President Trump’s “hour of action” has arrived. He’s made it clear that he’s not wasting any time using the power of his pen to chip away at the progress we’ve made over the past eight years. The brand-new administration has already issued a series of executive orders on trade, housing, health care, and labor- and we can expect some even more troubling ones to land in the next few days. Here’s what you need to know about some of Trump’s most destructive Executive Order plans:
- Global Gag Rule. Just hours into his presidency, Trump attacked women’s reproductive health care by reinstating the Mexico City Policy. Also known as the “Global Gag Rule”, it prevents organizations that receive any U.S. international family planning funding from activities related to abortion. Under the rule, they can’t even use separate non-U.S. funding to provide abortion care, talk about abortion, or refer women to providers of safe abortion care. Unfortunately, this is likely just the first of many actions that the Trump administration and new Congress will take to restrict women’s access to reproductive health care both at home and abroad. Here’s what’s at stake for women.
- Federal Housing Administration EO. Just hours after being inaugurated, Trump made it harder for many Americans to afford their homes. His administration revoked a recent price cut in fee rates for mortgages, which could cost new homebuyers an additional $500 on their housing payments in 2017.
- Immigration. Details still TBD, but be prepared for Team Trump to start using executive authority to clamp down on immigration ASAP. They reportedly have plans to roll back key immigrant protections and limit immigration from countries with ties to terrorism. As the details of these draconian plans unfold, remember that Trump’s approach to immigration is not only ineffective and dangerous, but it completely contradicts our identity as a nation and our core values as Americans.
FACT CHECK
#SpicerFacts. We’re apparently in an Administration where the rules are made up and the facts don’t matter, because Trump’s press secretary, Sean Spicer, spent his first press conference lying about the attendance at Trump’s inauguration and attacking the media. No matter what Spicer says, the photos don’t lie. But, according to Kellyanne Conway, Spicer wasn’t lying, he was just saying “alternative facts.”
ACTION OF THE DAY
#MuteMonday. Any hopes that Trump might censor his Twitter usage once he officially became president were squashed this weekend when President Trump took to twitter to criticize the women’s march. Here’s where you come in. Do your part to make sure Trump doesn’t have the audience he wants on Twitter. Unfollow @realdonaldtrump and @POTUS and instead follow someone making the world a better place. We suggest @amprog and @CAPAction of course, but also @UnitedWeDream, @PPFA, and @ACLU. Check out #MuteMonday for more suggestions. Then tell your friends!
WHAT’S TRENDING
Medicaid. Even though President Trump promised during the campaign that he would not going to cut Medicaid, his health plan is going to anyway. Cutting Medicaid will take away health care for 70 million low-income Americans. Trump also appointed Tom Price for the Health and Human Services nominee, who wants to gut Medicare, so apparently Trump isn’t keeping his promise to not cut Medicare either.
President Trump vs. The Constitution. That’s right folks, it’s week one and President Trump is already facing lawsuits. The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics (CREW), a group of lawyers dedicated to ridding Washington of dark money in politics, is suing Trump for his possible violations of the Emoluments Clause. The Big EC makes it so no public official can profit from office (think: the DC Post Office Pavilion owned by the government and leased by Trump). We’ll see what alternative facts Trump will try to spin with this one.
TRANSITION TRACKER
All Talk. No Action. After putting on quite the show about Donald Trump’s pick for Secretary of State, GOP Senators Lindsay Graham (R-SC), John McCain (R-AZ) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) have all buckled on their opposition to Rex Tillerson. Despite huge concerns about Tillerson’s climate denial record, his tenure at Exxon, and his ties with Russia, all three Senators have said they’ll vote in favor of Tillerson’s nomination.
GOOD NEWS
Women’s March. Millions of people attended Women’s Marches on Saturday, which occurred in all 50 states and in more than 70 countries. The Women’s March had a progressive platform and the giant crowds reminded us that love really does trump hate. Follow up on the march by signing up for their 100 days of action.