In office barely a week, President Donald Trump has set about the task of making real his campaign promises. He’s already taken executive actions that: begin the dismantling of Obamacare; withdraw the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership; freeze all federal regulations for review, but speed up those for manufacturing applications; fast-track the Keystone and Dakota Access oil pipelines, and further requiring that all pipeline material, including for repair, be U.S.-manufactured; beef up and accelerate the U.S.’s deportation program, including blocking grants to “sanctuary cities” that are seen as unwilling to enforce immigration laws; and building a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico, adding 5,000 more border patrol agents.
Trump’s swift moves, requiring no congressional debate, have roiled the Democratic opposition and even some in the Republican establishment. But he’s using a tactic often used by his predecessor, President Barack Obama, to undo many of Obama’s signature policy victories. Meanwhile, Trump is scoring big with his supporters for delivering what he promised.
Where does this leave the opposition? Even as we read the political landscape in Trump World, are we any clearer about the state of play?