Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey
You're Hired: Tracking the Trump Administration Transition - February 3, 2017
Trump Administration (first term)  Vice President Mike Pence Cabinet • White House staff • Transition team • Trump's second term |
Domestic affairs: Abortion • Crime and justice • Education • Energy and the environment • Federal courts • Firearms policy • First Amendment • Healthcare • Immigration • Infrastructure • LGBTQ issues • Marijuana • Puerto Rico • Social welfare programs • Veterans • Voting issues Economic affairs and regulations: Agriculture and food policy • Budget • Financial regulation • Jobs • Social Security • Taxes • Trade Foreign affairs and national security: Afghanistan • Arab states of the Persian Gulf • China • Cuba • Iran • Iran nuclear deal • Islamic State and terrorism • Israel and Palestine • Latin America • Military • NATO • North Korea • Puerto Rico • Russia • Syria • Syrian refugees • Technology, privacy, and cybersecurity |
| Polling indexes: Opinion polling during the Trump administration |
This is the February 3, 2017, edition of an email sent from November 2016 to September 2017 that covered Donald Trump's presidential transition, cabinet appointees, and the different policy positions of those individuals who may have had an effect on the new administration. Previous editions of "You're Hired" can be found here.
The Trump administration in the world
While President Donald Trump’s first week in office was defined by executive actions on domestic issues like border security, government regulations, abortion, and energy production, he turned his attention to the international stage this week.
We provide a breakdown of the major foreign policy moves the Trump administration has recently made.
Russian sanctions and cybersecurity
On Thursday, the Trump administration modified sanctions issued against Russia during the Obama administration. The Treasury Department released a license permitting certain technology-related transactions between U.S. companies and the Federal Security Service of Russia. The sanctions were initially put in place in December 2016 following reports from the national intelligence community that Russia had used cyberattacks to influence the presidential election.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer rejected characterizations of the license as an easing of sanctions. He said, “The Treasury Department — from what I understand, it is a fairly common practice for the Treasury Department, after sanctions are put in place, to go back and to look at whether or not there needs to be specific carve-outs for different either industries or products and services that need to be going back and forth.”
Read more about the Trump administration's policy on cybersecurity.
Russian military intervention in eastern Ukraine and Crimea
Following renewed fighting in eastern Ukraine this week between government troops and Russian-backed separatists, Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, condemned Russia. “We do want to better our relations with Russia,” Haley said. “However, the dire situation in eastern Ukraine is one that demands clear and strong condemnation of Russia’s actions.”
She added, “The United States continues to condemn and call for an immediate end to the Russian occupation of Crimea. Crimea is a part of Ukraine. Our Crimea-related sanctions will remain in place until Russia returns control over the peninsula to Ukraine.”
Read more about the Trump administration's policy on Russia.
Israeli settlements
The White House released a statement on Thursday cautioning that further Israeli settlement activity could impact the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. "While we don’t believe the existence of settlements is an impediment to peace, the construction of new settlements or the expansion of existing settlements beyond their current borders may not be helpful in achieving that goal. As the President has expressed many times, he hopes to achieve peace throughout the Middle East region. The Trump administration has not taken an official position on settlement activity and looks forward to continuing discussions, including with Prime Minister Netanyahu when he visits with President Trump later this month," the statement read.
Previously, in December 2016, Trump opposed a U.N. Security Council draft resolution condemning Israeli settlements in territory claimed by Palestinians, including East Jerusalem, as legally invalid and calling for an end to all settlement activity. "As the United States has long maintained, peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians will only come through direct negotiations between the parties, and not through the imposition of terms by the United Nations. This puts Israel in a very poor negotiating position and is extremely unfair to all Israelis," Trump said in a statement. After the resolution passed, Trump tweeted, "The big loss yesterday for Israel in the United Nations will make it much harder to negotiate peace. Too bad, but we will get it done anyway!”
Read more about the Trump administration's policy on Israel and Palestine.
NAFTA negotiations
Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto announced on Wednesday that he would consult with Mexican businesses for 90 days before opening up negotiations on NAFTA, the trade agreement signed in 1994 by the United States, Mexico, and Canada, which eliminated tariffs on most goods to encourage free trade.
The following day, Trump acknowledged the 90-day consultation period and criticized NAFTA for harming American workers. “I have very serious concerns about NAFTA. NAFTA has been a catastrophe for our country. It's been a catastrophe for our workers and our jobs and our companies. They're leaving our country. I want to change it. And maybe we do it—maybe we do a new NAFTA and we put an extra ‘F’ in the term NAFTA. … Free and fair trade—not just free trade; free and fair trade, because it's very unfair. … I would like to speed it up if possible,” he said.
Trump noted that billionaire investor Wilbur Ross, his nominee for secretary of commerce, would lead negotiations on NAFTA. Ross was approved by the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee last week, but his confirmation vote on the Senate floor has yet to be scheduled.
Read more about the Trump administration's policy on trade.
U.S.-Australia refugee agreement
Trump disapproved of an Obama-era agreement with Australia to resettle approximately 1,250 refugees detained there from the Middle East and South Asia, tweeting on Wednesday, “Do you believe it? The Obama Administration agreed to take thousands of illegal immigrants from Australia. Why? I will study this dumb deal!”
Over the weekend, Trump spoke with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, where he allegedly criticized the deal and accused Turnbull of wanting to send the “next Boston bombers” to the United States, according to sources used by The Washington Post. Following additional reports that the phone call had been tense, Turnbull stated in a radio interview, “The call ended courteously. And as far as the nature of the discussion, it was very frank and forthright.”
White House press secretary Sean Spicer said on Wednesday that Trump would uphold the agreement, but that the refugees would be subject to “extreme vetting.” On Thursday, Australian ambassador to the U.S. Joe Hockey, White House chief of staff Reince Priebus, and White House chief strategist Steve Bannon met to discuss the deal.
Read more about the Trump administration's policy on Syrian refugees.
Iran sanctions
Following Iran’s first ballistic missile test since Trump took office on Sunday—which Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan argued did not violate the Iran nuclear deal—Trump said that “nothing is off the table” to address Iran’s actions.
On Friday, the Trump administration announced new economic sanctions against Iran based on the recent missile test and Iranian support for rebels in Yemen. The sanctions are set to impact 13 Iranian individuals and 12 companies by freezing any assets they have under U.S. control.
“Iran’s continued support for terrorism and development of its ballistic missile program poses a threat to the region, to our partners worldwide, and to the United States. … We will continue to actively apply all available tools, including financial sanctions, to address this behavior,” said John Smith, the acting director of the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, in a statement.
Read more about the Trump administration's policy on the Iran nuclear deal.
Yemen raid
On Sunday, a Navy SEAL team carried out a military raid in Yemen, the first to be ordered by Trump. The raid, which had been in development under the Obama administration, was designed to capture intelligence on al Qaeda’s personnel and supplies. Chief Petty Officer William "Ryan" Owens, 14 al Qaeda militants, and up to 30 civilians were killed in the operation.
Trump called the mission a success on Sunday, saying it led to the recovery of “important intelligence that will assist the U.S. in preventing terrorism against its citizens and people around the world.” A senior military official cautioned, however, that it was too soon to determine whether the materials collected would prove useful. Reuters also reported that some military officials believed the operation had been approved “without sufficient intelligence, ground support or adequate backup preparations.”
On Wednesday, Trump made an unscheduled visit to Dover Air Force Base to attend the dignified transfer ceremony of Owens’ remains. Owens is the first-known American combat death since Trump took office.
Confirmation hearings
David Shulkin
The Committee on Veterans’ Affairs held a confirmation hearing for David Shulkin on Wednesday. Shulkin, who was first appointed by President Barack Obama, serves as the undersecretary for health at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Here’s what we learned from Shulkin’s hearing:
- On the privatization of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Shulkin said in his opening statement, “There will be far greater accountability, dramatically improved access, responsiveness and expanded care options, but the Department of Veterans Affairs will not be privatized under my watch. If confirmed, I intend to build a system that puts Veterans first and allows them to get the best possible health care wherever it may be – in VA or with community care.”
- On evaluating infrastructure and public-private partnerships. “We must continue the progress we have made in reducing Veteran homelessness, and modernize our IT systems to improve our services and efficiencies. We also have to address infrastructure issues and take a closer look at facilities that no longer serve a useful purpose. We must explore expansion of public-private partnerships rather than continue building medical centers that have large cost overruns and take too long to build,” Shulkin said.
Upcoming confirmation votes
Betsy DeVos
Two Republican senators announced on the Senate floor on Wednesday that they would oppose the nomination of Betsy DeVos as secretary of education. In back-to-back speeches, Sens. Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) identified DeVos’ support for school voucher programs and lack of familiarity with the Disabilities Education Act as concerning. Collins and Murkowski are the first two Republicans to formally oppose any of President Donald Trump's Cabinet picks.
DeVos’ confirmation vote could come as early as Monday. Without Collins’ and Murkowski’s support, DeVos faces a possible 50-50 vote. As president of the Senate, Vice President Mike Pence would be the tie-breaking vote.
Click here for an overview of the confirmation process for all of Trump’s Cabinet nominees.
See also
- You're Hired: Tracking the Trump Administration Transition
- Donald Trump presidential transition team
| |||||||||||||||||||
