Trump: First 100 days (March)

Day 71, 31 March 2017

• Federal judge approves a settlement of $25 million for Trump University students who say they were defrauded.
• News outlets team up to request, gather, and publish obfuscated financial disclosures of White House staff
• EXECUTIVE ACTIONS:
  • Executive order provides Order of Succession for Department of Justice. Sessions has recused himself from Russia investigations.
  • Executive order focused on antidumping and countervailing duties.
  • Executive order calling for a Significant Trade Deficits report.
  • White House invites bipartisan group from House Intelligence Committee to view classified documents.
• ETHICS:
  • Tom Price Intervened on Rule That Would Hurt Drug Profits, the Same Day He Acquired Drug Stock
  • The husband-and-wife team of Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump still benefit financially from a real estate and investment empire worth as much as $740 million: “perilous legal and ethical ground.”
• CONGRESSIONAL NEWS:
  • According to NBC, the Senate intelligence committee is not interested in Flynn’s request for immunity.

Day 70, 30 March 2017

• Mayors in San Francisco and Seattle are challenging the POTUS executive order which strips funding from so-called “sanctuary cities.”
• EXECUTIVE ACTIONS:
  • Trump met with Danish Prime Minister Lars Rasmussen, discussed trade and immigration.
  • Trump administration faces geographic challenges for the proposed border wall, which the Interior Secretary admits will be “complex in some areas.”
• SENATE ACTION:
  • Vice President Mike Pence casts tie-breaking vote to withhold Title X funding, used for family planning and preventative care, from Planned Parenthood.
• ETHICS:
  • Flynn offers to testify before Congress in exchange for immunity. Alex Whiting, a professor of practice at Harvard Law School, writes that a public statement “suggests that he has nothing good to give the prosecutors.”

The Freedom Caucus will hurt the entire Republican agenda if they don’t get on the team, & fast. We must fight them, & Dems, in 2018!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 30, 2017

Day 69, 29 March 2017

• Sources say an Energy Department office has instructed staffers not to use the phrase “climate change” in written memos.
• Native American tribe from Montana sues Trump administration over executive order allowing coal mining on federal lands.
• EXECUTIVE ACTIONS:
  • POTUS signed an executive order establishing the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis
  • EPA declines to ban use of chlorpyrifos, a pesticide that may cause damage to the nervous system.
  • Tillerson to remove human rights conditions on arms sales to Bahrain.
  • 2020 census will not include questions about sexual orientation or gender identity.
  • White House calls for immediate cuts to domestic spending to fund construction of a border wall.
• ETHICS:
  • Ivanka Trump will be a federal employee, subject to government ethics guidelines.
• IMMIGRATION:
  • Administration appealed District Court Judge Watson’s preliminary injunction.
• CONGRESSIONAL NEWS:
  • Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) and Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) pledge to conduct a bipartisan investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election.

Day 68, 28 March 2017

• White House staff will also skip the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, along with the president.
• EXECUTIVE ACTIONS: The POTUS signed an executive order to begin rolling back climate change regulations.

  

• IMMIGRATION:
  • “The Court will not crawl into a corner, pull the shutters closed, and pretend it has not seen what it has.” District Court Judge Derrick Watson (HI) converted his temporary restraining order to a preliminary injunction.
• CONGRESSIONAL NEWS:
  • Rep. Devin Nunes, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, says he will not recuse himself from Russia investigation. 
  • Rep. Nunes refuses to share source for intelligence reports on alleged Trump wiretapping with fellow members of the House Intelligence Committee.
  • Congress overturns internet privacy regulation that requires providers to get consent before selling data on browsing history. 

Day 67, 27 March 2017

• BILLS SIGNED: The POTUS signed four resolutions revoking Obama Administration rulemaking (Republicans in Congress: 237/435 in the House, 52/100 in the Senate)
  • H.J.Res. 37, which nullifies the Department of Defense, the General Services Administration, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Federal Acquisition Regulation: Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces. House (236-187) – Senate (49-48)
  • H.J.Res. 44, which nullifies the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management’s final rule relating to resource management planning. House (234-186) – Senate (51-48)
  • H.J.Res. 57, which nullifies the Department of Education’s rule relating to State accountability requirements under the Every Student Succeeds Act. House (234-190) – Senate (50-49)
  • H.J.Res. 58, which nullifies the Department of Education’s rule relating to assessing the quality of teacher preparation programs. House (240-181) – Senate (59-40)
    https://twitter.com/markknoller/status/846454852762943488
• EXECUTIVE ACTIONS:
  • Executive order revoking two Obama executive orders on federal contracting. Critics assert it opens the door to discrimination against LGBTQ employees.
  • Attorney General Sessions threatened to strip “sanctuary cities” of DOJ grant funding. Sessions is relying on a January executive order.
• BANISHED:
  • Immigration officials in Oregon detain a man allowed to stay in the use under DREAMER program.
• CONGRESSIONAL NEWS:
  • Senate committee will question Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner, about meetings with Russian officials.

Day 66, 26 March 2017

• EXECUTIVE ACTIONS: 
  • Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner will lead an effort to overhaul government using business principles.
• GOLF:
  • Although FOX News tweeted otherwise, Trump visited his golf club in northern Virginia.

Day 65, 25 March 2017

• Reports say U.S.-led airstrikes in Mosul hit an area where civilian casualties have been reported.
• GOLF: Although FOX News tweeted otherwise, Trump visited his golf club in northern Virginia.

Day 64, 24 March 2017

• EXECUTIVE ACTIONS:
  • Official approval of the presidential permit for the Keystone KL Pipeline. However, despite Trump’s pledge, the pipeline will not use U.S. steel. Keystone pipeline would carry bitumen from the oilsands of Alberta to Gulf Coast refineries.
  • Trump touts Charter Communications’ plans to hire 20,000 U.S. workers, an announcement the company made last May.
• ETHICS:
  • The WSJ reported that while working for the Trump campaign, Mike Flynn discussed the kidnapping (“a covert step in the dead of night to whisk this guy away” to Turkey) of a cleric living in Pennsylvania, bypassing federal extradition.
• IMMIGRATION:
  • Virginia judge upholds revised travel ban but does not overturn prior rulings.
• HOUSE ACTION:
  • House tables TrumpCare, indefinitely.

Day 63, 23 March 2017

• EXECUTIVE ACTIONS:
  • The President met with more than 30 members of the House Freedom Caucus in the GOP effort to repeal-and-replace the Affordable Care Act with TrumpCare.
• HOUSE ACTION:
  • House tables planned vote on TrumpCare.
  • Rep. Beth Fukumoto (HI) resigned from the GOP and announced that she would become a Democrat. Her open letter of resignation cited Trump’s “marginalizing and condemning minorities.”
• SENATE ACTION:
  • Democrats vowed to filibuster the nomination of Neil Gorsuch as a Supreme Court justice.

Day 62, 22 March 2017

• EXECUTIVE ACTIONS:
  • In a statement of administration policy, the White House announced public support for HR 1628, the American Health Care Act of 2017, also known as TrumpCare.
  • Secret Service has asked for an additional $60M for travel and security costs for the Trump family. 
• ETHICS:
  • The Trump Organizations is pursuing a hotel deal in Dallas with a man whose real estate company has business ties in Russia, Kazakhstan and at least two dozen other countries.
  • Secretary of State Rex Tillerson used an alias email account (Wayne Tracker)  at Exxon. Now the company claims to have lost all those emails.
• JUDICIAL:
  • While Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch was testifying before the Senate, the Supreme Court unanimously (8-0) overturned his ruling on educational opportunities for a special needs student in Colorado.
• NATIONAL SECURITY:
  • Vice President Mike Pence meet with EU High Representative and Vice President Federica Mogherini.

Day 61, 21 March 2017

• BILLS SIGNED:
  • NASA’s appropriations bill for FY2017 (October 1, 2016 – September 30, 2017), S. 442, the NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2017 (Public Law No: 115-10). Prime sponsor: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).
  • Trump signs a bill giving NASA $19.5 billion in 2018, hopes to get people to Mars. 
• EXECUTIVE ACTIONS:
  • In a statement of administration policy, the White House announced public support for H.R. 372 – Competitive Health Insurance Reform Act of 2017.
  • In a statement of administration policy, the White House announced public support for H.R. 1101 – Small Business Health Fairness Act of 2017.
  • Ivanka got a West Wing office and security clearance but still has no formal government role or title.
  • The Trump administration bans carry-on laptops and tablets on flights from 6 Muslim-majority counties.
• ETHICS:
  • The Trump International Hotel in D.C. will host a three-day event on American-Turkey relations sponsored by an organization whose chair is a Turkish businessman with ties to the Turkish government. According to NPR, this is a “mashup of money involving Turks, Flynn and Trump.”

Day 60, 20 March 2017

• Eric Trump filed a request to bring in foreign workers to work at Trump Winery.
• In today’s press conference, Sean Spicer made the following claims:
  • That Mike Flynn, former National Security Advisor, was only a volunteer for the campaign. Flynn Flynn was a top adviser and had been vetted to be Trump’s running mate.
  • That former campaign manager Paul Manafort had a “limited” role in the campaign.
• ETHICS:
  • In his testimony before the U.S. House Intelligence Committee, FBI Director James Comey confirmed that the FBI “is investigating the Russian government’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 president election. And that includes investigating the nature of any links between individuals associated with the Trump campaign and the Russian government and whether there was any coordination between the campaign and Russia’s efforts.” Comey also said there is “no information” to back Trump’s wiretapping claim.
  • During the hearings, Trump live-tweeted false and misleading information from the @POTUS Twitter account.
• NATIONAL SECURITY: The President met with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.

Day 59, 19 March 2017

• On Meet the Press, White House budget director Mick Mulvaney promised a detailed version of the Administration budget in May.
• GOLF: Press pool reports Trump is back at his golf club in West Palm Beach.

Day 58, 18 March 2017

• EXECUTIVE ACTIONS:
  • Trump picks Kellyanne Conway’s husband to lead the civil division of the Justice Department. 
  • Justice Department to send additional immigration judges to 12 cities to speed up deportation process.
  • Trump administration appeals ruling against revised travel ban.
  • Secretary of State Rex Tillerson suggests military force is an option when dealing with North Korea.
• GOLF:  Press pool reports Trump is at his golf club in West Palm Beach.
• PUBLIC OPINION:  According to Gallup polling data, President Trump’s approval rating hit a new low: 37%.

Day 57, 17 March 2017

• EXECUTIVE ACTIONS:
  • Trump administration rolls back regulations preventing debt collectors from charging high fees on past-due student loan debt. 
• NATIONAL SECURITY:
  • The president met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. There was an awkward photo-op (no handshake, no eye contact) afterwards.
  • President Trump also met with Taoiseach Enda Kenny of Ireland
  • Secretary of State Rex Tillerson visited China.
  • Pentagon has been quietly increasing military operations in Syria.

Day 56, 16 March 2017

• EXECUTIVE ACTIONS:
  • White House released a budget, America First — A Budget Blueprint to Make America Great Again. From the New Yorker:
    

    Strictly speaking, the “skinny budget” that the White House published on Thursday isn’t a budget at all. It says nothing about roughly three-quarters of over-all federal spending, which goes to mandatory outlays such as Social Security, Medicaid, and interest on the national debt. It doesn’t include any projections for the deficit. And a Presidential budget isn’t binding. Ultimately, Congress sets spending levels. As Paul Ryan, the House Speaker, said on Thursday morning, “this is just the very start” of the budget process (emphasis added).

  • 2017 FY (Oct 2016 – Sept 2017) budget enhancements: The White House asked Congress for an additional $30 billion for the Department of Defense and an additional $3 billion for the Department of Homeland Security. To “pay” for part of this request (it’s deficit spending, so “pay” means borrow less), the WH wants to cut FY2017 non-defense budget expenditures by $18 billion.
• ETHICS:
  • Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn “collected nearly $68,000 in fees and expenses from Russia-related entities in 2015… more than $45,000, came from the Russian government-backed television network RT.”

Day 55, 15 March 2017

• Only hours before the Administration’s revised travel ban was to go into effect, a federal judge in Hawaii halted implementation.

Day 54, 14 March 2017

• MSNBC released two pages of President Trump’s tax returns for 2005.
• Kushner family potential possible $400 million sale to a Chinese insurance group could be a conflict of interest for Trump’s son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner.

Day 53, 13 March 2017

• EXECUTIVE ACTIONS:
  • In a statement of administration policy, the White House announced public support for H.J. Res. 67 and 66 – Disapproving the rule submitted by the Department of Labor.
  • Signed executive order, Comprehensive Plan for Reorganizing the Executive Branch
  • White House analysis of new GOP healthcare proposal estimates even larger numbers of uninsured than CBO analysis.

Day 52, 12 March 2017

• In an interview with the Bergen (NJ) Record, Kellyanne Conway reinforced Trump’s allegation that his campaign headquarters in New York were wiretapped by the Obama administration. She suggested monitoring could be done in many ways, including using “microwaves that turn into cameras.”
• More than 500 government jobs remain unfilled, leaving federal agencies understaffed.
• The Trump administration is working to loosen counterterrorism rules designed to prevent civilian casualties.

Day 51, 11 March 2017

• US Attorney Preet Bharara announced that the Trump administration fired him after he refused to step down,

Day 50, 10 March 2017

• More on the wikileaks dump
• EXECUTIVE ACTIONS:
  • Trump Administration fires 46 U.S. attorneys, an unprecedented dismissal
  • Attorney General Jeff Sessions praises the prison at Guantánamo Bay
  • White House strategy to repeal-replace Affordable Care Act:
    1. Pass the American Health Care Act
    2. Provide “regulatory relief”
    3. Reform through “additional legislation”
• ETHICS:
  • Trump’s transition team knew before the inauguration that National Security Adviser Michael Flynn might register with the government as a foreign agent representing a Turkish company. His work on behalf of a Turkish businessman took place while he was also advising Trump’s presidential campaign.

Day 49, 9 March 2017

• Analysis of the wikileaks dump from Tuesday defuses the “bombshell.”
• The nude photo scandal involving Marines has spread to all branches of the military. A criminal investigation is underway; Marines Senior Master Sgt. Ronald Green has testified before Congress. (Don’t read the comments.)
• EXECUTIVE ACTIONS:
  • To fund his plan to bill a wall between the U.S. and Mexico, Trump considers slashing budgets of Coast Guard, TSA and FEMA
  • EPA chief Scott Pruitt said “carbon dioxide was not a primary contributor to global warming, a statement at odds with the established scientific consensus on climate change.”
• HOUSE ACTION: The Republican replacement plan for the Affordable Care Act passes two House committees without changes, heads toward possible full House vote within days.
• ETHICS:
  • Former national security adviser Michael Flynn has been lobbying for a Turkish company.
  • Recusals are us: Secretary of State Tillerson has recused himself from Keystone pipeline issues.

Day 48, 8 March 2017

• Hawaii files the first legal challenge to Trump’s new travel ban
• International Women’s Day — or a day without a woman — marked by protests worldwide.
• EXECUTIVE ACTIONS:
  • Trump begins laying out a $1 trillion infrastructure plan; and he wants states to start projects in 90 days. If it’s shovel-ready, it’s already funded.
  • Former Utah governor Jon Huntsman tapped for Russian ambassador; 2012 presidential candidate
• BANISHED:
  • Immigration agents in Seattle sent band members Soviet Soviet back to Italy, denying them entry (visas in hand) to the U.S. for a short tour that included a performance at SxSW. The band members were handcuffed and jailed; their cellphones and personal items were confiscated.

Day 47, 7 March 2017

Our wonderful new Healthcare Bill is now out for review and negotiation. ObamaCare is a complete and total disaster – is imploding fast!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 7, 2017

• EXECUTIVE ACTIONS:
  • Trump falsely claims that the Obama Administration released 122 prisoners from Gitmo who have re-engaged in terrorist activity. Only nine of those transfers took place during the Obama administration. The remaining 113 (92%) took place while Bush was in the White House.
  • In a statement of administration policy, the White House announced public support forHR 1301 Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2017.
• ETHICS:
  • Fired National Security Adviser Flynn “registered with the Justice Department as a foreign agent for $530,000 worth of lobbying work before Election Day that may have aided the Turkish government.”
• HOUSE ACTION:
  • Republicans release new Health Care Bill
  • The bill was immediately criticized by GOP lawmakers who argued it doesn’t go far enough
  • Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) to Americans via CNN: buy health care, not iPhones. There was a Twitter meme response.
    

    AT&T iPhone one time $650. Can BOGO free. Say even $60 a month. Chafetz nuts if thinks you can get health ins for that. Really? https://t.co/1x9ysk7gt3 — silvanet (@silvanet) March 8, 2017

    – Cost of iPhone: $399 – Cost of healthcare for 1 year: $10,345 – Hearing @jasoninthehouse compare the 2 as if they are the same: priceless — Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) March 7, 2017

Day 46, 6 March 2017

• EXECUTIVE ACTIONS:
  • Trump signs revised travel ban
  • In support of the travel ban, Trump claimed that ‘more than 300’ refugees are under counterterrorism investigation. About 83,300 refugees have entered the country per year since 1980; 300 is <1% of an annual acceptance. The Administration has not clarified if any terrorism charges are involved.
  • Trump took credit for a ExxonMobil investment that has been in the works since 2013.
  • DHS is considering separating undocumented children from their parents at the border
• SENATE ACTION:
  • Senate overturned (49-48) an Obama administration rule that required government contractors disclose federal labor law violations if they bid on new contracts

Day 45, 5 March 2017

• FBI asks the Justice Department to publicly reject wiretapping accusations

Day 44, 4 March 2017

• EXECUTIVE ACTIONS:
  • With no evidence, Trump claims Obama wiretapped him during campaign
  • Keystone XL pipeline will not be required to use U.S. steel, contrary to Trump promises
  • The Defense Department is investigating hundreds of Marines who used social media to share naked photos of women service members and veterans.
• BANISHED:
  • An Afghani family of five, visas in hand, had been detained for two days in Los Angeles; the father had worked for the American government. The family was to settle in Washington state; Sen. Patty Murray was reportedly “frustrated” at her inability to get any information from the Department of Homeland Security. The family was released on Monday; all five members of the family must appear at a hearing on April 5.
  • Cincinnati mother of three was deported to Africa after 20 years. She “cannot read or write and when she missed a court date regarding her immigration papers, ICE was legally able to detain and deport her.” Immigration attorney Douglas Wiegle “found nothing in her background or profile to justify a detention pickup out of the blue.”
• GOLF:  Press pool reports Trump is at his golf club in West Palm Beach.

Day 43, 3 March 2017

• EXECUTIVE ACTIONS:
  • Trump again blames Democrats for delaying Cabinet, even though the GOP controls the Senate. Only three of the last six presidents have had their entire Cabinets in place by day 43. His two unconfirmed Cabinet positions is the same as Obama’s on March 3, 2009. However, neither Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Labor or Secretary of Agriculture have been sent to the Senate.
    

    After the votes taken earlier this afternoon, the U.S. Senate has now confirmed all of the available Cabinet nominations. — Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) March 3, 2017

  • US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced it will temporarily suspend premium processing for H-1B visas. An H-1B visa allows foreign professionals to work in the US for up to six years.
• ETHICS: 
  • Jeff Sessions used political funds for RNC expenses

Day 42, 2 March 2017

• ETHICS:
  • Attorney General Sessions will recuse himself from any probe related to 2016 presidential campaign
  • Jared Kushner, Mike Flynn met with Russian ambassador during transition
• SENATE ACTION:
  • Ben Carson confirmed to head HUD

Day 41, 1 March 2017

• EXECUTIVE ACTIONS:
  • The proposed Trump budget would cut EPA’s annual budget from $8.2 billion to $6.1 billion, according to a Washington Post analysis. For comparison, Trump is calling for an additional $54 billion in defense spending.
  • The FCC voted (2-1) to postpone (stay) a rule that would have held Internet Service Providers to a higher privacy standard than other carriers. The rules were adopted last year. Techcrunch outlines the backstory and the power struggle between the FCC and FTC.
  • OSHA delays implementation of a rule that protects workers from exposure to a metal linked to cancer risk.
• SENATE ACTION:
  • Senate confirms (67-31) U.S. Representative Ryan Zinke (MT) as secretary of the Department of Interior.
• ETHICS:
  • Then-Sen. Jeff Sessions met with Russian ambassador twice in 2016, denied contact in Senate confirmation hearings for attorney general. One meeting took place in September.