Trump to mark milestone with rally
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump plans to mark his 100th day in office with a “BIG” rally at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex and Expo Center in Harrisburg.
Trump hits 100 days on April 29 — next Saturday.
He tweeted about the rally this past Saturday, saying that next week “I will be holding a BIG rally in Pennsylvania. Look forward to it!”
Until then, it has been a bumpy and eventful ride for Trump. The businessman came to the White House never having held public office and with a lack of detailed knowledge about many of the policy areas he would oversee as president. Several times since January, Trump has seemed surprised by aspects of the job, as if he were building a basic understanding of the work as he went along.
Trump has signed
28 bills into law so far. Thirteen aimed to reverse Obama-era policies. Several others are what one expert called “minor or housekeeping bills.” He has enacted no major pieces of legislation.
Trump has issued 24 executive orders, 22 presidential memorandums and 20 proclamations.
He is lagging when it comes to appointments, with many crucial administration positions — including Senate-confirmed posts — still vacant.
Trump has made waves with his foreign policy. He launched airstrikes in Syria after a chemical attack against civilians. He has taken a tougher posture toward North Korea and Iran. It is unclear, however, where these policies will lead.
He suggested during a visit to Kenosha, Wis., on Tuesday that “No administration has accomplished more in the first 90 days.” Experts were not particularly sympathetic to Trump’s claim.
“Trump actually is
unusual for his first 100 days but for a reason opposite of what he said,” said Max J. Skidmore, a political science professor at the University of Missouri in Kansas City and author of “Presidential Performance: A Comprehensive Review.”
“Not only has he accomplished almost nothing, but rather his initiatives (executive orders stayed by courts, a major legislative proposal failing even to come to a vote when his party controls both houses, etc.) have notoriously been unsuccessful.”
Just because the Trump administration hasn’t accomplished all it might have wished to during the first 90 days doesn’t mean there isn’t work happening.
■ Health care: Republicans on Capitol Hill have resumed the process of trying to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, but it remains to be seen whether their latest proposal will secure enough votes to pass. There are tentative plans for the House to vote on the revised measure next Wednesday, according
to a top White House official.
■ Border wall: The White House wants to use keeping the government running past April 28 to force Democrats to support funding for a wall along the southern border. This is considered a risky move, since border-wall funding has not been part of talks so far and could provoke a showdown.
■ Tax reform: How will the Trump administration achieve its desired tax cuts without increasing the federal deficit? Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the plan will “pay for itself with growth.” In his argument, reducing business and individual tax rates will unleash so much economic growth that the lost revenue will be almost completely recouped. That view has many skeptics.
One of the 2016 campaign’s most iconic quotes came when Trump expressed his gratitude for WikiLeaks. “I love WikiLeaks!” he told a rally in Pennsylvania.
It’s safe to say the organization isn’t feeling the same warmth from his administration.
Last week, CIA Director Mike Pompeo denounced
the group as a “non-state, hostile intelligence service often abetted by state actors, like Russia.”
Now, the Justice Department is weighing whether to bring criminal charges against its members over the exposure of sensitive CIA cyber-tools last month.
In recent weeks, prosecutors have been drafting a memo that contemplates leveling charges of conspiracy, theft of government property or violating the Espionage Act against members of WikiLeaks.
Their main motivation is WikiLeaks’ decision to publish thousands of files revealing CIA malware and other tools that allow agents to exploit everyday technology for the purposes of espionage.
It is not clear whether prosecutors are also looking at WikiLeaks’ role in distributing emails from the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta that U.S. officials say were hacked by Russia.