#ICE Melts - ICE is suspending the recently adopted practice of reporting cities that don't cooperate with federal detention efforts after the first few reports were plagued by errors.
# Wrong-Way Corrigan - Wrong-way Corrigan earned the moniker when he ran toward his own goal line instead of that of the opponent. The Trump administration contended that a carrier fleet was steaming toward North Korea when it was actually steaming away. It was days before the Pentagon acknowledged a wrong-way carrier fleet's movement, raising questions about its own competence.
#Tax Return Obfuscation - When the issue of Trump's tax returns comes up, a standard response is that there is no law requiring him to release the returns to the public. This is not correct. A 1924 law, the result of conflict-of-interest concerns about the Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon and executive branch officials involved in the Teapot Dome scandal, gives Congress the authority to examine Trump's returns and reveal them to the public without the President's consent.
#FICA Elimination - The Associated Press reports that as part of President Trump's tax reform proposal, consideration is being given to eliminating the FICA contributions. Because only the first $127,200 wages are taxed, Trump's allies are calling this a middle-class tax cut.
#Trump Travel Costs - Donald Trump was highly critical of President's travel costs, especially the many times he played golf. The Hill is reporting that President Trump's travel costs -- $20 million in three months -- is on pace for him to cost more in one year than Obama's 8-year travel costs.
#Buy America - Under most treaties, the U.S. cannot apply the Buy America law for contracts worth more than $10.1 million, an amount that adjusts every two years. The reason is that the U.S. wants to have the opportunity to compete in bidding for contracts originating in other countries. Thus, foreign businesses can bid to supply materials for the proposed border wall between the United States and Mexico.
The wall could take 8 million to 12.67 million cubic yards of concrete -- the Hoover Dam required only 4.4 million cubic yards. Two of the three companies best positioned to supply concrete and cement to the border region are based in Mexico, according to research by Alliance Bernstein, an investment firm. The two, Cemex and GCC, have plants along the border.
There are loopholes in Buy America provisions: Dozens of companies currently have waivers that allow them to avoid following Buy America provisions. President Trump has given no indication that he will try to revoke these waivers.
#Reviving Coal - Although President Trump has vowed to bring back the coal industry, he has given no indication that he will take action to extend government-funded health benefits for 20,000 retired miners, which benefits will end after this April if no action is taken.
#Sabotaging the ACA - In an interview with the Wall Street Journal on April 12, President Trump suggested that the key subsidy payments to health insurers offering coverage to low-income Americans could be held back. Trump said: "Obamacare is dead next month if it doesn't get the money." Two days before that, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) told the New York Times that the subsidies would continue. Two administration officials told the New York Times that Trump was incensed by what DHHS did, because he wanted to use the subsidies as leverage to force the Democrats to the table. DHHS then withdrew the statement to the Times.
Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) blasted Trump for threatening to withhold subsidies. "President Trump is threatening to hold hostage health care for millions of Americans, many of whom voted for him, to achieve a political goal of repeal that would take health care away from millions more." "This cynical strategy will fail."
#Iran Nuclear Deal - The Trump administration has confirmed that Iran has continued to comply with the Iran disarmament deal but the National Security Council will lead an interagency review of whether easing economic sanctions as part of the accord "is vital to the national security interests of the U.S." Trump seems to be bent on applying the national security test to every government agency or activity he wants to eliminate. There are agencies and activities of government that are beneficial to society but don't qualify as vital to the nation's national security.
A year after the nuclear deal with Iran went into effect, the international monitoring agency reported that Iran had reduced its uranium stockpile by 98 percent and had removed two-thirds of its centrifuges. When Secretary of State Rex Tillerson made his televised statement on the deal, he made no mention of Iranian compliance. I would brand this as a great disservice to the public, as learning about Iranian compliance would increase public confidence in the deal.
A universal withdrawal for the Iranian nuclear deal would cause diplomatic chaos with the five other major powers and the European Union representative who agreed to the deal.
#North Korean Diplomacy - When Vice President Mike Pence started his journey to Asia and the Pacific Rim, he announced the end of diplomatic relations with North Korea. His message was that all options were on the table. This, of course, would include the use of nuclear weapons. Later, Pence opened the door to diplomacy; however, it was such a tiny opening that no one would be able to squeeze through it. Secretary of State Tillerson later weighted in with the observation that the Trump administration was not interested in reaching any kind of deal made by either George W. Bush or Barack Obama. Successful diplomacy between two nations usually involves both sides getting something they want. Tillerson seems bent on precluding North Korea from getting even a crumb in any so-called diplomacy.
Secretary Tillerson's harsh rhetoric on Iran coming so close to an upcoming national election in Iran could help hard-line candidates to get elected.
A final observation is that President Trump is reviewing so many actions taken by prior presidents, coupled with his failure to fill many positions in government, particularly in the Department of State, may mean that his administration will have no time nor personnel to work on any proposals to move the nation forward.
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