Please pass on any suggestions, corrections, or additions to info@utpog.com.
President Trump has done some amazing things. While not all of these ‘stuck’ – many were challenged in courts, most almost immediately – most of us believe he has made progress turning the ship around.
Shortly after he took office I started grabbing stories of the President’s attempts to restore our Constitutional Republic. This page is certainly not complete. There are many days when I missed a ‘win’ that Trump had, and if you miss one of these stories it is gone the next day. The media is not going to let positive Trump news sit around and risk even more people stumbling across it. Also since I grabbed these as they came out, some milestones are even better today than they were when posted (judge appointments, for instance), but COVID-19 has made some worse (unemployment records, for instance).
This page has three parts. The first section is a bullet point version of all of the accomplishments we have listed in chronological order. The second section, perhaps the most important, are the points from the first section that will appeal to Democrats. Almost all of the things in this second section are issues that conservatives will get behind, but these are issues that you can (and should) bring up with your liberal friends. Things like making the ability to freeze your credit reports (to cut down on identity theft) free for everyone.
The last section is a slightly expanded version of all of the accomplishments along with a date and, in most cases, a link to an article about the issue. I am sure some of these links no longer work, and for that, I apologize in advance. But please consider this section the ‘footnotes’ and use them as backup for the bullet points, especially when arguing with liberals.
As with anything you find on our website, feel free to use all or part of it with or without credit. Also please post corrections/additions or send them to us at info@utpog.com.
Bullet Point Trump Accomplishments for Conservatives
- Signs 5-Year Lobbying Ban for Administration Officials
- Executive Order directing federal agencies to remove two regulations for every new one they issued, and cap the total cost of new regulations at zero
- Executive Order instructing Treasury to be lax on Johnson Amendment enforcement
- Tried to add citizenship question census (was blocked, unfortunately)
- Canceled Obama order for Bureau of Prisons to “recommend housing by gender identity when appropriate.”
- Made it easier to fire federal workers
- Signed Right to Try bill into law
- Allowed free credit freeze and unfreeze for consumers
- Signs $55 Billion Bill to Replace VA Choice Program
- Cut federal payroll by 24,000
- Appointed Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh to Supreme Court
- Withdrew U.S. from U.N. Human Rights Council
- Reduced white house staff saving $5.7 million/year
- Reversed Obama’s Policy on Affirmative Action in Schools
- Made deep cuts to Obamacare “Navigators”
- Pardoned cattle ranchers who did burnings on public land
- Insisted that NATO members pay their agreed amount to support their defense
- Proposed freezing the vehicle fuel efficiency standards sought by the Obama administration
- Overhaul Obama-era regulations for coal-fired power plants, returns regulatory control to the states
- Cuts aid to Palestinians by more than $200 million
- Canceled pay raises for almost 2 million federal workers
- Closed Washington PLO office
- Put US on track to become one of the top oil exporters
- Said US would not support International Criminal Court (ICC)
- Signs bills lifting pharmacist ‘gag clauses’ on drug prices that kept pharmacists from disclosing cheaper drug options to consumers
- Signs Save our Seas Act, authorizing $10 million per year to fund NOAA’s Marine Debris Program
- Signs bill requiring airports to provide spaces for nursing mothers
- Signs Opportunity Zone order to revitalize over 8,000 economically distressed communities, affecting nearly 35 million people.
- Put unemployment at record lows for all Americans
- Hit all-time low unemployment for minorities
- Nominated conservative federal judges at a greater pace than any president
- Constant U.S. factory production expansion
- Fastest wage growth in a decade
- 2018 Holiday sales growth at a 6 year high – up 5.1% from last year.
- 2018 Christmas Day gas prices lowest in 3 years
- Protected health care workers who don’t want to treat patients based on religious or moral beliefs
- Launches global effort to end criminalization of homosexuality
- Signed executive order to promote free speech on college campuses by threatening federal funding
- Signs Biggest Wilderness Protection Bill in Decade, Designates 375,000 New Acres of Protected Land
- Recognized Israel’s control over Golan Heights
- Attempted to eliminate funding for PBS
- Working through courts to invalidate all of Obamacare
- Awarded $1.7 million Obria group, crisis pregnancy centers that oppose abortion
- Cut funds to some Planned Parenthood affiliates.
- Eliminated AMT is gone for most people
- Eliminated penalty for not having insurance
- Raised charitable deduction to 60% of AGI
- Gave 80% of taxpayers lower taxes
- Sought evictions for undocumented immigrants in public housing
- Ended US support for the Arms Trade Treaty
- Ended foreign aid for Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador until they reduce illegal aliens crossing the border
- Required upfront disclosure of costs for medical procedures.
- Expands uses for Health Savings Accounts
- Executive order on kidneys will save thousands of lives
- Appoints William Perry Pendley to lead the Bureau of Land Management
- Dramatically limits asylum claims by Central Americans
- Made taxpayer-funded family planning clinics stop referring women for abortions
- Trump administration expands scope of rapid deportations
- Offered proposal could remove 3 million from food stamps
- Boosts ability to deny green cards to immigrants using welfare programs
- Planned Parenthood abandons Title X federal funds after Trump rule prohibits abortion referrals
- Signs order to expedite forgiving student loan debt for disabled veterans
- Filed amicus brief arguing that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was written to only ban discrimination based on biological sex, not sexual orientation as it has been interpreted recently
- Establishes U.S. Space Command
- Border arrests are plummeting after Trump crackdown and having Mexico help stop the flow of illegals.
- Census Bureau released its official measures of the economic well-being of Americans in 2018
- Real median household income increased to the highest level in nearly two decades
- 2.3 million more full-time, year-round workers in 2018 than in 2017 (1.6 million were women)
- Since 2016, 4.7 million more full-time, year-round workers have been added to the workforce
- Poverty rate fell to its lowest level since 2001 reaching 11.8 percent – almost 1% lower than 2 years ago
- Since 2017, 1.4 million Americans have been lifted out of poverty
- The poverty rate fell by 0.9 percentage points for black Americans
- The poverty rate fell by 0.8 percentage points for Hispanic Americans
- The poverty rate fell by 1.2 percentage point for children
- Poverty among single mothers with children fell by 2.5 percentage points.
- The share of income held by the top 20 percent fell by the largest amount in over a decade
- Bars Immigrants Applying For Visas Who Cannot Pay For Health Care
- Reduces federal payroll by relocating offices when he isn’t allowed to fire government workers, causing many to resign rather than relocate.
- HHS announces the largest decrease in prescription drug prices in over 50 years
- Average-income family (middle class) has seen a gain of $5,003 since Trump came into office.
- US tells UN it is pulling out of Paris climate deal
- Trade Deficit falls to $52.5B. Deficit with China is 12.8% lower than it was a year ago.
- Introduces Price Transparency Requirements to Increase Competition and Lower Healthcare Costs
- Trump signs bill making animal cruelty a felony
- Stiffen Food-Stamp Work Requirement
- Betsy DeVos slashed 600 jobs at the Department of Education
- To end AIDS transmission by 2030 – Ready Set PrEP gives free Pre-exposure prophylaxis to protect up to 200,000 people a year over the next 11 years.
- Signs executive order targeting college anti-Semitism and Israel boycotts
- CNN Poll: US economy receives its best ranking in nearly 20 years
- Trump admin blocks expanded rules against some incandescent lightbulbs
- US greenhouse gas emissions were reduced an estimated 2.1% in 2019
- Signes act to Safeguard the Right to Religious Freedom for Students and Organizations
- Trump announces the US will join 1 trillion tree initiative
- ‘Birth tourism’ faces new restrictions from State Department
- Betsy DeVos issues memo to better protect student loan borrowers
- Feds sue New Jersey and King County over sanctuary policies similar to those in Oregon
- Ivanka Trump Records A Message Dedicated To Middle Eastern Women During UAE Trip addressing the USA and UAE’s combined efforts to empower women globally
- Suspended Federal Student Loan payments through September 30 (extended through all of 2020)
- Trump halts WHO funding
- Orders review of regulations suspended during COVID to see which ones could be made permanent
- First Human Space Mission Launched From U.S. Since 2011
- Executive Order to remove liability protections for social media sites that censor
- Executive Order keeping foreign-made equipment out of our power grid
- Signs Executive Order boosting support for Foster Child programs, increasing adoption chances for kids
- U.S. Navy vet freed from Iran marks over 40 American hostages and detainees brought home since Trump took office
- Signs Bill Pressuring China Over Uighur Muslim Crackdown
- Trump Signs Executive Order Helping Protect Monuments, Memorials and Statues
- Executive Order directing federal agencies to fill vacancies based on merit, rather than require a certain level of education
- Signed four executive orders to lower drug prices
- Signed the Great American Outdoors Act into law – $2.8 billion toward land acquisition and conservation efforts
- Does not take any salary, instead donates the money to charity
- Signs Executive Order to Boost U.S. Drug Manufacturing
- Congress gridlocked on Covid relief – Trump signs Executive Orders to just do it himself.
- Brokers peace deal between Israel and UAE, a victory for peaceful Muslims
- Announces posthumous pardon to Susan B. Anthony
- Sets Plan For Oil Drilling In Arctic Refuge ensuring American energy independence
- More Than 6,500 Teachers Have Had Unfair Student Debts Erased
- People who live near the most toxic sites in America say that under Trump they saw a level of attention they hadn’t seen in decades
- Warns school districts teaching 1619 curriculum they jeopardize federal funding
- Four executive orders to lower prescription drugs prices – allow drug imports from countries like Canada, requires middlemen to pass on discounts, lower insulin costs, and require Medicare to purchase drugs at the same price that other countries pay.
- Trump announces ‘1776 Commission’ to promote patriotic education and teach American exceptionalism.
- Pretty much destroyed ISIS. ISIS was a rapidly growing threat when he assumed office – a year after the end of his presidency it was a shadow of what it was.
- Ends ‘critical race theory’ training for federal employees, calls it a ‘sickness’
- The first American President in the lifetime of anyone under 30 who didn’t start a war or get us into a war and, in fact, reduced our troop deployments and involvement in other nations.
- Signed the Abraham Accords, which marked the first public normalization of relations between an Arab country and Israel since that of Jordan in 1994.
Bullet Point Trump Accomplishments for Liberals
- Signs 5-Year Lobbying Ban for Administration Officials
- Executive Order directing federal agencies to remove two regulations for every new one they issued, and cap the total cost of new regulations at zero
- Signed Right to Try bill into law
- Allowed free credit freeze and unfreeze for consumers
- Signs $55 Billion Bill to Replace VA Choice Program
- Reduced white house staff saving $5.7 million/year
- Insisted that NATO members pay their agreed amount to support their defense
- Signs bills lifting pharmacist ‘gag clauses’ on drug prices that kept pharmacists from disclosing cheaper drug options to consumers
- Signs Save our Seas Act, authorizing $10 million per year to fund NOAA’s Marine Debris Program
- Signs bill requiring airports to provide spaces for nursing mothers
- Signs Opportunity Zone order to revitalize over 8,000 economically distressed communities, affecting nearly 35 million people.
- Unemployment at record lows for all Americans
- All-time low unemployment for minorities
- Constant U.S. factory production expansion
- Fastest wage growth in a decade
- 2018 Holiday sales growth at a 6 year high – up 5.1% from last year.
- 2018 Christmas Day gas prices lowest in 3 years
- Launched global effort to end criminalization of homosexuality
- Signs Biggest Wilderness Protection Bill in Decade, Designates 375,000 New Acres of Protected Land
- Eliminated AMT for most taxpayers
- Required upfront disclosure of costs for medical procedures.
- Expanded uses for Health Savings Accounts
- Executive order on kidneys will save thousands of lives each year
- Trump administration oversees five-year high in approved citizenship applications
- Signs order to expedite forgiving student loan debt for disabled veterans
- in 2018, Real median household income increased to the highest level in nearly two decades
- 2.3 million more full-time, year-round workers in 2018 than in 2017 (1.6 million were women)
- Since 2016, 4.7 million more full-time, year-round workers have been added to the workforce
- Poverty rate fell to its lowest level since 2001 reaching 11.8 percent in 2018 – almost 1% lower than 2 years ago
- Between 2017 and 2018, 1.4 million Americans have been lifted out of poverty
- The poverty rate fell by 0.9 percentage points for black Americans in 2018
- The poverty rate fell by 0.8 percentage points for Hispanic Americans in 2018
- The poverty rate fell by 1.2 percentage point for children in 2018
- Poverty among single mothers with children fell by 2.5 percentage points in 2018
- in 2018 the share of income held by the top 20 percent fell by the largest amount in over a decade
- HHS announces the largest decrease in prescription drug prices in over 50 years
- Average-income family (middle class) has seen a gain of $5,003 since Trump came into office.
- To end AIDS transmission by 2030 – Ready Set PrEP gives free Pre-exposure prophylaxis to protect up to 200,000 people a year over the next 11 years.
- CNN Poll: US economy receives its best ranking in nearly 20 years
- Trump signs bill restoring funding for black colleges, restoring $255 million in annual funding that lapsed after Congress failed to renew it.
- Introduces Price Transparency Requirements to Increase Competition and Lower Healthcare Costs
- Trump signs bill making animal cruelty a felony
- US greenhouse gas emissions were reduced an estimated 2.1% in 2019
- Trump announces the US will join 1 trillion tree initiative
- Betsy DeVos issues memo to better protect student loan borrowers
- Ivanka Trump Records A Message Dedicated To Middle Eastern Women During UAE Trip addressing the USA and UAE’s combined efforts to empower women globally
- Suspended Federal Student Loan payments through September 30 (extended through all of 2020)
- First Human Space Mission Launched From U.S. Since 2011
- Executive Order keeping foreign-made equipment out of our power grid
- Signs Executive Order boosting support for Foster Child programs, increasing adoption chances for kids
- U.S. Navy vet freed from Iran marks over 40 American hostages and detainees brought home since Trump took office
- Signs Bill Pressuring China Over Uighur Muslim Crackdown
- Executive Order directing federal agencies to fill vacancies based on merit, rather than require a certain level of education
- Signed four executive orders to lower drug prices that progressive Democrats, including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, have pushed
- Signed the Great American Outdoors Act into law – $2.8 billion toward land acquisition and conservation efforts
- Does not take any salary, instead donates the money to charity
- Signs Executive Order to Boost U.S. Drug Manufacturing
- Congress gridlocked on Covid relief – Trump signs Executive Orders to just do it himself.
- Brokers peace deal between Israel and UAE, a victory for peaceful Muslims
- Announces posthumous pardon to Susan B. Anthony
- More Than 6,500 Teachers Have Had Unfair Student Debts Erased
- People who live near the most toxic sites in America say that under Trump they saw a level of attention they hadn’t seen in decades
- Four executive orders to lower prescription drugs prices – allow drug imports from countries like Canada, requires middlemen to pass on discounts, lower insulin costs, and require Medicare to purchase drugs at the same price that other countries pay.
- The first American President in the lifetime of anyone under 30 who didn’t start a war or get us into a war and, in fact, reduced our troop deployments and involvement in other nations.
- Pretty much destroyed ISIS. ISIS was a rapidly growing threat when he assumed office – a year after the end of his presidency it was a shadow of what it was.
- Signed the Abraham Accords, which marked the first public normalization of relations between an Arab country and Israel since that of Jordan in 1994.
An expanded version of the above lists with references
1/28/17
Signs 5-Year Lobbying Ban for Administration Officials. Doesn’t ban lobbyists, but is a step.
https://time.com/4652703/president-trump-lobbying-ban/
1/30/17
Sighs Executive Order 13771 directing federal agencies to remove two regulations for every new one they issued, and to cap the total cost of new regulations at zero
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2017/02/03/2017-02451/reducing-regulation-and-controlling-regulatory-costs
5/4/17
Trump signs Executive Order that tells the Treasury Department to be lenient in its enforcement of current law against religious organizations to allow churches to talk politics and perhaps even endorse candidates. Permanent change would require Congress to replace or remove the Johnson Amendment.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-signs-executive-order-ease-restrictions-religious-participation/story?id=47190000
March 2018
The Trump administration said they were adding a citizenship question on the 2020 census. The last time it was included was in 1950. He got shut down on this one.
5/11/18
The Bureau of Prisons rolled back some measures on Friday that helped prevent transgender prisoners from being harassed, assaulted, and sexually abused. The rules, posted just two days before President Trump’s inauguration, laid out a number of guidelines for how prisons and guards should treat transgender inmates. The manual instructed prisons to “recommend housing by gender identity when appropriate.” Now, under President Trump, some of the policies have been altered, according to an updated manual posted to the Bureau of Prisons website Friday. Officials will now use “biological sex as the initial determination” for where transgender inmates are housed. The line recommending housing by gender equality was struck out and highlighted.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018/05/11/trump-obama-rules-protecting-transgender-inmates/603904002/
5/27/18
Trump makes it easier to fire federal workers.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-makes-easier-fire-federal-workers-cuts-union/story?id=55446526
Good because:
http://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/389673-firing-bad-federal-workers-is-the-answer-for-a-better-government
5/30/18
Signed Right to Try bill into law
https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/30/politics/right-to-try-donald-trump/index.html
Trump to give ‘full pardon’ to Dinesh D’Souza
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/390029-trump-to-pardon-dinesh-dsouza
6/2/18
Allows free credit freeze and unfreeze
http://money.cnn.com/2018/05/22/pf/free-credit-freeze/index.html
6/6/2018
Signs $55 Billion Bill to Replace VA Choice Program to replace the troubled Veterans Choice Program and expand private health care options.
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2018/06/06/trump-signs-55-billion-bill-replace-va-choice-program.html
Cut federal payroll by 24,000
https://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/terence-p-jeffrey/federal-government-jobs-down-3000-may-down-24000-under-trump
6/20/18
Trump Administration Withdraws U.S. from U.N. Human Rights Council
http://time.com/5316686/trump-administration-withdraws-us-from-un-human-rights-council/
6/29/18
White House staff cut:
- 95 fewer employees on the White House staff under Trump than under Obama at this point in their respective presidencies. (In 2010, Obama had 469 employees for $38.8 million – adjusting for inflation, the payroll cost more than $43 million.)
- $5.7 million in annual payroll savings compared to the Obama 2015 payroll. In 2018, the Trump payroll amounts to $35.2 million for 374 employees. In 2015, the Obama payroll amounted to $40.9 million for 476 employees, not adjusting for inflation.
- Ten staffers are dedicated to the First Lady of the United States (FLOTUS). In 2009, First Lady Michelle Obama paid her 24 staffers $1.6 million collectively
7/4/18
Trump Officials Reverse Obama’s Policy on Affirmative Action in Schools
In a joint letter, the Education and Justice Departments announced that they had rescinded seven Obama-era policy guidelines on affirmative action, which, the departments said, “advocate policy preferences and positions beyond the requirements of the Constitution.”
“The executive branch cannot circumvent Congress or the courts by creating guidance that goes beyond the law and — in some instances — stays on the books for decades,” said Devin M. O’Malley, a Justice Department spokesman.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamandrzejewski/2018/06/29/trumps-lean-white-house-2018-payroll-on-track-to-save-taxpayers-22-million/#24c626e74e4f
7/6/18
Trump adds conservative judges to influential Atlanta court
President Donald Trump’s plan to quickly reshape the nation’s federal appeals courts has taken hold in Atlanta, with the infusion of two conservative jurists and another one on the way.
Trump’s imprint on the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals all but guarantees it will remain one of the nation’s more conservative courts for years to come. The 11th Circuit, which presides over Georgia, Alabama and Florida, often takes on some of the most hotly contested issues of the day: abortion, police brutality, gun control, immigration, the death penalty, gay rights, and discrimination and harassment in the workplace. (NOTE: In expected liberal bias, AJC reported that Trump ‘packed’ the court. He did no such thing. he simply filled vacancies).
https://www.myajc.com/news/local/trump-packs-influential-atlanta-court-with-conservative-judges/Yhbacu8m1stN9gwTEXcgwK/?utm_source=newspaper&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=5179506&ecmp=newspaper_email&
7/10/18
Trump Administration makes deep cuts to Obamacare “Navigators” Georgia Navigator budget from feds was originally $3.5 million, but Trump has cut it twice and it is now just $500,000.
7/10/18
President pardoned cattle ranchers who did burnings on public land
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-pardons-oregon-cattle-ranchers-center-bundy-standoff/story?id=56487437
7/11/18
Trump insists that NATO members need to pay their agreed amount to support their defense. Germany, for instance, is supposed to contribute 2% of its GDP. It currently spends 1.2%, and most European countries are worse.
8/1/18
Trump now has made 24 circuit court appointments (out of a total of 167 spots). An appointment rate faster than any president in history.
8/2/18
Proposed freezing the vehicle fuel efficiency standards sought by the Obama administration and moved to end California’s power to enforce its own rules.
8/17/18
The Trump Administration Is Seeking To Restart Thousands Of Closed Deportation Cases
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/hamedaleaziz/trump-deportations-immigration-ice-dhs-courts
8/20/18
Trump administration reports that there is not shortage of oil
USA is now challenging Russia as the world’s top oil producer, and the requirement to conserve oil is no longer a critical issue.
8/25/18
US cuts aid to Palestinians by more than $200 million
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/08/24/us-cuts-aid-to-palestinians-by-more-than-200-million.html
The announcement does not include some $65 million in frozen U.S. funding for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, which provides services to Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan and Lebanon. However, the Trump administration is extremely skeptical of UNRWA and that money is also likely to be reprogrammed, according to officials.
Friday’s decision follows a similar decision last week in which the State Department announced that it was redirecting $230 million dollars in aid that had been planned for stabilization programs in liberated areas of Syria.
8/29/18
Donald Trump now has 60 confirmed federal judges – 33 district court judges and 26 appellate court judges have been confirmed by the Senate
9/10/18
Trump administration announces closure of Washington PLO office
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-administration-closing-plo-mission-in-washington
In 2017 US was 13th exporter of oil at only 2.5% of the total exports (Saudi Arabia was number 1 at 16%). The US is on pace to take over as the number one exporter by 2019.
9/25/18
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday lashed out at the International Criminal Court (ICC), saying America will never surrender its sovereignty to an “unelected” organisation and will not support a body that has “no legitimacy”.
https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/international-criminal-court-has-no-legitimacy-trump-118092501363_1.html
10/5/18
Unemployment hits 3.7% – the lowest level since 1969.
See this and other econimic encouragements here:
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/trump-has-reversed-every-single-failed-economic-policy-of-the-obama-era-heres-what-must-happen-next
10/10/18
Signs bills (Know the Lowest Price Act and the Patients’ Right to Know Drug Prices Act) lifting pharmacist ‘gag clauses’ on drug prices that kept pharmacists from disclosing cheaper drug options to consumers.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/white-house/trump-signs-bills-lifting-pharmacist-gag-orders-drug-prices-n918721
10/12/18
Trump snubs Feinstein, Harris to nominate conservative judges to liberal 9th Circuit
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-snubs-feinstein-harris-to-nominate-conservative-judges-to-liberal-9th-circuit
10/13/18
Signs Save our Seas Act, authorizing $10 million per year to fund NOAA’s Marine Debris Program
https://apnews.com/2d5947a8bd924adc9f0ab077177fabdd
10/14/18
Signs bill requiring airports to provide spaces for nursing mothers
https://www.foxnews.com/travel/trump-bill-airports-nursing-mothers
10/16/18
U.S. employers posted the most jobs in two decades in August, and hiring also reached a record high, fresh evidence that companies are desperate to staff up amid solid economic growth.
https://www.apnews.com/a89dd1a896ba40498fa220dc5f11650e
10/16/18
U.S. factory production expanded in September for a fourth consecutive month on broad-based demand as the sector accelerated in the third quarter, Federal Reserve data showed Tuesday.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-10-16/u-s-september-manufacturing-production-rises-on-broad-demand
11/1/18
U. S. workers see fastest wage growth in a decade
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/us-workers-see-fastest-wage-increase-in-a-decade/2018/10/31/3c2e7894-dc85-11e8-85df-7a6b4d25cfbb_story.html?utm_term=.41dd2379c41f
12/12/18
Signs Opportunity Zone order to revitalize over 8,000 economically distressed communities, affecting nearly 35 million people.
https://thehill.com/policy/finance/420968-trump-to-sign-executive-order-aimed-at-revitalizing-distressed-communities
12/21/18
DHS to make asylum-seekers wait in Mexico in attempt to end ‘catch-and-release’. Mexican government cooperating with new policy, Nielsen says
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/dec/20/dhs-make-asylum-seekers-wait-mexico-attempt-end-ca/
12/27/18
Holiday sales growth at a 6 year high – up 5.1% from last year.
12/28/18
Christmas Day gas prices lowest in 3 years – WCSC
12/29/18
Trump issues executive order freezing federal workers’ pay in 2019 (nixes a 2.1% across-the-board pay raise that was set to take effect in January)
1/5/19
Employers add 312,000 jobs, making 2018 the best year for job creation since 2015
1/18/18
HHS Department announced that they were adding a unit called the “Division of Conscience and Religious Freedom” It’s essentially the Trump administration’s way of protecting health care workers who, because of their religious or moral beliefs, would prefer not to treat certain patients.
2/19/19
Trump administration launches global effort to end criminalization of homosexuality
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/trump-administration-launches-global-effort-end-criminalization-homosexuality-n973081
3/13/19
Signs Biggest Wilderness Protection Bill in Decade, Designates 375,000 New Acres of Protected Land
https://www.newsweek.com/wilderness-protection-bill-donald-trump-sign-environment-largest-death-valley-1361412
3/21/19
Signed an executive order to promote free speech on college campuses by threatening colleges with the loss of federal research funding if they do not protect those rights.
3/21/19
Trump recognizes Israel’s control over Golan Heights, which it captured from Syria in 1967. United Nations has now changed its reference to Golan Heights from “Israeli Occupied” to “Israeli Controlled.”
3/25/19
Submitted a budget that eliminated funding for PBS
3/25/19
Working through courts to invalidate all of Obamacare
The administration said Monday that the entire law should be struck down. In a filing with a federal appeals court, the Justice Department said it agreed with the ruling of a federal judge in Texas that invalidated Obamacare.
3/29/19
Trump administration award a $1.7 million family planning grant to the Obria group, a chain of crisis pregnancy centers that oppose abortion and don’t offer contraceptives, while at the same time cutting funds to some Planned Parenthood affiliates.
2018 TAX Related
- Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) (Individual Tax Reform)
- AMT is gone for most people (unless you make over $1,000,000 a year ($500,000 if single)
- Penalty for not having insurance reduced to $0
- Charatable deduction raised to 60% of AGI (from 50%)
- Estimated that 80% of taxpayers will see a tax decrease
4/19/19
Trump administration seeks evictions for undocumented immigrants in public housing
4/26/19
US Economy grew at 3.2% rate in Q1
4/26/19
Gets US out of Arms Trade Treaty
President Trump announced Friday that he would end U.S. support for a global arms pact known as the Arms Trade Treaty in the latest illustration of his aversion to international agreements and world governance. The agreement was negotiated under the auspices of the United Nations and signed in 2013 under President Barack Obama
“We will never allow foreign bureaucrats to trample on your Second Amendment freedom,” Trump said during remarks at the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting in Indianapolis.
“I’m officially announcing today that the United States will be revoking the effect of America’s signature from this badly misguided treaty,” he said.
4/30/19
President Trump has called for a sweeping overhaul to an asylum system he has long said is rife with fraud — including a new fee to process asylum applicants, and the capacity to rapidly adjudicate applicants’ claims while also barring them from working in the U.S. in the meantime.
6/15/19
U.S. retail sales up 0.5% in May, third straight month with an increase
6/18/19
U.S. to end foreign aid for Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador until the countries take “concrete actions to reduce the number of illegal migrants coming to the U.S. border.”
6/19/19
Trump EPA nixes Obama rule on coal power plants
Gives STATES leeway on deciding about efficiency upgrades at plants, reducing reach of Federal Clean Air Act and overreach of the EPA under Obama.
6/24/19
Signs executive order requiring upfront disclosure of costs for medical procedures. Also expands uses for HSA
7/10/19
Senate Confirms Trump’s 9th Circuit Nominee
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/leahbarkoukis/2019/07/10/senate-confirms-ninth-circuit-appointment-n2549832
8/6/19
William Perry Pendley appointed by Trump to lead the Bureau of Land Management
He wants to move BLM outside of DC (causing many employees to quit), he believes the federal government should not own so much land in the US, and he doesn’t believe it has been proven that humans are responsible for global warming.
7/10/19
A new Trump executive order on kidneys could save thousands of lives
It’s one of the biggest government actions on kidneys in decades. Complicated order, but essentially makes it easier for patients in need to receive a kidney. Could literally save tens of thousands of lives every year. Even the liberal VOX reporter had to admit: “As someone who rarely agrees with the administration and finds most of its conduct actively abhorrent, I am genuinely surprised and impressed at how worthwhile this measure is.”
https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2019/7/10/20687507/triump-kidney-disease-transplant
7/9/19
Moves deadline for replacing Jackson with Tubman on the $20 UP by 2 years, to 2028. Obama administration had estimated 2030.
https://hotair.com/archives/jazz-shaw/2019/07/16/looks-like-trump-didnt-delay-harriet-tubman-bill/
7/15/19
Trump admin dramatically limits asylum claims by Central Americans
The rule from the departments of Justice and Homeland Security would prohibit migrants who have resided or “transited en route” in a third country from seeking asylum in the US, therefore barring migrants traveling through Mexico from being able to claim asylum and as a result, drastically limit who’s eligible for asylum.
7/15/19
Taxpayer-funded family planning clinics must stop referring women for abortions immediately, the Trump administration said Monday, declaring it will begin enforcing a new regulation hailed by religious conservatives and denounced by medical organizations and women’s rights groups.
https://apnews.com/e0bf2658969c482bb9addf40eb5bd667
7/22/19
Trump administration expands scope of rapid deportations, finalized a plan to bypass immigration courts and deport undocumented immigrants who cannot prove they’ve been present continuously in the U.S. for two years or more
7/23/19
Trump administration proposal could kick 3 million off food stamps, makes it harder for Americans with somewhat higher incomes and more savings to participate in the program, and wants to require more poor people to work for SNAP benefits
https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/23/politics/trump-snap-food-stamps/
8/1/19
Trump continues record pace of putting judges on federal courts, a remarkable 144 judicial appointments since his inauguration, allowing him to reshape the courts and their decisions for decades, filling them with conservative jurists.
8/9/19
Trump administration oversees five-year high in approved citizenship applications
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2019/may/31/dhs-says-citizenship-approvals-rose-2018/
8/12/19
Boosts ability to deny green cards to immigrants using welfare programs
The Trump administration issued a long-awaited rule strengthening the ability of federal officials to deny green cards to immigrants deemed likely to rely on government aid. Officials described the so-called “public charge” rule as a way to ensure those granted permanent residency are self-sufficient — and protect taxpayers in the process.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-administration-green-cards-immigrants
8/19/19
Planned Parenthood abandons Title X federal funds after Trump rule prohibits abortion referrals
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/planned-parenthood-abandons-title-x-federal-funds-to-pursue-abortion-advocacy
8/22/19
Signs order to expedite forgiving student loan debt for disabled veterans
https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/2019/08/21/trump-speaks-veterans-gathering-louisville/2055527001/
8/23/19
Filed amicus brief arguing that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was written to only ban discrimination based on biological sex, not sexual orientation as it has been interpreted recently. “Title VII’s prohibition on discrimination because of sex does not bar discrimination because of sexual orientation,” said the Justice Department’s brief. Congress could have amended Title VII to include LGBTQ rights but chose not to. The administration said interpreting the term “sex” more broadly effectively rewrites the law, and only Congress, not courts, has that license.
When Trump isn’t allowed to fire government workers he has come up with a new plan – move the agency outside of Washington. Not only does this get them outside the ‘bubble’ but many leave their job rather than move. Draining the swamp!
“Overall the staff of these agencies is down and continues to go down. I think you’re going to see a brain drain continue until the end of this administration,” one former official said.
10/18/19
HHS announces the largest decrease in prescription drug prices in over 50 years
10/20/19
It’s a middle-class boom — How Americans are really doing under Trump economy
The median or average-income family has seen a gain of $5,003 since Trump came into office. Median family income is now (August 2019) $65,976, up from about $61,000 when he entered office (January 2017).
11/4/19
US tells UN it is pulling out of Paris climate deal
The Trump administration’s move marks the first formal step in the year-long process to exit the global pact.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/11/tells-quitting-paris-climate-agreement-191104204531394.html
11/5/19
Trade Deficit falls to $52.5B. Deficit with China is 12.8% lower than it was a year ago.
11/15/19
Announces Historic Price Transparency Requirements to Increase Competition and Lower Healthcare Costs for All Americans
https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2019/11/15/trump-administration-announces-historic-price-transparency-and-lower-healthcare-costs-for-all-americans.html
11/26/19
Trump signs bill making animal cruelty a felony
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/11/26/trump-signs-preventing-animal-cruelty-torture-act/4306002002/
12/4/19
Trump Administration to Stiffen Food-Stamp Work Requirement
Takes effect April 1, 2020, will save the government billions of dollars and encourage more people to work at a time when jobless rates are near a 50-year low
12/4/19
Betsy DeVos slashed 600 jobs at the Department of Education
12/3/19
Trump program to end AIDS transmission by 2030 – Rolls out Ready Set PrEP to give free Pre-exposure prophylaxis to protect up to 200,000 people a year over the next 11 years.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/trump-administration-program-will-provide-hiv-prevention-drug-for-free/
12/11/19
Signs executive order targeting college anti-Semitism and Israel boycotts – threatens college federal funding
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-sign-executive-order-targeting-college-anti-semitism-israel-boycotts-n1099601
12/20/19
CNN Poll: US economy receives its best ranking in nearly 20 years
https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/20/politics/cnn-poll-economy-2020-matchups/index.html
12/20/19
Trump admin blocks expanded rules against some incandescent lightbulbs. Administration favors consumer “choice” of bulbs that may be available for cheaper up front and says that LED bulbs dominating the marketplace shows new rules aren’t needed.
https://www.engadget.com/2019/12/20/lightbulb-doe-incandescent-led/
1/7/20
US greenhouse gas emissions were reduced an estimated 2.1% in 2019
https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/07/us/us-greenhouse-gas-emissions-fell-in-2019-climate-change/index.html
1/16/20
Signes act to Safeguard the Right to Religious Freedom for Students and Organizations
Reinforces the fact that public schools CAN allow students to pray by updating Federal guidance regarding protected prayer and religious expression in public schools. To receive Federal Funds, schools must abide by these guidelines.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/president-donald-j-trump-safeguarding-right-religious-freedom-students-organizations/
1/21/20
Trump announces the US will join 1 trillion tree initiative
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/479087-trump-announces-the-us-will-join-1-trillion-tree-initiative
1/22/20
‘Birth tourism’ faces new restrictions from State Department
https://www.thestate.com/news/article239554768.html
1/26/20
Record economy ratings, as voters credit Trump
The poll finds 55% give the economy positive ratings, the highest since January 2001
https://www.foxbusiness.com/money/fox-news-poll-economy-ratings-trump
2/5/19
Betsy DeVos issues memo to better protect student loan borrowers
Calls for the Education Department and CFPB to meet quarterly and share complaint information, data, recommendations and analytical tools. Importantly, the MOU more clearly defines role and responsibilities. “All student loan borrowers, whether they have a Federally-held or private student loan, deserve world-class service and quick resolution when facing issues,”
https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackfriedman/2020/02/06/betsy-devos-student-loans-borrowers/#7858a7957
2/10/20
Feds sue New Jersey and King County over sanctuary policies similar to those in Oregon
2/17/20
Ivanka Trump Records A Message Dedicated To Middle Eastern Women During Her UAE Trip addressing the USA and UAE’s combined efforts to empower women globally
https://www.harpersbazaararabia.com/culture/featured-news/ivanka-trump-in-uae-at-GWFD
3/28/20
Federal Student Loan Payments Will Be Suspended Through September 30 (later extended through all of 2020)
https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackfriedman/2020/03/28/student-loans-payments-suspended/#51d0a6321b10
4/14/20
Trump halts WHO funding
https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/14/politics/donald-trump-world-health-organization-funding-coronavirus/index.html
5/19/20
Ordered heads of federal agencies to review regulatory standards that have temporarily been rescinded, suspended, modified, or waived during the COVID-19 response and determine which, if any, would promote economic recovery if made permanent,
https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-regulatory-relief-support-economic-recovery/
5/28/20
Executive order to remove liability protections for social media sites that censor
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-signs-executive-order-on-social-media-companies
5/30/20
First Human Space Mission Launched From U.S. Since 2011
5/22/20
Signs Executive Order halting the installation of bulk-power system (BPS) equipment “designed, developed, manufactured, or supplied, by persons owned by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of a foreign adversary.”
https://www.utilitydive.com/news/trumps-grid-security-executive-order-will-create-vendor-black-list-comp/577242/
6/4/20
U.S. Navy vet freed from Iran marks over 40 American hostages and detainees brought home since Trump took office
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/michael-white-freed-iran-us-navy-2-years-custody/
6/17/20
Signs bill mandating sanctions against those responsible for oppression of members of China’s Muslim minority Uighur.
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2020-06-17/trump-signs-bill-calling-for-sanctions-over-china-treatment-of-uighur-muslims
6/25/20
Signs Executive Order boosting support for Foster Child programs, increasing adoption chances for kids
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-signs-executive-order-hhs-foster-children
6/27/20
Trump Signs Executive Order Helping Protect Monuments, Memorials and Statues
https://townhall.com/tipsheet/bronsonstocking/2020/06/26/trump-signs-executive-order-helping-protect-monuments-memorials-and-statues-n2571454
6/29/20
Executive Order directing federal agencies to fill job vacancies based on merit, rather than require a minimum level of education for candidates seeking open positions, Allows experienced, qualified job candidates capable of filling certain roles even though they lack the right piece of paper.
7/24/20
Signed four executive orders to lower drug prices.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/24/politics/trump-drug-prices/index.html
8/4/20
Signed the Great American Outdoors Act into law legislating $2.8 billion toward land acquisition and conservation efforts via the Land and Water Conservation Fund
8/6/20
Signs Executive Order to Boost U.S. Drug Manufacturing to increase U.S. production of medicines and medical equipment, lower drug prices and protect the United States against shortfalls in a future pandemic.
https://www.usnews.com/news/top-news/articles/2020-08-06/trump-executive-order-to-boost-us-drug-manufacturing-navarro
8/8/20
Congress gridlocked on Covid relief – Trump signs Executive Orders to just do it himself.
https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/8/8/21360109/trump-executive-order-tax-holiday-unemployment
8/13/20
Brokers peace deal between Israel and UAE which will “end the game for the Islamist mothership, the Muslim Brotherhood” and put Iran on the defensive. “Muslims around the world owe a debt of gratitude to President Trump”
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-israel-uae-peace-deal-biden-muslim-quanta-ahmed
8/17/20
Trump Administration Sets Plan For Oil Drilling In Arctic Refuge, a boost for Alaska’s economy and American energy dominance
https://www.scpr.org/news/2020/08/17/94071/trump-administration-sets-plan-for-oil-drilling-in/
8/18/20
Announces posthumous pardon to Susan B. Anthony, one of history’s biggest figures in the women’s suffrage movement, arrested in 1872 for violating laws that had permitted only men to vote in the presidential election.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-susan-b-anthony-to-get-posthumous-pardon
8/22/20
More Than 6,500 Teachers Have Had Unfair Student Debts Erased. Problem discovered in 2018, fixed in 2020.
https://www.npr.org/2020/08/22/904745312/more-than-6-500-teachers-have-had-unfair-student-debts-erased
9/5/20
Ends ‘critical race theory’ training for federal employees, calls it a ‘sickness’
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-ends-critical-race-theory-training-federal-employees
9/7/20
The Incredibly Green Thing Donald Trump Has Done – People who live near the most toxic sites in America say they saw a level of attention they hadn’t seen in decades under Trump.
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/09/07/superfund-activists-donald-trump-minden-wv-400921?cid=apn
9/7/20
Trump warns schools teaching 1619 Project ‘will not be funded’
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-warns-schools-teaching-1
9/12/20
Trump signed four executive orders aimed at lowering the prices Americans pay for prescription drugs. He had previously proposed most of the changes, but Congress didn’t move so he did instead. One allows for legal importation of cheaper prescription drugs from countries like Canada, another requires discounts from drug companies now captured by middlemen to be passed on to patients, another measure seeks to lower insulin costs while a fourth requires Medicare to purchase drugs at the same price that other countries pay.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-drugprices-idUSKCN24P2JA
9/17/20
Trump announces ‘1776 Commission’ to promote patriotic education, teach American exceptionalism” and “provide school choice to every child in America,” counteracting Critical race theory and the 1619 Project.
https://wreg.com/news/trump-announces-1776-commission-to-promote-patriotic-education/
8/13/20
Signed the Abraham Accords, which “marked the first public normalization of relations between an Arab country and Israel since that of Jordan in 1994.”
Pretty much destroyed ISIS. ISIS was a rapidly growing threat when he assumed office – a year after the end of his presidency it was a shadow of what it was. Like many of the points on this page, you will find Trump haters claiming this isn’t true. But listen to special forces troops who were on the ground during the secret campaign and you will discover the truth.