Screwing everyone is not a very nice way to put it, but you are about to be privy to exactly what trump has done during his first 100 Days without having to pass a single law. Washington, we are learning, is a city built on regulations. There are some regulations that are very good. They protect us from danger and hurt and ruin. That is all to the good.
Zapping good regulations with the stroke of a pen
Enter Donald Trump. Both parties do regulations when they have a president in the White Hoose. Donald has an instinct for the jugular. In the case of regulations, he has been assisted by a 1990s law that enables him to go in and zap any regulation he wants.
Fine, you say. Fair is fair. Well, this law enables a president not only to zap an executive order with the force of law. Under the law a future president can never write the same regulation again, Once zapped, the regulation is forbidden forever. This law was clearly meant to pick out real lemons and insure against their future capacity to do harm. This is why Democrats have only used it a single time. Mr. Trump has used it within his first 100 days a total of thirteen times. When you see what he has done, you will agree that he has pushed the extremes of legality big time. In almost every case the rule was designed to keep things honest and on the up and up or to serve folk who needed assistance or help.
The grim toll Trump took in 100 days
You can get the exact language of the rules Trump abolished forever by pursuing the Axios tweet below. Here is an abbreviated version. Trump's actions enable illegal bidding on federal contracts and permit dumping waste into streams. Trump OKs methane pollution. Trump eliminates mental health background checks for gun buyers, allows secrecy in foreign dealings of oil and gas companies and restricts public participation in matters concerning land use.
Trump's secret weapon via @axios https://t.co/TSKjWzREAJ
— Stephen C. Rose (@stephencrose) April 22, 2017
There's much more
Trump zapped annual ratings on teacher-prep programs along with school evaluations. He abolished rules urging retirement savings plans and strict pension protection laws. He expanded hunting on federal lands and drug tests for those seeking unemployment.
Finally, he abolished protection for Planned Parenthood. He still has almost four years.
These measures might stand as run-of-the-mill Republican games. But the loophole Trump used makes it very hard to bring back anything that echoes the original rule. Trump seems to delight in twisting the knife.
