What Do You Think About Trump's First Six Months?

BRINGING ACCOUNTABILITY BACK TO GOVERNMENT: In six months in office, President Trump has followed through on his promise to the American people to bring accountability back to government.

·         President Trump fulfilled his promise to the American people by nominating and, after Senate confirmation, appointing Neil Gorsuch as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.

·         President Trump implemented higher ethical standards to make sure his Administration works for the American people.

o    President Trump signed an Executive Order implementing tough new lobbying standards for political appointees, including a five-year ban on lobbying and a lifetime ban on lobbying for foreign countries.

o    President Trump has donated his salary, following through on his promise to the American people.

·         To make sure the Government serves the needs of all Americans, President Trump has called for a comprehensive plan to reorganize the executive branch and has used his budget to begin to implement his plan.

o    President Trump created the Office of American Innovation to streamline and improve the Government for future generations.

SPURRING JOBS CREATION: President Trump’s impact on the economy has been immediate, spurring job creation across the country.

·         President Trump signed the “Buy American and Hire American” Executive Order, prioritizing the interests of American businesses and workers.

o    “Buy American” promotes American industry, protecting it from unfair competition by targeting the abusive use of waivers and exceptions to laws on the books.

o    “Hire American” calls for the reform of our visa programs, ensuring that they no longer displace American workers, while fully enforcing laws governing the entry of foreign workers.

·         President Trump signed an Executive Order, making it easier for businesses to start and expand apprenticeship programs.

·         The Dow Jones Industrial Average has increased 17 percent since election day, hitting new highs 25 times this year already.

·         Since January, the economy added 863,000 jobs, including 821,000 in the private sector.

o    79,000 construction jobs added since January.

o    42,000 mining and logging jobs added since January.

o    41,000 manufacturing jobs added since January.

CUTTING DOWN JOB KILLING REGULATIONS: Just six months in office, President Trump has taken historic action to eliminate wasteful and costly regulations that have stood in the way of hardworking Americans.

·         The American Action Forum estimates a potential $70 billion in costs reductions from President Trump’s actions to cut back regulations.

·         President Trump has signed 14 Congressional Review Act resolutions into law, ending burdensome Obama-era rules and regulations, more than all other Presidents combined.

·         By withdrawing from the Paris Climate Accord, President Trump protected America from a bad deal that would have harmed our economy.

o    According to a study by NERA Consulting, meeting the Obama Administration’s obligations under the Paris Climate Accord could have cost the United States economy nearly $3 trillion.

o    According to the same study, 6.5 million industrial sector jobs could have been lost, including 3.1 million manufacturing sector jobs.

·         In order to control regulatory costs, President Trump signed an Executive Order mandating that for every one new regulation, two old regulations must be eliminated.

·         Through infrastructure reform and investment, the Trump Administration aims to dramatically reduce permit approvals for projects from 10 years to 2 years, spurring investment and job creation.

OPENING UP AMERICAN ENERGY: In six months, President Trump has turned around America’s policy on energy production after years of opposition.

·         President Trump has acted aggressively to increase exports of our energy resources to a global market.

o    Updated guidance from the Treasury Department to allow the United States to export coal.

o    Expedited the permitting and approval processes of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminals and exports, including the approval of the Lake Charles LNG terminal in Louisiana.

·         President Trump has unleashed oil and gas development in the United States by expanding access to resources and the infrastructure needed to get them to market.

o    Approved the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines, creating over 42,000 jobs and $2 billion in earnings.

§  Signed an Executive Order mandating future pipeline work to be done by American workers and with American steel.

o    Expedited new pipeline approval and production, such as the New Burgos Pipeline to Mexico.

o    Signed an Executive Order to extend offshore oil and gas drilling and reissued a leasing program to develop offshore resources.

o    Boosting oil and gas development on Federal lands.

·         The Environmental Protection Agency is reconsidering an Obama-era rule on greenhouse gas emissions that is estimated to cost oil and natural gas operators as much as $530 million annually.

·         President Trump kept his campaign promise to coal miners and rolled back the previous Administration’s “Stream Protection Rule,” which targeted the beleaguered industry with estimated costs of at least $81 million a year.

A FREE AND FAIR TRADE AGENDA: President Trump is putting America First in trade negotiations, pursuing reciprocal agreements with our trading partners so everyone benefits.

·         One of President Trump’s first actions was to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, after the Obama Administration’s efforts failed to protect American workers.

·         President Trump announced he will renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to better reflect our modern economy while benefitting all parties so involved.

o    This week, the United States Trade Representative released its objectives for upcoming NAFTA negotiations.

·         Last week, the President began the process of renegotiating the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement.

·         Negotiations President Trump started with China on economic cooperation have already produced results for American businesses.

o    For the first time in 14 years, American beef imports have returned to China.

o    China is welcome to negotiate contracts to import American liquefied natural gas.

·         President Trump delivered on his campaign promise to roll back the Obama Administration’s bad deal on Cuba that benefitted the Cuban regime at the expense of the Cuban people.

RESTORING LAW AND ORDER TO IMMIGRATION: President Trump has prioritized enforcing immigration laws in his first six months to protect all Americans, ensuring that our immigration system treats everyone fairly.

·         President Trump instituted tough immigration policies that have reduced illegal border crossings by 53 percent compared to the same time last year.

o    The President ordered the hiring of 10,000 new Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, including 5,000 additional border patrol agents.

·         Within the first 100 days of President Trump signing his executive orders on immigration enforcement, ICE conducted nearly 40 percent more Enforcement and Removal Operations compared to the same time last year.

o    Arrests of convicted criminal aliens climbed by nearly 20 percent in this time compared to the same time last year.

·         In fiscal year 2017, ICE has removed over 2,700 criminal gang members, compared to 2,057 criminal gang members in all of fiscal year 2016.

o    ICE has specifically targeted MS-13 criminal gang members for removal on immigration violations.

·         To jumpstart construction on the border wall, the President ordered the Department of Homeland Security to use $100 million of unspent appropriations in its account for border security, fencing and infrastructure.

·         President Trump directed executive agencies to employ all lawful means to enforce the immigration laws of the United States, including clamping down on sanctuary cities.

o    Attorney General Jeff Sessions implemented new charging guidelines to end catch-and-release policies.

·         President Trump ordered the creation of the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement (VOICE) office at DHS, ensuring that our Government can no longer ignore the victims of criminal acts by illegal aliens.

PROVIDING FOR OUR NATION’S VETERANS: President Trump is making sure our veterans get the care they deserve after they have sacrificed for our country.

·         Under President Trump, Department of Veterans Affairs fired over 500 employees, suspended 200, and demoted 33, as part of President Trump’s efforts to restore integrity and accountability to a department charged with supporting our Nation’s heroes.

o    22 senior leaders were disciplined.

·         President Trump signed the Veterans Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act, enabling senior Veterans Affairs officials to fire failing employees while establishing important safeguards to protect whistleblowers.

·         The Veterans Affairs administration is shifting veterans’ electronic medical records to the same system used by the Defense Department, ending a decades-old rift in sharing information between the two agencies.

·         President Trump signed legislation allowing our veterans to receive care outside of the Veterans Affairs medical system.

·         The Department of Veterans Affairs has acted to increase transparency and accountability by launching an online “Access and Quality Tool” to provide veterans a way to access wait time and quality of care data.

AMERICA FIRST FOREIGN POLICY AND NATIONAL SECURITY: In the first six months of his Administration, President Trump has put America First in world affairs and national security.

·         During his historic speech in Poland, President Trump reasserted that America would defend its interests and allies after years of neglect by the previous Administration.

·         President Trump brokered a ceasefire in southwest Syria as part of his commitment to end the conflict, reduce human suffering, and defeat ISIS.

·         During his first international trip, President Trump supported the opening of a new “Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology” in Saudi Arabia, created to empower Muslim-majority countries to more effectively combat radicalization.

·         President Trump has increased pressure on Iran to end its destructive and destabilizing actions in the Middle East, including its continued ballistic missile research.

o    The Department of the Treasury sanctioned over 25 entities and individuals involved in Iran’s ballistic missile program, ensuring our ability to monitor potentially malicious actors while preventing future acts of terrorism.

o    This week, the United States sanctioned sixteen entities and individuals that have supported Iran’s military and Revolutionary Guard Corps in the development of drones, fast attack boats, and other military equipment.

·         President Trump has allowed the military to push back against threats to our interests and allies.

o    In his first six months, President Trump worked with our partners and allies in the Middle East to defeat ISIS, leading to Iraqi forces recapturing Mosul.

o    After the Syrian regime used chemical weapons against civilians, President Trump authorized strikes against the airbase that launched the chemical attacks, demonstrating our national commitment to preventing further atrocities.

o    President Trump has lifted restrictions that had prevented the Secretary of Defense and our commanders in the field from fully using their judgement and expertise.

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