MORNING MESSAGE
Five Groups of Americans Who’ll Get Shafted Under Trump’s Hiring Freeze
Donald
Trump ... has instituted a freeze on the hiring of federal employees ... who
stands to lose the most under this hiring freeze? ... Trump and his advisors
seem to have had Social Security in mind ... This hiring freeze will lead to
fewer [OSHA] studies, communications, and inspections. That means working
Americans will pay a price — in injury, illness, and death...
ExECUTIVE ORDERS HALF-BAKED
Trump’s
executive orders not well thought through. Politico: “The breakneck pace of
Trump’s executive actions might please his supporters, but critics are
questioning whether the documents are being rushed through without the necessary
review from agency experts and lawmakers who will bear the burden of actually
carrying them out. For example, there are legal questions on how the country can
force companies building pipelines to use materials manufactured domestically,
which might not be available or which could violate trade treaty obligations.
There’s also the question of whether the federal government can take billions
from cities who don’t comply with immigration enforcement actions: Legal experts
said it was unclear.”
The
“wall” order is vague. The Atlantic: “Wednesday’s order is really just a set
of instructions for Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly. The American
public still doesn’t know how big the wall will be, when it will be built, or
how it will be paid for—to pick only the most glaring questions.”
Trump
to suspend refugee program. Politico: “President Donald Trump plans to
temporarily halt the admission of refugees into the United States — and impose
an indefinite ban on those fleeing Syria — while also suspending the entry of
citizens of several Muslim-majority countries … Trump is expected to issue the
directives focused on refugees and visas as early as Thursday … [A] State
Department official said the White House had done next to no consulting with his
agency on whether the executive orders are legally tenable or what impact they
would have on America’s alliances.”
Trump
needs to find workers to build a wall. Bloomberg: “A labor shortage has left
few hands to build houses and factories in the region, where wages have already
been rising and projects delayed. Now, the president’s plan for ‘immediate
construction of a border wall’ will force the government to find legal builders
for a project that could employ thousands if not tens of thousands. About half
of construction workers in Texas are undocumented…”
“EPA
science under scrutiny by Trump political staff” reports AP: “The Trump
administration is scrutinizing studies and data published by scientists at the
Environmental Protection Agency, while new work is under a ‘temporary hold’
before it can be released. The communications director for President Donald
Trump’s transition team at EPA, Doug Ericksen, said Wednesday the review extends
to all existing content on the federal agency’s website, including details of
scientific evidence showing that the Earth’s climate is warming and man-made
carbon emissions are to blame.”
RYAN PREVIEWS AGENDA
“Ryan
Lays Out Ambitious 200-Day Congressional Agenda” reports Roll Call: “[The
Speaker seeks to] have Congress rolling back regulations, repealing and
replacing the 2010 health care law, funding a border wall, rewriting the tax
code, expanding the veterans’ choice program, advancing an infrastructure
package and avoiding a debt default … first move will be to start rolling back
regulations from President Obama’s final months in office … The first three
regulations the GOP plans to repeal are the Interior Department’s stream
protection rule, the EPA’s methane gas emissions standards and the Securities
and Exchange Commission’s disclosure rule for resource extraction … an
infrastructure package was also added to the 200-day agenda at Trump’s request.
“No price tag came out,” [Rep. Chris] Collins said…”
The
attack on regulation will be subtle. The Atlantic: “Offered under the label
of regulatory ‘reform,’ what is being contemplated is complicating the
rulemaking process even further so that the machinery of public administration
produces few new regulations and courts have even more power to rebuff those
rules that do emerge. This campaign against regulation comes chiefly in the form
of two proposed statutes that hardly any non-lawyer knows about….”
Democratic
opposition stiffens. Politico: “…the internal debate over whether to take
the conciliatory path — to pursue a high-road approach as a contrast to Trump’s
deeply polarizing and norm-violating style — is largely settled, cemented in
place by a transition and first week in office that has confirmed the left’s
worst fears about Trump’s temperament.”
Progressive
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