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You're Hired: Tracking the Trump Administration Transition - January 23, 2017
Trump Administration (first term)  Vice President Mike Pence Cabinet • White House staff • Transition team • Trump's second term |
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| Polling indexes: Opinion polling during the Trump administration |
This is the January 23, 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.
Last weekend’s executive actions
Cabinet appointments
On Friday, President Trump made three executive actions. Two were to officially swear in Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly, both of whom were confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Friday.
Affordable Care Act
Friday’s third executive order, which concerned the Affordable Care Act, gave broad authority to the head of the Department of Health and Human Services, as well as the heads of other executive offices and governmental departments, “to waive, defer, grant exemptions from, or delay the implementation of any provision or requirement of the Act that would impose a fiscal burden on any State or a cost, fee, tax, penalty, or regulatory burden on individuals, families, healthcare providers, health insurers, patients, recipients of healthcare services, purchasers of health insurance, or makers of medical devices, products, or medications.”
The order’s immediate effects are difficult to assess, but it does appear that the individual mandate at the core of the law is the target. No specific action was directed as a result of the order.
Read on: Federal policy on healthcare, 2017-2020
This morning’s executive actions
Trans-Pacific Partnership
Trump signed an executive order this morning withdrawing the United States from negotiations involving the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). This effectively ends U.S. involvement in the multilateral trade deal, which had not been ratified by Congress. As he signed the order, Trump called it a “great thing for the American worker.” The promise to remove the United States from TPP negotiations was part of a short YouTube video that Trump released on November 21, 2016, when he said that he would issue a “notification of intent to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership” on his first day in office.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership is a trade deal among the United States and 11 Asia-Pacific countries: Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. The deal seeks to promote trade and strengthen the relationships between the 12 nations by reducing and eliminating tariffs, fostering competition, and creating greater opportunities for businesses. The countries involved have also agreed to promote environmental protection practices and enforce laws protecting workers. Trump and others had opposed the deal, saying that it would cause job loss in the United States.
Hiring freeze
In another executive order, Trump authorized a hiring freeze for the federal government. The freeze excludes the military, national security staff, and staff responsible for public safety and public health. The hiring freeze was one portion of the Trump campaign’s “Contract for the American Voter,” which he announced in October 2016. That proposal said the freeze aimed “to clean up the corruption and special interest collusion in Washington, DC.”
Mexico City Policy
Trump also signed an executive order to reinstate the Mexico City Policy, a policy regarding non-governmental organization (NGO) funding and abortion named after the city in which it was announced. The Mexico City Policy—called the “Global Gag Rule” by political opponents— was introduced by President Ronald Reagan (R) in 1984 and makes “neither perform[ing] nor actively promot[ing] abortion as a method of family planning in other nations” conditions of receiving federal funding for any NGO. Rescinding or reinstating this policy has become a tradition when party control of the White House changes. After being instituted in 1984 by Reagan, President Bill Clinton (D) rescinded the policy on January 22, 1993. Exactly nine years later, President George W. Bush (R) reinstated the policy, only to have in rescinded by President Barack Obama (D) on January 23, 2009.
Reaction to this order fell along partisan lines.
From members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee:
- Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.): “The Trump Administration and Republican leadership have made no secret of their dangerous obsession with rolling back reproductive rights. President Trump's reinstatement of the Global Gag Rule ignores decades of research, instead favoring ideological politics over women and families.”
- Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.): “I applaud the reinstitution of the Mexico City policy. Taxpayer money should never be used to promote the taking of innocent life.”
From outside organizations:
- The ACLU: “Trump's 3rd executive order today is assault on women's health. ‘Mexico City policy’ strips US support from health clinics around the globe.”
- The Family Research Council: “Funding foreign groups that promote or participate in abortion violates the principle that there should be a ‘wall of separation’ between taxpayer money and abortion. Family Research Council and the pro-life movement looks forward to continuing to work with the Trump administration in bringing about a culture of life in which every child is welcomed into this world and protected under our laws, both here and abroad.”
Today’s votes
Two votes are expected later today.
The full Senate is expected to vote on potential confirmation for Kansas Rep. Mike Pompeo (R), Trump’s selection as head of the CIA. The vote had originally been slated for Inauguration Day but was rescheduled to today after Republicans and Democrats agreed to begin debate on Pompeo’s nomination. Pompeo’s initial hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee was on January 12. We covered the highlights of his testimony here.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is scheduled to vote on Rex Tillerson, Trump’s nominee for secretary of state. The committee can vote favorably, unfavorably, or with no recommendation. The Committee on Foreign Relations has 11 Republicans and 10 Democrats and is chaired by Bob Corker (R-Tenn.). Ben Cardin (Md.) is the committee’s highest ranking Democrat. Tillerson initially appeared before the committee on January 11, and we recapped what he had to say here. After that hearing, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) would not publicly commit to backing Tillerson’s nomination, opening questions of whether Tillerson would receive a favorable recommendation. Today, Rubio announced that he would support Tillerson in the committee’s vote.
Tomorrow’s votes
The Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs is expected to vote on Ben Carson’s nomination to be the next secretary of housing and urban development. The committee has 12 Republican and 11 Democratic members and is chaired by Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho). Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown is the committee’s highest ranking Democrat. Carson initially appeared before the committee on January 12. We covered his confirmation hearing in detail here.
The Judiciary Committee was expected to vote on Jeff Sessions’ nomination to be the next attorney general. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) indicated that she would request an extra week before voting “to give the committee more time to conduct its due diligence.” Sessions’ initial hearing before the committee was on January 10 and 11, when he was questioned on a range of issues, including immigration, antitrust laws, torture, and civil rights issues. The committee has 20 members, with 11 Republicans and nine Democrats. A majority (11) is needed to move Sessions’ confirmation forward. The committee’s nine Democrats have stopped short of saying they intend to try to block Sessions from making it out of committee, while the 11 Republicans have generally voiced support for his confirmation.
See also
- You're Hired: Tracking the Trump Administration Transition
- Donald Trump presidential transition team
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