Prez gets busy
Hits Bamcare, homebuyers, regs & more
THAT DIDN’T take long.
Hours after being sworn in Friday, President Trump ordered an immediate regulatory freeze across the federal government, issued a vague executive order concerning Obamacare, and suspended a plan that would have reduced the cost of mortgages for homebuyers.
Shortly after noon, the new Trump administration halted an action set in place by his predecessor that would have saved home buyers applying for government-backed mortgages hundreds of dollars a year.
The Trump team did not explain the rationale behind the sudden reversal, but the Housing and Urban Development “mortgage letter” implied that they felt the insurance fund was not yet stable and couldn’t afford it, and suspended the cut “indefinitely ... effective immediately.”
The discount would have saved homeowners about $500 a year and was to take effect Jan. 27.
Later, the nation’s new commander-inchief took to the Oval Office to sign an executive order “minimizing the economic burden” of replacing the Affordable Care Act.
The vague order “directs the departments and agencies to ease the burden of Obamacare as we transition to repeal and replace,” White House press secretary Sean Spicer said.
The edict could grant states more flexibility in carrying out health care programs and directs federal agencies to stop issuing regulations expanding the law’s reach.
It also calls for waivers, exemptions and delays of provisions that would impose costs on states or individuals, including the law’s penalties on people who remain uninsured.
The White House also released a memo from Chief of Staff Reince Priebus to federal agencies calling for an immediate government-wide moratorium on “any new or pending regulations.”
As Washington, D.C., was awash in pomp, circumstance and protests surrounding Trump’s inauguration, the White House’s official website underwent a complete overhaul. The reboot offered a digital glimpse at what’s to come under the new administration, with many pledges echoing Trump campaign promises.
Policies outlined on the new site include Trump’s commitment to eliminate the Climate Action Plan.
“President Trump is committed to eliminating harmful and unnecessary policies such as the Climate Action Plan and the Waters of the U.S. rule,” the website states.
Other changes to the website include a revised foreign policy plan, and pages about LGBT rights, AIDS, and civil rights were eliminated and replaced by pages that include a biography of First Lady Melania Trump and mentions her modeling career and jewelry line.
The website lists six “issues” as priorities, including an “America First Energy Plan” and “Standing Up For Our Law Enforcement Community.” It does not include a plan for health care.
As the site went live, Trump signed a series of procedural orders while at the Capitol. The paperwork officially sent his Cabinet nominations to the Senate and called for a national day of Patriotism. He also signed into law a waiver allowing for Defense Secretary-designate James Mattis, a retired Marine Corps general, to run the Pentagon.
Trump campaigned on a detailed to-do list for his first days in office that included proposing a constitutional amendment imposing term limits on members of Congress, imposing a hiring freeze for federal workers and removing immigrants with criminal records.