Latest news with #Agenda47
Yahoo
23-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Has Trump kept his day one promises?
Donald Trump made a lot of promises while running for president. He pledged to cut taxes, reduce prices, stem undocumented migration, raise revenue and strengthen American industry with new tariffs and end wars. Some of his proposals were detailed by his policy team or presented by Trump himself, in "Agenda 47" videos on his campaign website. Others were offered seemingly off-the-cuff - a product of Trump's "think out loud" style and openness to adopting ideas others had suggested to him. In his victory speech on 6 November, he made it clear he intended to keep the promises that sent him back to the White House: "I will govern by a simple motto: Promises made, promises kept." It's become a slogan of sorts in his first month in office, which has been marked by a blizzard of activity and notable progress in achieving some of his goals. In areas such as immigration and foreign policy, Trump has broad power to act unilaterally - and has done so. In other areas, he has run up against legal challenges and political obstacles. Many of the other promises he's made will ultimately require action from Congress, under narrow Republican control, to become permanent. Here's a look at some of Trump's biggest first-day vows and his efforts to turn them into reality. What he's said: "When I win, I will immediately bring prices down, starting on day one." press conference, Aug 2024 What he's done: This is perhaps his biggest challenge, given how often inflation topped the list of voters' priorities during the election campaign. In his inaugural address, Trump promised to "marshal the vast powers" of his Cabinet to rapidly bring down costs and prices, but it's unclear how. One way, he says, is by increasing drilling to reduce energy costs. A steep price rise in January, the biggest monthly increase for 16 months, has complicated Trump's task. He blamed Joe Biden, who left office on 20 January, and Democratic spending. "I had nothing to do with it," said Trump. At other times, however, he has admitted it's hard for US presidents to control prices. But economists warn some of his policies could fuel inflation and polling suggests voters would like to see him doing more. What he's said: "On day one, I will launch the largest deportation program in American history to get the criminals out." 4 Nov 2024 What he's done: Immigration has perhaps been Trump's main focus since taking power, with more than a dozen executive orders aimed at overhauling the system. His plan to deport foreign nationals in the country illegally, starting with those convicted of crimes, seems to have widespread public support. But it is uncertain whether he will meet his promise to deport so many. A few raids have made headlines but the number of people being removed does not seem to be record-breaking, according to the daily figures. In his first month in office, the US deported 37,660 people - less than the monthly average of 57,000 removals and returns in the last full year of Joe Biden's administration, data obtained by Reuters shows. A DHS spokesperson told the agency that Biden-era deportation numbers were higher because illegal immigration was higher. Nationwide border encounters decreased 66% in January compared to 2024, according to the White House. What he's said: "I'll be looking at J6 early on, maybe the first nine minutes." Time Magazine, Dec 2024 What he's done: True to his word, hours after taking the presidential oath, Trump issued pardons and commutations that paved the way for the release of more than 1,500 people convicted or charged in connection with the US Capitol riot. A police officer who was punched that day told the BBC the pardons were a "slap in the face". What he's said: "They're dying, Russians and Ukrainians. I want them to stop dying. And I'll have that done - I'll have that done in 24 hours." CNN town hall, 2023 What he's done: Trump has initiated the first talks between the US and Russia since the start of the war, but Ukraine has vowed to reject any deal hatched without it, and there's been an angry exchange between leaders. President Volodymyr Zelensky fears the US president delivering on his campaign promise to end the war but on Moscow's terms and with no security guarantees. There is also anxiety in European capitals that they are being sidelined, and that Trump may dismantle some of the sanctions imposed on Russia as punishment for the invasion. What he's said: Trump told NBC in December he "absolutely" planned to end birthright citizenship on day one: "If somebody sets a foot of just a foot… on our land, congratulations. You are now a citizen of the United States of America. Yes, we're going to end that." What he's done: In one of the first acts of his second presidency, Trump ordered an end to an automatic right to American citizenship currently received by nearly anybody born on US soil. Birthright citizenship is not the norm around the world, and Trump's move targets those who are in the US illegally or on temporary visas. Opponents say the plan interferes with a right that was established by an amendment to the US Constitution nearly 160 years ago. And the issue could be heading for the Supreme Court – the highest in America – after an appeals court ruled against Trump, upholding a legal block on his plan. What he's said: "On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States, and its ridiculous Open Borders." 25 Nov What he's done: Trump announced on 21 January that he would levy blanket tariffs on his neighbours on 1 February, linking them to the flow of drugs and migrants into the US. The president has long seen tariffs, which are a tax on imports, as a way to protect domestic industry and increase revenue. Canada and Mexico said they would enact retaliatory taxes on US imports. But Trump delayed starting the tariffs for one month, after promises by both countries to increase border enforcement. There had also been volatility in the markets and warnings from economic experts that these actions could cause prices to rise. All you need to know about Trump presidency Is Trump right about unfair trade? Fact-checking Trump claims about Ukraine What is Doge and why is Musk cutting so many jobs?
BBC News
23-02-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Has Trump kept his day one promises?
Donald Trump made a lot of promises while running for president. He pledged to cut taxes, reduce prices, stem undocumented migration, raise revenue and strengthen American industry with new tariffs and end of his proposals were detailed by his policy team or presented by Trump himself, in "Agenda 47" videos on his campaign website. Others were offered seemingly off-the-cuff - a product of Trump's "think out loud" style and openness to adopting ideas others had suggested to his victory speech on 6 November, he made it clear he intended to keep the promises that sent him back to the White House: "I will govern by a simple motto: Promises made, promises kept."It's become a slogan of sorts in his first month in office, which has been marked by a blizzard of activity and notable progress in achieving some of his areas such as immigration and foreign policy, Trump has broad power to act unilaterally - and has done so. In other areas, he has run up against legal challenges and political obstacles. Many of the other promises he's made will ultimately require action from Congress, under narrow Republican control, to become a look at some of Trump's biggest first-day vows and his efforts to turn them into reality. Reducing prices What he's said:"When I win, I will immediately bring prices down, starting on day one." press conference, Aug 2024What he's done:This is perhaps his biggest challenge, given how often inflation topped the list of voters' priorities during the election campaign. In his inaugural address, Trump promised to "marshal the vast powers" of his Cabinet to rapidly bring down costs and prices, but it's unclear how. One way, he says, is by increasing drilling to reduce energy costs.A steep price rise in January, the biggest monthly increase for 16 months, has complicated Trump's task. He blamed Joe Biden, who left office on 20 January, and Democratic spending. "I had nothing to do with it," said other times, however, he has admitted it's hard for US presidents to control prices. But economists warn some of his policies could fuel inflation and polling suggests voters would like to see him doing more. Mass deportations What he's said:"On day one, I will launch the largest deportation program in American history to get the criminals out." 4 Nov 2024What he's done:Immigration has perhaps been Trump's main focus since taking power, with more than a dozen executive orders aimed at overhauling the system. His plan to deport foreign nationals in the country illegally, starting with those convicted of crimes, seems to have widespread public it is uncertain whether he will meet his promise to deport so many. A few raids have made headlines but the number of people being removed does not seem to be record-breaking, according to the daily his first month in office, the US deported 37,660 people - less than the monthly average of 57,000 removals and returns in the last full year of Joe Biden's administration, data obtained by Reuters shows.A DHS spokesperson told the agency that Biden-era deportation numbers were higher because illegal immigration was higher. Nationwide border encounters decreased 66% in January compared to 2024, according to the White House. January 6 pardons What he's said:"I'll be looking at J6 early on, maybe the first nine minutes." Time Magazine, Dec 2024What he's done:True to his word, hours after taking the presidential oath, Trump issued pardons and commutations that paved the way for the release of more than 1,500 people convicted or charged in connection with the US Capitol riot. A police officer who was punched that day told the BBC the pardons were a "slap in the face". Ending Ukraine War What he's said:"They're dying, Russians and Ukrainians. I want them to stop dying. And I'll have that done - I'll have that done in 24 hours." CNN town hall, 2023What he's done:Trump has initiated the first talks between the US and Russia since the start of the war, but Ukraine has vowed to reject any deal hatched without it, and there's been an angry exchange between leaders. President Volodymyr Zelensky fears the US president delivering on his campaign promise to end the war but on Moscow's terms and with no security guarantees. There is also anxiety in European capitals that they are being sidelined, and that Trump may dismantle some of the sanctions imposed on Russia as punishment for the invasion. Ending birthright citizenship What he's said:Trump told NBC in December he "absolutely" planned to end birthright citizenship on day one: "If somebody sets a foot of just a foot… on our land, congratulations. You are now a citizen of the United States of America. Yes, we're going to end that."What he's done:In one of the first acts of his second presidency, Trump ordered an end to an automatic right to American citizenship currently received by nearly anybody born on US soil. Birthright citizenship is not the norm around the world, and Trump's move targets those who are in the US illegally or on temporary say the plan interferes with a right that was established by an amendment to the US Constitution nearly 160 years ago. And the issue could be heading for the Supreme Court – the highest in America – after an appeals court ruled against Trump, upholding a legal block on his plan. Blanket tariffs on Canada and Mexico What he's said:"On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25% Tariff on ALL products coming into the United States, and its ridiculous Open Borders." 25 NovWhat he's done:Trump announced on 21 January that he would levy blanket tariffs on his neighbours on 1 February, linking them to the flow of drugs and migrants into the US. The president has long seen tariffs, which are a tax on imports, as a way to protect domestic industry and increase revenue. Canada and Mexico said they would enact retaliatory taxes on US imports. But Trump delayed starting the tariffs for one month, after promises by both countries to increase border enforcement. There had also been volatility in the markets and warnings from economic experts that these actions could cause prices to rise. All you need to know about Trump presidencyIs Trump right about unfair trade?Fact-checking Trump claims about UkraineWhat is Doge and why is Musk cutting so many jobs?
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Teachers fear shuttering Department of Education will diminish vital programs
Heather Stambaugh, a high school teacher in rural Ohio, said she sees the impact of federal funding every day in her classrooms. It opens up opportunities for individual aides to work one-on-one with high-need students, she said, or to lead small group learning sessions that help students achieve "light bulb" moments they may not have otherwise. "At the end of the day, this is the next generation of doctors and lawyers, business executives," Stambaugh told ABC News. "But they're not going to have as many opportunities if we don't have enough staff and we don't have the tools." Federal funds from the Department of Education support programs, resources and sometimes even staffing to address educational barriers faced by low-income, low-performing, disabled and rural students, among others. If the department is dismantled, as President Donald Trump and some Republican lawmakers have said they hope to do, public school K-12 educators fear these programs could be diminished. "The first people that are going to feel that are second- and third-graders who are getting specific reading interventions that will help them be closer to grade level. I have high schoolers who are reading well below a ninth-grade level, and that would only get worse," Stambaugh said. "And then to wonder to yourself will this child be able to read a medical document to sign? Will this child be able to conduct just the general business of life? Because at the bare minimum, that's what schools are offering." Detroit high school teacher Rodney Fresh said he's seen students that might have been considered "a throwaway child by society … become a productive member of society when they graduate" because of the Michigan school's career and technical programs, which get federal funding. "I've seen students where traditional schooling hasn't necessarily been beneficial, but we get them in supportive career tech programs that are supported by federal finances, and they excel. They find their niche," Fresh told ABC News. Established in 1980 by Congress, the department is intended to collect data and research on schooling and education, direct supportive funds to targeted communities, and investigate and enforce civil rights anti-discrimination law. It's the smallest Cabinet-level department, with less than 5,000 employees. The department does not dictate or implement policy on school curriculum. President Trump said he wants to eliminate the department and "send all education work and needs back to the States," according to Trump's Agenda47 campaign. Trump's team hasn't clarified what it would mean to give the power back to the states, though he has cited the use of "block grants" by the federal government as a way to further expand school voucher programs. In the ongoing efforts to dismantle the Department of Education, lawmakers have recommended redirecting program enforcement and funds to other federal departments. "The federal Department of Education has never educated a single student, and it's long past time to end this bureaucratic Department that causes more harm than good," U.S. Senator Mike Rounds said when introducing legislation to dismantle the department. A statement from his office continued, stating: "Despite its inefficiencies, there are several important programs housed within the Department. Rounds' legislation would redirect these to Departments of Interior, Treasury, Health and Human Services, Labor and State." ABC News has reached out to the White House and the Department of Education for comment. "Many of the concerns that people have with education and the direction of education this country, whether it be curriculum, instruction or even instructional materials, are not handled by the Department of Education," Rep. Jahana Hayes, a Democrat on the House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education, said in an interview with ABC News. "Those are already local decisions that are handled by local boards of education, state boards of education. So all of that is handled locally." Federal funding makes up 11% of school revenue nationwide, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. However, the weight this funding carries is heavier for some states than others; federal dollars make up roughly 20% of South Dakota school revenue and 19% of revenue in Mississippi and Montana. These are the biggest recipients of federal dollars in the country, the NCES noted. States like New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are among the smallest recipients, with federal dollars making up just 5% of school revenue. Among the grants and funds delivered by the department are Title I funding and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) funding. These federal financial assistance programs are geared towards communities facing high levels of poverty or disabled populations. They can support services like additional reading and mathematics instruction and staffing, speech or behavioral therapy, after-school and summer programs. Across Ohio, the state's Coalition for the Education of Children with Disabilities reports that almost 16% of students have a disability of some kind. Stambaugh said she sees the role that federal funding plays for the disabled students in her classrooms each day. She noted the money subsidizes the salaries or pay for tutors, individual aids for highly disabled children and intervention specialists aimed at helping struggling readers and performers. MORE: Trump's executive order aims to restrict education related to race, gender, politics Getting rid of federal funding, Stambaugh argued, "gives our highest vulnerability students less one-on-one attention, less individualized education, and it puts them at greater risk to be even further behind the peers that they're already testing behind." In Detroit, where about 84% of kids are eligible for free and/or reduced-price lunch, schools have become more than a place for students to learn. For those who come to school hungry, need a place to wash and dry their clothes, or need additional help with literacy and math after class, federal funding helps schools run additional services for students in need, according to Fresh. "For some students, I become a counselor, a social worker, a big brother, a dad, and so I don't think you ever really get to just turn off from being a teacher," said Fresh. "I think it's a 24/7 job." Title I and IDEA were established through Congress, just as the Department of Education was, and it would take Congress to lead their undoing, some lawmakers told ABC News. Hayes told ABC News that she expects Trump and billionaire businessman and Trump confidant Elon Musk to "strangle the funding" of the department if it can't be dismantled. "What we're seeing through some of the actions with other organizations is that we are dealing with an administration that is not following the rules as they've been established," Hayes said. "The Department of Education was set up by an act of Congress, and can only be dismantled by an act of Congress." Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has already made sizable cuts to the Education Department – slashing 89 independent research contracts at the department's Institute of Education Sciences worth nearly $900 million, according to DOGE's post on X and confirmed by a department spokesperson on Feb. 11. MORE: Department of Education dismisses book ban complaints, ends guidance But with the thin Republican majority in the House and Senate, it's unclear just how likely it would be for Congress to dismantle the department completely. Utah Republican Rep. Burgess Owens told ABC News it'll be a congressional numbers game to take down the Education Department, but noted that he has to "see if executive order can really do that or not." "All the things will be tested," he said. Owens, who supports dismantling the department, said that issuing block grants to states could serve as a replacement for the department's programs, adding that there would have to be some state accountability for funds. "If this is not working, let's be innovative. Let's be creative, and we figure out something else," he said. Teachers fear shuttering Department of Education will diminish vital programs originally appeared on
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The path of best resistance: "Faith-rooted messaging would help build broader political support"
While on the campaign trail, Donald Trump promised to be a dictator on 'day one.' Trump has been president for only three weeks and he has followed through on that threat and promise with a zeal and enthusiasm that has shocked those Americans who thought he was kidding or being hyperbolic. These attacks through dozens of executive orders and edicts — many unconstitutional and illegal — were publicly previewed and detailed months ago by Project 2025 and Agenda 47. None of what has transpired during these last few weeks of Trump's so-called shock and awe return to power should be a surprise. I do wonder if Trump and his MAGA agents and the other right-wing enemies of democracy are surprised at how smoothly their return to power has gone given the quick collapse of the so-called resistance, including the Democrats who appear to have no idea how to be an effective opposition party. In the most recent example of the opposition serving as de facto collaborators with Trumpism and the MAGA movement, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that he is prepared to work with Republicans in Congress to prevent a government shutdown in March. Unfortunately, Trump's disregard for the rule of law and the country's democratic institutions and norms — behavior legitimated and encouraged by the right-wing extremist justices on the Supreme Court who declared Trump a de facto king or emperor — is one of the reasons that his MAGA followers and other Americans support him. Public opinion polls show that Trump is popular among his supporters because he is willing to break the law 'to get things done for people like them' and to shake up the system. Trump, like other autocrats and demagogues, knows that he must always appear to be doing something, a man of action and destiny, to keep and expand his base of support. A new poll from CBS News shows that this strategy is working: With most describing him as "tough," "energetic," "focused" and "effective" — and as doing what he'd promised during his campaign — President Trump has started his term with net positive marks from Americans say he's doing more than they expected — and of those who say this, most like what they see. Very few think he's doing partisans and his voters, in particular, say he's got the right amount of focus on matters like ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs and deporting those who are in the country illegally. His deportation policy finds majority approval overall — just as most voters said they wanted during the campaign — and that extends to sending troops to the border, too. To what ends is President Trump's dynamo-like energy being directed? Terminating multiracial pluralistic democracy, returning the country to the Gilded Age (an era when rich White men like him ruled over the country's 'democracy' and larger society), destroying the social safety net and any remnants of a humane society, and most importantly enriching himself and those in his orbit and class at the literal expense of the American people. This is an immoral political and social project; America's democracy crisis is much more than 'just' a political crisis, it is a profound moral collapse and indictment of the country's hollow civic life and a public that lacks civic virtue. Cheap gas, cheap eggs, and the allure of the spectacle and attention economy are deemed more important than protecting democracy, the rule of law and human and civil rights. The democracy crisis and rise of American neofascist and authoritarianism is also an indictment of a broken political system and the elites who defended a status quo that was failing huge swaths of the public, as seen with growing income and wealth inequality, stagnant wages, globalization and an American Dream that has become increasingly out of reach. The resentment and shock of the elites at the authoritarian populist impulse in the United States and around the world is quite real because members of that class live in their own closed episteme and reality. In a must-read new essay, 'The Logic of Destruction,' leading historian Timothy Snyder continues to sound the alarm, undaunted, about the moral and political disaster that is the long Age of Trump and his return to power: What is a country? The way its people govern themselves. America exists because its people elect those who make and execute laws. The assumption of a democracy is that individuals have dignity and rights that they realize and protect by acting people who now dominate the executive branch of the government deny all of this, and are acting, quite deliberately, to destroy the nation. For them, only a few people, the very wealthy with a certain worldview, have rights, and the first among these is to them, there is no such thing as an America, or Americans, or democracy, or citizens, and they act accordingly. Now that the oligarchs and their clients are inside the federal government, they are moving, illegally and unconstitutionally, to take over its institutions….All of this work was preparatory to the coup that is going on now. The federal government has immense capacity and control over trillions of dollars. That power was a cocreation of the American people. It belongs to them. The oligarchs around Trump are working now to take it for is a logic of destruction. It is very hard to create a large, legitimate, functioning government. The oligarchs have no plan to govern. They will take what they can, and disable the rest. The destruction is the point. They don't want to control the existing order. They want disorder in which their relative power will grow….In general, the economic collapse they plan is more like a reverse flood from the Book of Genesis, in which the righteous will all be submerged while the very worst ride Satan's ark. The self-chosen few will ride out the forty days and forty nights. When the waters subside, they will be alone to dominate. This is the outcome and world, a new order, that tens of millions of Americans chose when they elected Donald Trump for a second time. They will reap what they sowed — and that harvest was and will even be more poisonous as the weeks and months grind on. As I have warned in previous essays here at Salon, these are the good times compared to what comes next. In an attempt to gain some clarity on Trump's return to power and the connections between the country's democracy crisis and moral crisis and civic collapse, I recently spoke with Rev. Adam Russell Taylor. He is president of Sojourners and author of 'A More Perfect Union: A New Vision for Building the Beloved Community.' Taylor previously led the Faith Initiative at the World Bank Group and served as the vice president in charge of Advocacy at World Vision U.S. and the senior political director at Sojourners. He has also served as the executive director of Global Justice, an organization that educates and mobilizes students around global human rights and economic justice. Taylor is ordained in the American Baptist Church and the Progressive National Baptist Convention and serves in ministry at the Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, Va. This is the second part of a two-part conversation. What does it mean for a political leader to exercise moral leadership? We need a lot more courage and fortitude right now. Courage from all members of Congress, particularly Republican members, to defend the Constitution and speak out against the abuse of power by President Trump, despite the risks. We need more courage from corporate leaders to not surrender to the pressure to roll back commitments to DEI programs, which, despite being disparaged, misrepresented and misconstrued, are really a commitment to advance fairness and justice in the workplace. While Trump demands absolute loyalty and threatens to primary or punish those who defy them, every member of Congress needs to determine whether they will uphold their oath to protect the Constitution and the independent power of Congress to pass laws and control the purse. They must also consult their conscience about pushing back against the scapegoating and demonizing of immigrants, transgender people and many other vulnerable communities. The Trump administration's attempt to cut off federal grants, loans and other resources is both contrary to the Constitution and the rule of law and also injurious to the most vulnerable Americans. For the sick, disabled, the elderly and other vulnerable Americans, Trump's cutting off funds and the larger budget cuts to seemingly give more money to the very richest Americans and corporations is a literal matter of dignity, life, and yes, even death. A government's budget is a statement of moral priorities and values. The Trump Administration's attempt to freeze Federal grants and loans was reckless and an example of policy malpractice. Every new administration has the prerogative to review and even audit government programs for waste and fraud. However, freezing funding across the board is something altogether different. Sojourners is an active leader and founder of a broad Christian coalition called the Circle of Protection, which is working to defend and build bipartisan support for protecting and even expanding key Federal programs that support and protect low-income people and struggling families. These include Medicaid, WIC, food stamps and the Child Tax Credit. We've been advocating for a long time that these and other programs are fundamentally pro-family and pro-human dignity, which is faith-rooted messaging that would help build broader political support and make them more compelling. We must be clear with our constituencies and the public that the Trump Administration is seeking to make severe cuts to effective programs that provide a lifeline to struggling families and help lift them out of poverty so they can extend the 2017 tax cuts that disproportionately benefit corporations and the super-wealthy. Why do so many white Christians support Trump and the MAGA movement, given how that political project and vision for American society and the world is contrary to their supposed 'Christian' values? Jesus Christ, be it the mythological or "historic" figure, was not a gangster capitalist, a political sadist, or a demagogue. Sadly, many Christians who subscribe to the tenets of Christian nationalism believe that they need a strongman such as President Trump to defend their narrow version of Christianity and impose this distorted faith on the rest of the country, which would threaten religious freedom and weaken our democracy. It is frustrating that Christian values have become so hijacked by the right to focus only on an overly narrow set of issues, such as abortion and anti-LGBTQ rights and is often so highly associated with racism, xenophobia and patriarchy. Christians need to re-embrace the radical teaching and call of Jesus to serve as 'good news to the poor' and to 'set the captives free' (Luke 4) and to care for the immigrant, homeless, imprisoned, etc. (those he referred to as the Least of these in Matthew 25). The media can often reinforce the perception that the right speaks for all Christians when in reality, there are far more Christians who reject the right's narrow and often toxic definition of the faith. Now is the time for a revival and re-assertion of Christians committed to justice and peace because of their faith, not in spite of our faith. Trump's plan to end America's multiracial pluralistic democracy and replace it with a form of autocracy and a White Christian nationalist plutocracy is literally torn from the pages of Project 2025. Put simply, Project 2025 is a policy blueprint that would push our nation down a road toward autocracy and Christian nationalism. The agenda is so politically toxic that Trump attempted to distance himself from the project during the campaign. However, its agenda is very aligned with the current administration's priorities. In summary, the plan promises to eliminate the Department of Education, undermine Diversity, Equity and Inclusion work throughout the government and roll back progress around women's and LGBTQ+ rights. The plan also calls for measures such as banning non-citizens from living in federally assisted housing, even if they live with a citizen; creating a new 'border and immigration agency'; resurrecting Trump's border wall; and deputizing the military to deport millions of people who are already in the country illegally. The plan seems more rooted in nativism, xenophobia and ethno- and Christian nationalism than in the core values and priorities of Jesus. We need to help the public better understand why this agenda is so dangerous and serves as the operating manual for the new Administration so that we can more effectively resist it and ultimately defeat this extreme political agenda. What does it mean to stand in solidarity with the communities and individuals targeted by Trump, the MAGA movement and the larger right-wing? Standing in solidarity with communities and individuals being targeted by President Trump and the MAGA movement involves giving time and money to organizations that are working to block the administration's most egregious and often illegal actions in the courts and to efforts to organize nonviolent and strategic resistance to these harmful policies (such as Democracy Forward, Sojourners, Public Citizen, and so many others). For many churches, it can mean providing sanctuary for immigrants who are unjustly facing deportation. It can mean reaching out to friends, family, or neighbors who are LGBTQ and offering your love, asking how you can best support them. While this is a time in which we can better regulate our media intake, it means refusing to tune out and remain well-informed and engaged. Continuing with that theme, what does it mean to be a member of the resistance in this moment of rapidly worsening crisis? To be a person of conscience during this crisis? In this moment, we can find resilience and hope both by leaning into our faith traditions and remembering that we stand on the backs of those who came before us (an African proverb). In Christian terms, we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses that we can draw strength and resilience from (Hebrews). We can't let the real threats and harms that are being perpetrated by this new administration steal our daily sources of joy. We must find even more ways to care for ourselves and for each other, even as we tap into the courage that will be needed to both resist many of the most harmful and anti-democratic actions of the administration, and cast a vision for what effective and responsible government looks like that advances the common good and enables everyone to thrive. We must also resist the temptation to villainize those who currently support the president and where possible and safe to do so, instead seek to listen more deeply to their concerns and build relationships across our major divides. In the short term, it's imperative to pressure Congress to protect its Constitutional powers of controlling the purse and passing laws and block some of Trump's most unqualified and extreme nominees for key roles. The court injunctions that blocked the freeze on federal grants and the firing of USAID employees are a hopeful sign that the courts can still serve as an important, though far from perfect, guardrail. Now, we need to shift public opinion through local organizing, mutual aid and exposing Trump's reckless and damaging abuse of power. I find hope in the fact that successful social movements (including the Civil Rights movement) always start with a deeply committed minority. As Dr. King famously preached, 'the saving of our world from pending doom will come not through the complacent adjustment of a conforming majority, but through the creative maladjusted minority." It is time to serve as that creatively maladjusted, transformed minority. If you were granted a 15-minute in-person conversation with Donald Trump, what would you say to him? I've been reflecting a lot on the words of the prophet Isaiah, 'Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.' I would ask how helping to feed our world's most hungry people or saving millions of lives through vaccination programs can be viewed as evil. In the same spirit as Bishop Budde's pastoral and prophetic sermon at the National Cathedral, I would make a moral plea that the administration shows mercy and compassion for our nation's and our world's most vulnerable people. I would try to appeal to Trump's stated desire to make peacemaking a cornerstone of his legacy and make the case that there can't be real or sustainable peace in the Middle East and elsewhere around the world if there isn't a concomitant commitment to justice and human dignity.
Los Angeles Times
09-02-2025
- Health
- Los Angeles Times
What has Donald Trump not done yet? Here are some policy areas where he might act next
ATLANTA — President Trump's second administration has put forth an avalanche of policy changes and political pronouncements that have jolted Washington and the world. That agenda is taken largely from his 'Agenda 47' campaign proposals, the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 and other hard-right influencers with sway in Trump's White House. There is much more, however, that the president and those groups discussed on the campaign trail but have yet to attempt. Here's a look at some substantial proposals still pending. The right has long targeted the Department of Education, which became a Cabinet agency in 1980 under President Carter. Trump aides have prepared an executive order that would limit if not effectively shut down the department. 'I want Linda to put herself out of a job,' Trump said of Education Secretary-designee Linda McMahon, who awaits Senate confirmation. The timing, though, remains uncertain as the White House grapples with how to unwind an agency that was established by law and involves billions in spending approved by Congress, including Title I money for low-income schools and college student loans. Trump sidestepped and obfuscated on abortion during the campaign. He bragged that his Supreme Court nominees helped overturn the Roe vs. Wade precedent and shifted control of abortion restrictions to state governments — but said he would not sign a national ban. Then he changed course and said he would ban abortion later in pregnancy, though he did not specify when that would be. Project 2025 proposes a range of ideas, most of which would come under the purview of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. if the Senate confirms him as Health and Human Services secretary: — It seeks tighter restrictions on abortion pills, demand for which rose after Trump's election. The document says the administration should revoke the Food and Drug Administration's approval of medication abortion drugs. Short of that, if the drugs remain on the market, the document urges Trump to 'reinstate earlier safety protocols for Mifeprex that were mostly eliminated in 2016 and apply these protocols to any generic version of mifepristone.' Specifically, Project 2025 calls for 'a bare minimum' deadline of the 49th day of gestation for dispensing the drugs (it is now 70 days), requiring in-person dispensing, and requiring prescribers to report 'all serious adverse events, not just deaths.' During his confirmation hearings last month, Kennedy said Trump has asked him to study mifepristone, a drug used to terminate pregnancies and help women complete miscarriages. — If those paths are not sufficient to limit medication abortions, Project 2025 proposes invoking an 1873 anti-obscenity law, the Comstock Act, as justification to block the mailing of any abortion-related materials. When asked during an April 12, 2024, interview with Time magazine for his views on the Comstock Act and the mailing of abortion pills, Trump promised to make a statement on the issue in the next 14 days, saying: 'I feel very strongly about it. I actually think it's a very important issue.' He never made that statement. — Project 2025 also calls to codify into law the Hyde and Weldon amendments, budget measures used to limit the use of federal money for abortion-related services. Dave Weldon, a former Republican lawmaker who sponsored the Weldon amendment, has been nominated to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. — And it calls for federal guidance declaring that emergency abortion care — such as for complications that could lead to sepsis — is not required under the 1986 law, signed by Republican Ronald Reagan, that generally requires hospital emergency departments to meet a certain standard of care for all patients. Trump has been expected to pull back Biden administration guidance requiring emergency rooms to provide abortions when necessary to stabilize a woman's health or life. On the one hand, the 2024 Republican platform promised to 'return education to the states.' But the document, boosted by Trump's statements, also promises 'universal school choice ' — meaning to use the power of the federal government to implement private school tuition subsidies — and 'ending teacher tenure,' job protections usually defined at the state level. Additionally, Trump declared that parents of schoolchildren should be able to hire and fire principals, decisions typically made by local school superintendents and school boards. Trump did not detail how he would accomplish such national uniformity in K-12 schools. But, in general, his education ideas would make federal money conditional, and the administration's opening weeks suggest the White House believes it can use executive power to do that rather than go through Congress. In Agenda 47 and at rallies, candidate Trump described U.S. colleges and universities as havens for 'Marxist maniacs and lunatics.' Trump proposed taking over the independent accreditation process for higher education institutions, calling that his 'secret weapon' to transform the system. He took aim at higher education endowments, promising to collect 'billions and billions of dollars' from schools via 'taxing, fining and suing excessively large private university endowments' at schools that do not comply with his edicts – like his crackdowns on diversity initiatives. Trump did not name schools in Agenda 47. But many well-regarded private universities hold endowments exceeding $10 billion, and the oldest Ivy League institutions — Harvard and Yale — measure theirs in the tens of billions. Of course, trying to commandeer private endowments would invite court fights, since they are legally protected funds from donors. Agenda 47 calls for redirecting captured endowment money into an online 'American Academy' offering college credentials to all Americans without a tuition charge. 'It will be strictly nonpolitical, and there will be no wokeness or jihadism allowed — none of that's going to be allowed,' Trump said on Nov. 1, 2023. Trump has imposed tariffs on China, which responded with its own levies. But there is a pause on border levies on goods from Mexico and Canada. Beyond that initial foray into the president's promised protectionism, Trump promised as a candidate to pursue 'The Trump Reciprocal Trade Act' in Congress, to reverse U.S. trade deficits and goose domestic production. He also called for 'baseline tariffs,' without making clear whether he meant through executive action or legislation. Trump more recently hailed the late 19th and early 20th century era when the federal government relied heavily on tariff revenue, before the income tax era began with the 16th Amendment's ratification in 1913. That era, however, also predates Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and the Pentagon being responsible for the world's most expensive military. (Trump has explicitly promised to protect all those big-ticket items other than Medicaid.) The president's talk of tariff revenue aside, he has pledged a return of policies in the Republicans' sweeping 2017 overhaul. That package reached nearly every U.S. household but concentrated benefits among corporations and the wealthiest individual filers. Trump added 2024 campaign promises to exempt tips, Social Security benefits and overtime pay from income taxes. Congress is still contemplating tax changes. Despite Trump's promise on overtime wages, conservatives have separate ideas that would reduce the instances U.S. workers get overtime pay in the first place. Project 2025 calls for rescinding Biden administration rules that sought to expand qualifications for time-and-a-half overtime for about 4 million workers. The document also would curtail Biden-era rules that make it easier for gig economy workers — rideshare drivers, for example — to gain benefits as full-time employees rather than contract workers with fewer protections under labor law, including the standard 40-hour workweek threshold that triggers overtime pay. More broadly, Project 2025 calls for weakening the Fair Labor Standards Act and National Labor Relations Act — seminal laws from Franklin Roosevelt's presidency. The authors want Congress 'to authorize collective bargaining to treat national employment laws and regulations as negotiable defaults' and allow waivers for states and local governments 'to encourage experimentation and reform efforts.' Proposing looser safety rules, Project 2025 would make it easier for teenagers to work dangerous jobs and harder for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to investigate conditions and impose penalties on private-sector businesses. Trump's pick for Labor secretary, meanwhile, is an organized-labor ally. Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-Ore.) co-sponsored the PRO Act, a union-backed proposal that would make it easier for workers to organize. Trump, however, has offered no signs that he would support the law, and Republican leaders in the Republican-controlled House and Senate oppose the measure. Hyperbole or not, Trump insisted repeatedly as a candidate that he would quickly settle Russia's war on Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The Biden administration, with Trump transition team involvement, negotiated a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. But there is no permanent peace accord in place, and Trump has complicated matters with his musings about a U.S. takeover of Gaza. On Ukraine, Trump also said, 'I will ask Europe to reimburse us for the cost of rebuilding the stockpiles sent to Ukraine.' He recently suggested Ukraine should reimburse the U.S. with access to its rare earth minerals as part of an agreement to continue military support against the Russian invasion. Barrow writes for the Associated Press.
