Two weeks into office, Donald Trump is already irking Republican lawmakers. His decision to implement policy unilaterally through executive action runs contrary to the traditional White House-Capitol Hill relationship.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/M. Ngan
Advertisement
The early days of any new presidency are often referred to as the "honeymoon phase." It is the time when the White House tries to foster a cordial relationship with Congress and attempts to tackle some of the more popular items on the agenda. For Donald Trump, it has been anything but a honeymoon.
As was his way during the campaign, the real estate tycoon-turned president has spurned traditional political norms, disparaged the establishment and pursued policy that plays directly to the supporter base that got him elected. Trump has signed executive orders and memos instituting a travel ban, calling for the construction of a US-Mexico border wall and halting funds for global organizations that provide abortion services.
Fast work: Donald Trump's executive actions so far
Donald Trump has sent shockwaves in his first few days as US president with a number of far-reaching executive orders and memoranda. DW examines what they mean.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Sachs
A quick way to fulfill campaign promises
Less than a month into his presidency, Donald Trump has issued 17 executive actions. While this number in itself is not remarkable - by the same time, Barack Obama had signed roughly the same number of executive orders - the content of Trump's decrees is. It seems the new president wants to implement many of his campaign promises - including the controversial ones - as quickly as possible.
Image: Reuters/K. Lamarque
Executive orders and presidential memoranda
Executive actions (EA) allow the US president to give government agencies orders that do not need Congressional approval, circumventing the law-making process and speeding up the implementation process. Executive orders are a more wide-reaching form of EA that often deal with larger organizational directives, while presidential memoranda order specific agencies to do something.
Image: picture-alliance/CNP/A. Harrer
Weakening Obamacare
Executive Order: The first executive order that Trump signed was a missive on deferring, waving or delaying parts of the Affordable Care Act to "minimize regulatory burdens." While Trump alone can not repeal the healthcare law instated under President Obama, he can undermine the implementation of "Obamacare" while the Republican majority in Congress prepares to repeal the law.
Image: Reuters/J. Rinaldi
Pulling federal funding for abortion advice
Presidential Memorandum: Trump re-instated a policy that bars US federal funding for non-governmental organizations that provide abortion counseling and advocate for abortion rights. This directive was initially instated by Republican president Ronald Reagan, rescinded by Democrat Bill Clinton, re-instated by Republican George W. Bush and again rescinded by Democrat Barack Obama.
Image: REUTERS/A. P. Bernstein
Deportation of undocumented immigrants
Executive Order: Trump ordered immigration agents to vastly expand the scope of deportations. He wants federal grants to be pulled from sanctuary cities (where undocumented migrants are not prosecuted) and immigrants suspected of a crime to be detained, even if they were not charged. He plans to hire 10,000 new immigration agents and publish a report on crimes committed by undocumented immigrants.
Image: picture alliance/AP Images/G. Bull
Building the Wall
Executive Order: In an executive order signed on January 25, President Trump called for "the immediate construction of a physical wall" in order to secure the US-Mexico border. He also referred to undocumented immigrants as "removable aliens," saying that the executive branch should "end the abuse of parole and asylum provisions currently used to prevent the lawful removal of removable aliens."
Image: Getty Images/AFP/S. Huffaker
Travel ban and halting refugee intake
Executive Order: Trump signed this controversial order on January 27. It banned people from seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the US for three months, stopped the Syrian refugee program indefinitely and suspended refugee admissions for 120 days. Protests against the order erupted across the country and even Republican senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham criticized the policy.
Image: DW/M. Shwayder
The United States pulls out of TPP
Memorandum: It was no surprise that Donald Trump abandoned the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). During his campaign, he frequently criticized the TPP and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), saying that other countries benefited from these trade agreements at the expense of the US. Press secretary Sean Spicer said Trump prefered deals with individual countries.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/
Oil pipelines, if they're made from US steel
Three different memoranda: One on constructing the Dakota Access Pipeline, another on continuing construction of the Keystone pipeline, and a third order on using American materials to build all pipelines - were issued on Trump's fourth day in office. Barack Obama had denied permits to both pipelines after massive protests from environmentalists, who feared the potential impact of spills.
Image: REUTERS/S. Keith
Expand the military, freeze other government hiring
Memoranda: Trump quickly lived up to his campaign promise to invest in a bigger military, signing a memorandum for more troops, warships and a modernized nuclear arsenal a week into his presidency. Four days earlier, he ordered a freeze on the hiring of new civilian employees in federal agencies for up to 90 days, so that his administration could develop a long-term plan to shrink the workforce.
Image: Reuters/K. Pempel
Lobbying, National Security Council and IS
Executive order: Every new government appointee will sign an ethics pledge that bans them from working as a lobbyist for five years after leaving their post and from ever lobbying the US government for other countries. On the same day, he issued two further memoranda ordering the Department of Defense to formulate a plan to defeat IS within 30 days and to reorganize the National Security Council.
Image: Reuters/l. Jackson
Steve Bannon in the National Security Council
Memorandum: Trump ordered an overhaul of the National Security Council (NSC) to elevate the role of Stephen Bannon. He removed several senior members from the foreign policy decision-making panel while Trump's chief strategist, known for his far-right views, will serve on the committee usually staffed with generals. This breaks with the long-held norm of not appointing political actors to the NSC.
Image: pciture-alliance/AP Photo/E. Vucci
Deregulate, deregulate, deregulate
Executive Orders and Memorandum: Trump wants federal agencies to eliminate at least two prior regulations for every new regulation. He ordered a freeze on new and pending federal regulations, until a Trump-appointed department head could revise them. He also asked for the approval of "high priority infrastructure projects" to be sped up.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/M. Ralston
Presidential precedent
President Barack Obama issued a total of 277 executive orders - an average of roughly three per month, slightly fewer than his predecessor George W. Bush at 291.
However, Obama issued 644 presidential memoranda during his time in office to get around blocks in Congress - a precedent Trump appears to be following.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Sachs
14 images1 | 14
Party backlash
While taking executive action is not necessarily unusual for a new president, the significance and repercussions of Trump's measures have sparked backlash from fellow Republicans on Capitol Hill.
Numerous GOP lawmakers complained publicly that they were not consulted before the White House implemented a travel ban on refugees and foreigners from seven Muslim-majority countries.
Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham, perhaps Trump's most vocal Capitol Hill critics from within the Republican party, released a joint statement saying the travel ban "was not properly vetted" and risks "harmful results."
"Ultimately, we fear this executive order will become a self-inflicted wound in the fight against terrorism," the two said.
Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker called the measure "poorly implemented" and said the Trump administration "should immediately make appropriate revisions."
Engineer blocked from US return
01:03
This browser does not support the video element.
Unpredictable governing
"I think [members of Congress] are irritated at having been cut out of his initial decision-making, especially the executive orders," John Sides, an Associate Professor of Political Science at George Washington University, told Deutsche Welle. "This leaves them scrambling to understand his decisions and craft a response."
By acting on his own and not implementing policy together with fellow Republicans in Congress, a body used to being kept in the loop, Trump may be putting his relationship with lawmakers on Capitol Hill, and thus his ability to enact legislation, at risk.
"I think it is one thing to be unpredictable the way he has with the public, to announce these initiatives - I think he sees a sense of drama there that gets attention," said Ken Collier, an Associate Professor of Political Science at Stephen F. Austin State University, who has studied the relationship between Congress and the White House. "The problem is members of Congress don't like surprises. Yes, you can surprise the public with an announcement, but [lawmakers] want to be consulted. They want some sense that they were listened to along the way."
Trump's travel ban has sparked protests at airports around the countryImage: Getty Images/S. Keith
Trump's approach to governing has not just rubbed Congress the wrong way - a Quinnipiac poll put his approval rating at the end of his first week in office at 36 percent. If Trump is looking for support from Congress for his divisive policies, low favorability numbers could prove troublesome.
"When a president has high approval, members of Congress are hesitant to challenge them," said Collier. "But once their approval is low, they feel much more free about resistance. And when it gets low enough, they see it as an asset to actually push back against a president."
"We should expect a high degree of party loyalty from Republicans when it comes to Trump's cabinet nominations," Sides said. "It's quite rare for nominees not to be confirmed, period, and it would be all the more remarkable for that to happen when the president's party controls Congress."
It is policy issues, where the "political implications are broader," and fellow Republican lawmakers are likely to raise objections, said Collier. Trump has the luxury of a party majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, but as Barack Obama found out in 2009, pushing legislation through Congress can still be difficult even with such an advantage.
"I think things look easier for Trump than they are," Collier told DW. "The Republicans are not just going to fall in line. They are going to have significant disagreements with the president, even though he is from their own party."
You're hired: Donald Trump's Cabinet
The spaces in Donald Trump's Cabinet are filling up. Most recently, the nominee for Secretary of the Interior was announced. DW takes a look at who the president-elect has tapped so far for the top jobs.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/S. Walsh
Vice President: Mike Pence
Pence (57) is an experienced politician. After working as a lawyer and conservative talk radio host, he served for 12 years in the House of Representatives before becoming governor of Indiana in 2013. The father of three has strongly opposed abortion rights and same-sex marriage throughout his career. He has described himself as "a Christian, a conservative and a Republican, in that order."
Image: Reuter/S. Morgan
Secretary of State: Rex Tillerson
The CEO of oil giant Exxon Mobil has close ties with Russian president Vladimir Putin - he was even awarded Russia's "Order of Friendship" in 2013. Despite this, and the Texan businessman's lack of experience in foreign policy, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee narrowly approved Tillerson's nomination.
Priebus (44), a lawyer and familiar face on the Wisconsin political scene, has served as director of the Republican National Committee since 2011. He has said that the Trump administration will aim to "create an economy that works for everyone, secure our borders, repeal and replace Obamacare and destroy radical Islamic terrorism."
Image: Reuters/M. Segar
Secretary of the Treasury: Steven Mnuchin
After a long career on Wall Street at Goldman Sachs, Mnuchin (53) set up a hedge fund and made millions of dollars buying and rebranding a failed mortgage lender after the 2008 crash. He has since financed several Hollywood movies. Mnuchin wants to cut taxes for businesses and the middle class and will consider public-private partnerships to fund infrastructure projects.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/C. Kaster
National Security Adviser: Michael Flynn
The retired Army general - and registered Democrat - was fired as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency in 2014. He has referred to Islamism as "a vicious cancer inside the body of 1.7 billion people on this planet" and his son, a Trump aide, recently lost his job for spreading a fake news story that claimed Hillary Clinton's allies were running a pedophile ring from a Washington pizzeria.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/M. Reynolds
Attorney General: Jeff Sessions
The Alabama Senator was one of the first members of Congress to endorse Trump. A former lawyer, Sessions (69) takes a hard line on immigration and strongly opposes legalizing of marijuana. Allegations of racism, including a former colleague's testimony that Sessions joked he thought the Ku Klux Klan were "okay, until I found out they smoked pot," cost him a potential federal judgeship in 1986.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/J. Samad
Secretary of Defense: James Mattis
During his 44-year military career, Mattis (66) earned nicknames like "Mad Dog" and "warrior monk." He led the US Central Command from 2011 to 2013, and was a key figure in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. His appointment as Defense Secretary would depend on a waiver from the Senate, as US law requires that retired military personnel wait seven years before they can take up this role.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo
Secretary of Homeland Security: John Kelly
Upon his retirement in January 2016, Kelly (66) was the longest serving Marine general in US history. As head of the US Southern Command, he was responsible for US military activity in South and Central America, which included oversight of the controversial Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba. Kelly's eldest son was killed in combat in Afghanistan in 2010.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. Balce Ceneta
Secretary of the Interior: Ryan Zinke
The Montana lawmaker and former Navy SEAL commander had been expected to run for the Senate in 2018. Zinke (55) has advocated increased energy drilling and mining on federally controlled land. While skeptical about the urgency of climate change, he does believe it is important for the United States to invest in renewable energy. He describes himself as a "Teddy Roosevelt Republican."
Image: Reuters/N. McDermid
Director, National Intelligence: Dan Coats
The former Indiana senator was US ambassador to Germany from 2001 to 2005 under the George W. Bush administration. Coats (73) is considered a mainstream Republican and served on the Senate Intelligence and Armed Services committees. A vocal critic of Russia, he pushed for Moscow to be punished for its annexation of Crimea in 2014.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/S. Walsh
Director, CIA: Mike Pompeo
The Kansas congressman is a member of the Republican Tea Party movement and a former Army tank officer. Pompeo (52) has defended the use of torture methods, such as waterboarding, and opposes the closure of the Guantanamo Bay prison. He once said that Edward Snowden, who exposed the National Security Agency's mass domestic surveillance program in 2013, deserved to receive the death penalty.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/S. Loeb
Secretary of Energy: Rick Perry
The two-time presidential hopeful said during his 2012 run that, should he get into the White House, he would scrap the Department of Energy. Perry (66), who served as governor of Texas for 14 years, sits on the board for the parent company of Dakota Access LLC, which is pushing to build the controversial Dakota Access pipeline. He once called Trump a "cancer on conservatism."
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo/P. Vernon
Chief Strategist: Stephen Bannon
The former chairman of right-wing website Breitbart News became Trump's campaign chief in August. His CV also includes stints as a naval officer, investment banker and Hollywood producer. Ben Shapiro, a former editor-at-large of Breitbart, described Bannon as "a nasty figure" and "a smarter version of Trump".
Image: Getty Images/K. Irwin
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development: Ben Carson
Carson, a retired neurosurgeon from Michigan, made his first foray into politics as one of Trump's rivals in the Republican presidential primary. During the campaign, Carson made controversial comments on topics such as evolution and climate change.
Image: Getty Images/C. Somodevilla
Secretary of Commerce: Wilbur Ross
The investor and former banker made billions in restructuring failing companies in industries such as steel and coal, later investing in troubled European banks during the financial crisis. Ross, 79, was a vocal Trump supporter during the election campaign and believes the US needs a "more radical, new approach to government."
Image: picture-alliance/newscom/J. Angelillo
US Trade Representative: Robert Lighthizer
Lighthizer served as deputy trade representative during Ronald Reagan's presidential administration. He returns to government after working as a lawyer for US steel companies for nearly three decades. Like Trump, the 71-year old has argued that the US needs to defend its economic interests against China more aggressively to reduce the US-China trade deficit.
Image: greatagain.gov - CC BY 4.0
Secretary of Labor: Andy Puzder
Andy Puzder, chief executive of CKE Restaurants, which runs fast food chains Hardee's and Carl's Jr., has long argued against higher minimum wages and government regulation in the workplace. He has frequently criticized the new Labor Department rule that extends overtime pay to more than 4 million workers, and praised the benefits of automation in the fast food industry.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/S. Osman
Secretary of Education: Betsy DeVos
As a prominent figure in the "school choice" movement and chair of the American Federation for Children, DeVos is an advocate of charter schools, which are publicly funded but privately run. She is a long-time Republican Party donor and her father-in-law is Richard DeVos, the billionaire founder of US company Amway.
Image: Picture-Alliance/AP Photo/C. Kaster
Secretary of Transportation: Elaine Chao
In 2001, Chao was appointed Labor Secretary under George W. Bush, becoming the first woman of Asian descent to take a US Cabinet position. She previously worked in banking and as director of the Peace Corps, expanding its presence in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Chao (63) immigrated to the USA from Taiwan at the age of eight and is now married to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/C. Kaster
Secretary of Health and Human Services: Tom Price
The former orthopedic surgeon was elected to the House of Representatives in 2012 and named Budget Committee chair in 2015. Price, 62, is a staunch opponent of Obamacare, advocating a system based on medical savings accounts. Price has voted against federal funding for abortion and opposes gun control.
Image: Reuters/J. Roberts
Director, Environmental Protection Agency: Scott Pruitt
Over the past five years, the Oklahoma state attorney general - a vocal climate-change skeptic - has brought multiple lawsuits against the very organization he is now due to lead. Pruitt said: "I intend to run this agency in a way that fosters both responsible protection of the environment and freedom for American businesses.”
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/A. Harnik
Small Business Administration: Linda McMahon
The former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) spent an estimated $100 million on two unsuccessful Senate campaigns in 2010 and 2012. She has supported reduced financial regulation and a lower corporate tax rate. Trump described her as "one of the country's top female executives advising businesses around the globe."
Image: Getty Images/D. Angerer
Director of the Management and Budget Office: Mick Mulvaney
Mulvaney was voted into the House of Representatives in 2011 as a "Tea Party" Republican. As someone who opposes federal governmental spending, the 49-year old from South Carolina could help Trump defund the Affordable Care Act, but might also be at odds with his trillion dollar infrastructure investment plan.
Image: picture-alliance/ P Photo/H. Hamburg
Senior White House adviser: Jared Kushner
Donald Trump's son in law, who already served a pivotal role in his campaign, will also serve as an adviser in the Trump administration. The son of real-estate tycoon Charles Kushner is married to Trump's daughter Ivanka. He previously worked in real estate and publishing and had never worked in politics before the start of the Trump campaign.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/C. Kaster
US Ambassador to the UN: Nikki Haley
Haley (44) is serving her second term as the Governor for South Carolina. After the mass shooting at an African-American church in Charleston in 2015, Haley, who is the daughter of Indian immigrants, pushed for the confederate flag to be removed from the grounds of the South Carolina state house. She referred to Trump's proposal for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the US as "un-American."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Reynolds
Secretary of Veterans Affairs: David Shulkin
Shulkin already served as Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Health under President Barack Obama. The 57-year old medical doctor previously also worked as Chief Medical Officer at a university hospital in Pennsylvania.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/D. Reuter
26 images1 | 26
Learning the 'language'
Put simply, if Trump doesn't learn to engage with Congress, he is going to struggle to achieve legislative success.
"Donald Trump is not well known to members of Congress and he is just not familiar with the kind of things that makes members of Congress tick," said Collier. "They have a kind of politics all to their own. They are used to being shown a certain kind of respect and deference and Trump's going to have to learn that language."
Even anti-establishment campaigners like Reagan ultimately tried to make nice with CongressImage: AP
Yet, if his first two weeks in office are anything to go off, Trump's style is, among other things, unusual. For one thing, says Collier, the White House is so far not working with Republicans in Congress on issues where they traditionally have common ground.
"I would have thought that going to Congress early for some money for the border wall would have been a nice easy vote to win," Collier said. "A lot of Republicans are for that. It seems like it would have been a good opportunity to start off with an issue in which they were ready to vote the way the president would. But then the president acts unilaterally."
Even presidents who have campaigned on a more anti-establishment agenda in the past, like Ronald Reagan, ultimately made an effort to make nice with Congress after taking office. Trump, it seems, has not yet taken such steps.
"I just haven't seen a whole lot of olive branches coming from either side of this relationship so far," said Collier.