For months throughout his presidential campaign, Donald Trump laid out the major issues he would seek to address in his first 100 days as president. Now, in the aftermath of his surprise electoral victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton, his plans could become reality — concrete designs for a new Republican White House.
Trump has made promises on key issues that stand in stark contrast to Barack Obama’s policies on health care, trade and foreign policy. Should Trump take action on his pledges, he stands to be extremely active during his first three months in the Oval Office.
Many of Trump’s pledges revolve around the goal of reforming or replacing laws established over the past eight years, bolstering national security and improving the country’s reputation internationally. The Republican nominee argued that Clinton represented another four-year term for the Obama administration, and Trump has vowed to radically change the direction of the country from his first day on the job.
First Day in Office
During the campaign, Trump frequently pointed to the tasks he wishes to accomplish on his first day in the Oval Office.
Laying out the aims of his administration, Trump said he will “repeal and replace ‘Obamacare,’” “immediately suspend the admission of Syrian refugees,” “order a review of every single regulation issued over the last eight years,” “begin lifting all regulations that are hurting our workers and our businesses,” “terminate every single unconstitutional executive order signed by President Obama,” “restore the rule of law to our land,” “begin implementing plans for construction of a wall along our southern border” and “get rid of” international gangs of thugs and drug cartels — all on his first day.
‘Drain the Swamp’
In the subsequent 99 days, Trump has promised to “drain the swamp” — the campaign’s term for rooting out corruption in Washington. A major pledge of his is a “constitutional amendment to impose term limits on all members of Congress.” Representatives and senators may currently serve an unlimited number of two- and six-year terms, respectively.
Additionally, Trump has proposed a law barring government officials from lobbying the government within five years of their service and prohibiting lobbying by those officials on behalf of foreign governments. He also said he will institute a hiring freeze in order to reduce the size of the federal government. Campaign finance reform would take the form of forbidding foreign lobbyists to raise money on behalf of campaigns in the U.S.
Trade and Foreign Policy
“We don’t win on trade” was a frequent refrain heard at Trump rallies, and in response, the real estate mogul has said he will renegotiate NAFTA and withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership. He said he will direct his secretary of the treasury to pursue action against Chinese currency manipulation.
Trump has said he will renegotiate the Iran nuclear deal, call a NATO summit to update the organization’s mission and rebalance members’ “financial commitments,” cancel payments to the United Nations’ climate-change programs and divert that money to domestic infrastructure improvement.
The Republican has vowed to increase investment in the nation’s military and be “unpredictable” when it comes to fighting ISIS in the Middle East. On the campaign trail, he frequently criticized Obama for announcing military actions before their commencement.
Taxes and Domestic Issues
On taxes, Trump pledged “the biggest tax cut since Ronald Reagan.” The Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981 and Tax Reform Act of 1986, passed during Reagan’s presidency, simplified the tax code and lowered marginal tax rates by more than 20 percent for most citizens. Trump indicated that he will seek to reduce tax brackets from seven to three and called for business tax rates to be reduced to 15 percent.
In line with the “law and order candidate” label he assigned himself, Trump said he will increase police training programs and create a task force on violent crime.
Other Trump proposals in the first 100 days include the elimination of Common Core in public schools nationwide and the nomination of a Supreme Court justice to replace the late Antonin Scalia.
