Trump Calls for List of Day-One Executive Actions
November 22 2016 - 4:00AM
Dow Jones News
President-elect Donald Trump said on Monday he has ordered his
transition team to draft a list of executive actions he could take
"on day one to restore our laws and bring back our jobs."
The 2½ -minute video posted on YouTube marked the first time
Mr. Trump has tried to communicate directly with the public about
his agenda for his first days in office since he won the Nov. 8
election. Republican President George W. Bush and Democratic
President Barack Obama or their senior aides held regular news
conferences during their transitions, often daily briefings
updating their progress in building the new White House team.
Mr. Trump's video included six calls for action on trade,
immigration, energy, regulatory curbs, national security and ethics
changes, most of which have already been announced either during
the campaign or the transition period. He didn't mention action on
the Affordable Care Act, his proposed wall along the southern
border, the tax code or the Iran nuclear deal, all of which were
central arguments for his election.
Several of the changes would direct government agencies or
officials to come up with new plans for how to operate, and their
impact could take some time to be felt. For example, he will order
military leaders to develop a plan to deal with cyberattacks and
other threats, a review that could become broad in scope. He said
he will also initiate an investigation into visa fraud, and impose
a new rule to limit future regulations.
The pledge that could make a difference quickly is one to
"cancel job-killing restrictions on the production of American
energy, including shale energy and clean coal." He said this would
create "many millions of high-paying jobs."
In response to the video, a spokeswoman for House Minority
Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) said the proposals "show that
Donald Trump is continuing the longstanding GOP tradition of
helping out their special interest friends at the expense of
everyone else."
The video announcement came as Mr. Trump continued back-to-back
interviews and meetings with prospective cabinet officials and
White House advisers, including Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin, who is
considered a candidate for the Interior Department.
Ms. Fallin told reporters she wasn't offered a job in the
meeting. "We discussed a wide range of issues" she said.
Mr. Trump also met with a liberal Democrat, Hawaii Rep. Tulsi
Gabbard, who backed Sen. Bernie Sanders during her party's
presidential primary. The congresswoman and the president-elect
discussed some areas of agreement, including their shared
opposition to the war in Syria and focusing resources on rebuilding
the country, according to a statement by Ms. Gabbard.
The parade of visitors to Mr. Trump's New York offices provided
a sense of energy around the transition efforts, even though no
major appointments have been unveiled for days.
Yet there are some risks to the high-profile nature of the
meetings. Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, a potential
contender for Homeland Security secretary, left a meeting with Mr.
Trump on Sunday with what appeared to be his multipoint strategic
plan for the Department of Homeland Security that called for
"extreme vetting questions for high-risk aliens," according to
photos of the document captured as he exited the president-elect's
Bedminster, N.J., golf club. The Topeka (Kan.) Capital-Journal
reported on the document earlier Monday.
The document Mr. Kobach held was only partially visible as some
of it was obscured by his hand. The header for the document was
"DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY—KOBACH STRATEGIC PLAN FOR FIRST
365 DAYS." The vetting questions included things such as their
support for "Sharia law, jihad, equality of men and women, [and]
the United States Constitution."
A representative for Mr. Kobach's office didn't return a message
seeking comment. Spokesmen for the Trump transition team didn't
respond to requests for comment.
Write to Michael C. Bender at Mike.Bender@wsj.com and Damian
Paletta at damian.paletta@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 22, 2016 03:45 ET (08:45 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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