Roll Back on Business Regulations
President Trump met with small business leaders at the White House, Monday Jan. 30 to discuss an executive order he promised to put in place during his campaign. The order instructs agencies to to abolish two pre-existing regulations whenever they introduce a new one.
“We don’t need 97 different rules to take care of one element,” Trump said while signing the order.
Today, there are 80,000 pages in the Federal Register, where all federal rules are published. By removing some, the process of opening or owning a small business will be less tedious, according to the Trump Administration, since there will not be as many rules to abide by.
Supreme Court Nomination
President Trump nominated federal appellate judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court Tuesday, Jan. 31.
He referred to Gorsuch in the formal announcement as “One of the most qualified people ever to be nominated to this post.”
SCOTUSblog compared Gorsuch, a conservative, to the late Justice Antonin Scalia, who was known for his conservative, “originalist” views.
Senate Democrats could block Trump’s nomination, like Senate Republicans did with Former President Barack Obama’s pick last year.
Gorsuch needs 60 votes, (that would take at least eight democrats), in order to move on to a full Senate vote.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer released a statement saying that Trump’s pick needs to “prove himself to be within the legal mainstream and…willing to vigorously defend the Constitution from abuses of the Executive branch.”
Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader hopes that the “Senate will show…[Gorsuch] fair consideration…with an up-or-down vote on his nomination.”
Chief Owens
President Trump and his daughter Ivanka attended Chief William Owen’s transfer of remains ceremony on Wednesday, Feb. 1 in Delaware. The visit was not announced to the press because the family wanted a private ceremony for the fallen hero.
The Chief was the first known U.S. combat casualty since Trump took office.
Trump approved the operation, which was in the planning stages for months under the Obama Administration. According to Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, Owens was the only US service member killed in the operation, along with an estimated 14 al-Qaeda members.
Trump took to Twitter after paying respects simply saying it was an honor to attend the service. He tweeted, “To a great and brave man – thank you!”
Immigration Ban Update
On Thursday, Feb. 4 President Trump tweeted, “Everybody is arguing whether or not it is a BAN. Call it what you want, it is about keeping bad people (with bad intentions) out of country!”
A day later, federal judge Andre Birotte Jr. issued an order blocking the enforcement of Trump’s executive order. After this denouncement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection allowed passengers from the seven countries and all refugees with visas or green cards to fly into the U.S.
A White House Statement reiterated a law saying, “Whenever the President finds that the entry of any aliens…into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, he may…suspend the entry of all aliens…immigrants or nonimmigrants.”
“The opinion of this so-called judge, which essentially takes law-enforcement away from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned,” Trump tweeted. “When a country is no longer able to say who can and who cannot come in & out, especially for reasons of safety & security – big trouble!”
As of Sunday morning though, the Appeals court denied Trump’s request to immediately restore the temporary travel ban.
