeze on all federal employees to reduce federal workforce through attrition (exempting military, public safety, and public health);
* THIRD, a requirement that for every new federal regulation, two existing regulations must be eliminated;
* FOURTH, a 5 year-ban on White House and Congressional officials becoming lobbyists after they leave government service;
* FIFTH, a lifetime ban on White House officials lobbying on behalf of a foreign government;
* SIXTH, a complete ban on foreign lobbyists raising money for American elections.
On the same day, I will begin taking the following 7 actions to protect American workers:
* FIRST, I will announce my intention to renegotiate NAFTA or withdraw from the deal under Article 2205
* SECOND, I will announce our withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership
* THIRD, I will direct my Secretary of the Treasury to label China a currency manipulator
* FOURTH, I will direct the Secretary of Commerce and U.S. Trade Representative to identify all foreign trading abuses that unfairly impact American workers and direct them to use every tool under American and international law to end those abuses immediately
* FIFTH, I will lift the restrictions on the production of $50 trillion dollars’ worth of job-producing American energy reserves, including shale, oil, natural gas and clean coal.
* SIXTH, lift the Obama-Clinton roadblocks and allow vital energy infrastructure projects, like the Keystone Pipeline, to move forward
* SEVENTH, cancel billions in payments to U.N. climate change programs and use the money to fix America’s water and environmental infrastructure
Additionally, on the first day, I will take the following five actions to restore security and the constitutional rule of law:
* FIRST, cancel every unconstitutional executive action, memorandum and order issued by President Obama
* SECOND, begin the process of selecting a replacement for Justice Scalia from one of the 20 judges on my list, who will uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States
* THIRD, cancel all federal funding to Sanctuary Cities
* FOURTH, begin removing the more than 2 million criminal illegal immigrants from the country and cancel visas to foreign countries that won’t take them back
* FIFTH, suspend immigration from terror-prone regions where vetting cannot safely occur. All vetting of people coming into our country will be considered extreme vetting.
Next, I will work with Congress to introduce the following broader legislative measures and fight for their passage within the first 100 days of my Administration:
1. Middle Class Tax Relief And Simplification Act. An economic plan designed to grow the economy 4% per year and create at least 25 million new jobs through massive tax reduction and simplification, in combination with trade reform, regulatory relief, and lifting the restrictions on American energy. The largest tax reductions are for the middle class. A middle-class family with 2 children will get a 35% tax cut. The current number of brackets will be reduced from 7 to 3, and tax forms will likewise be greatly simplified. The business rate will be lowered from 35 to 15 percent, and the trillions of dollars of American corporate money overseas can now be brought back at a 10 percent rate.
2. End The Offshoring Act. Establishes tariffs to discourage companies from laying off their workers in order to relocate in other countries and ship their products back to the U.S. tax-free.
3. American Energy & Infrastructure Act. Leverages public-private partnerships, and private investments through tax incentives, to spur $1 trillion in infrastructure investment over 10 years. It is revenue neutral.
4. School Choice And Education Opportunity Act. Redirects education dollars to give parents the right to send their kid to the public, private, charter, magnet, religious or home school of their choice. Ends common core, brings education supervision to local communities. It expands vocational and technical education, and make 2 and 4-year college more affordable.
5. Repeal and Replace Obamacare Act. Fully repeals Obamacare and replaces it with Health Savings Accounts, the ability to purchase health insurance across state lines, and lets states manage Medicaid funds. Reforms will also include cutting the red tape at the FDA: there are over 4,000 drugs awaiting approval, and we especially want to speed the approval of life-saving medications.
6. Affordable Childcare and Eldercare Act. Allows Americans to deduct childcare and elder care from their taxes, incentivizes employers to provide on-side childcare services, and creates tax-free Dependent Care Savings Accounts for both young and elderly dependents, with matching contributions for low-income families.
7. End Illegal Immigration Act Fully-funds the construction of a wall on our southern border with the full understanding that the country Mexico will be reimbursing the United States for the full cost of such wall; establishes a 2-year mandatory minimum federal prison sentence for illegally re-entering the U.S. after a previous deportation, and a 5-year mandatory minimum for illegally re-entering for those with felony convictions, multiple misdemeanor convictions or two or more prior deportations; also reforms visa rules to enhance penalties for overstaying and to ensure open jobs are offered to American workers first.
8. Restoring Community Safety Act. Reduces surging crime, drugs and violence by creating a Task Force On Violent Crime and increasing funding for programs that train and assist local police; increases resources for federal law enforcement agencies and federal prosecutors to dismantle criminal gangs and put violent offenders behind bars.
9. Restoring National Security Act. Rebuilds our military by eliminating the defense sequester and expanding military investment; provides Veterans with the ability to receive public VA treatment or attend the private doctor of their choice; protects our vital infrastructure from cyber-attack; establishes new screening procedures for immigration to ensure those who are admitted to our country support our people and our values
10. Clean up Corruption in Washington Act. Enacts new ethics reforms to Drain the Swamp and reduce the corrupting influence of special interests on our politics.
On November 8th, Americans will be voting for this 100-day plan to restore prosperity to our economy, security to our communities, and honesty to our government.
This is my pledge to you.
And if we follow these steps, we will once more have a government of, by and for the people.”
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