As President Trump begins his first 100 days in office, significant focus will be on the use of Executive Orders and Presidential Memoranda fulfilling campaign promises or moving his agenda forward. While there are some differences between Executive Orders and Presidential Memoranda (including numbering, publication requirements, and cost estimate requirements), they are often used interchangeably and both Presidential actions represent executive branch powers. We are following the release of these Orders and Memoranda and plan to provide short summaries of what each action includes along with links to read the full text of each Presidential action.
Presidential Memorandum Regarding the Hiring Freeze (1/23/2017) - This is a freeze on filling existing open positions as well as new positions (military and cabinet appointments excluded) unless they are deemed necessary to meet national security or public safety responsibilities. This includes a prohibition on using contracts with non-government agencies to circumvent this freeze. The Directors of the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Personnel Management are tasked with recommending a long-term plan in the next 90 days to reduce the size of the Federal workforce. The implementation of that plan will then replace the hiring freeze order.
Presidential Memorandum Regarding Withdrawal of the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership Negotiations and Agreement (1/23/2017) - The U.S. will withdrawal as a signatory of the TPP and withdrawal from TPP negotiations. Instead, bilateral trade negotiations that "promote American industry, protect American workers, and raise American wages" are to be pursued wherever possible.
Presidential Memorandum Regarding the Mexico City Policy (1/23/2017) - A restoration of the Mexico City Policy of 1984 that directs the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to withhold USAID funds from non-governmental organizations that use non-USAID funds to provide advice, promote, or perform abortion. This memorandum further directs the Secretary of State to take all necessary actions to ensure that U.S. taxpayer dollars are not used to fund organizations or programs that provide or support "coercive abortion or involuntary sterilization".
Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies (1/20/2017) by Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff Reince Priebus – A request from the President to the heads of executive departments, in order to allow time for Presidential appointees or designees to have time to review new or pending regulations that:
- Department or agency heads may delegate review and approval to persons appointed or designated by the President
- Regulations sent to the Office of the Federal Register (OFR) but not yet published should be withdrawn from the OFR pending review and approval as described in the above bullet
- Regulations published by the OFR but not yet in effect should have their effective date postponed by 60 days from the date of the memorandum (1/20/17) to allow for review. Where appropriate, further delay beyond 60 days should be proposed
- Regulations that don't raise questions of law or policy need no further action taken. Where questions exist, the OMB Director should be notified for further action
Executive Order Minimizing the Economic Burden of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Pending Repeal (1/20/2017) – Seeks prompt repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). Pending repeal, this Executive Order promotes actions to minimizes the economic and regulatory burdens and delay implementation of provisions and requirements of the ACA deemed to place a burden on individuals or states. This Executive Order also directs the heads of departments or agencies with responsibilities relating to the healthcare to "encourage the development of a free and open market in interstate commerce for the offering of healthcare services and health insurance, with the goal of achieving and preserving maximum options for patients and customers."
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Posted on Tuesday, January 24, 2017 @ 1:07 PM
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