Trump Tracker: All the Executive Orders Issued by the President

January 25, 2017 in News by RBN

Paste Magazine

Trump Tracker: All the Executive Orders Issued by the President

In the early days of a presidential administration there’s a lot of hurly-burly activity to keep tabs on. There are presidential cabinet nominees, potential Supreme Court appointments, daily briefings, Congressional meetings, executive orders and executive actions.

The latter two have already been grabbing headlines in the first few days of Donald Trump’s presidency, as the 45th President has issued 10 thus far. It started with an attack on the Affordable Care Act, weakening the mandate for everyone to buy insurance in what looks like a prelude to a total repeal. Since then, Trump has issued nine other executive orders that deal with federal hiring, abortions, TPP, and the Dakota and Keystone XL Pipelines. The current administration’s executive order pace—as of now, 608.333 in the first year—is record-setting, though it will likely recede well below that projected total.

Still, it’s important and beneficial to keep tabs on such orders considering that, in the past, they’ve helped to free slaves, desegregate schools and end deportation of so-called DREAMers.

To aid in this endeavor, we’ll have this post: a running “Trump Tracker” that will be updated anytime the President issues a new executive order. We’ll note what number the order is, what it is and what it actually means. So anytime there’s talk of a new executive order, stop by Paste and we’ll break it down for you.

Current Executive Order Total: 10

Current Pace for Year One: 608.333

Executive Order #1
What It Is: An order minimizing the economic burden of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act pending repeal.
What It Means: There could now be less enforcement of the mandate for everyone to buy insurance, which would create instability in the exchanges.

Executive Order #2
What It Is: A federal government hiring freeze for all new and existing positions, except for military, national security and public safety jobs.
What It Means: The order intends to curb governmental growth and aims to ultimately reduce federal workforce size, but could force federal agencies to use more contractors, which would drive prices up. The action specifically applies to the civilian workforce in the executive branch, which totals some 1.36 million people, according to a 2014 Office of Personal Management report.

Executive Order #3
What It Is: Any Obama-era regulation, signed in his lame-duck period, is being put on hold until further review by the Trump administration.
What It Means: Some agencies are “broadly interpreting the regulatory freeze,” delaying outreach meetings and ceasing the renewal of certain governmental forms. But more importantly, sanctions against the growingly nationalistic Burma are now on delay.

Executive Order #4
What It Is: An order to pull out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiated under the Obama administration.
What It Means: TPP is dead. The move will not have an immediately discernible impact on the American economy, but signals that the Trump administration might well take a more protectionist approach on economic issues.

Executive Order #5
What It Is: An order reinstating the “Mexico City Policy,” which is a ban on federal funding to international groups that perform abortions or lobby to legalize or promote abortion.
What It Means: The policy, implemented by President Reagan in 1984 while at a UN meeting in Mexico City, has gone in and out of effect based on the ruling executive party. The policy doesn’t affect services within the United States, but does limit access and funding in international communities.

Executive Orders #6-10
What They Are: An interrelated set of orders that: streamline permitting and regulatory burden for domestic manufacturers in order to speed up the process, expedite environmental review and approval of high-priority infrastructure projects, accelerate the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipeline projects, and state that pipelines intended for usage in United States should be built in the country.
What They Mean: Until the Trump administration can do an infrastructure bill with Congress, it will be making its own deals early and often. Such deals fit in with Trump’s “America First” energy policy, but do potentially put the administration at odds with the promise to “conserve natural habitats” and “preserve natural resources.” Also, the pipeline orders signal that the DAPL fight may well be back on.

Check back in with Paste’s tracker to get the latest updates on executive orders.