What an exciting week this has been. It must be one of the most interesting and busiest in our history. President Donald Trump has wasted no time keeping the promises he made during the campaign. It’s very refreshing.
It’s morning in America again. And the road to making America great again is being paved.
Let us look at some things that have already been done by executive actions, according to Fox News.
An order reversing some Obama-era offshore drilling restrictions and ordering a review of limits on drilling locations.
An order directing a review of national monument designations under prior administrations.
An order directing federal agencies to review the use of the H-1B visa program.
An order initiating a review of the Clean Power Plan, which restricted greenhouse gas emissions at coal-fired power plants.
An order revoking Obama-era executive orders on federal contracting.
An order requiring every agency to establish a Regulatory Reform Task Force to evaluate regulations and recommend rules for repeal or modification.
An order instructing agencies that whenever they introduce a regulation, they must first abolish two others.
An order to lengthen the ban on administration officials working as lobbyists. There is now a five-year ban on officials becoming lobbyists after they leave government and a lifetime ban on White House officials lobbying on behalf of a foreign government.
An executive order imposing a 120-day suspension of the refugee program and a 90-day ban on travel to the U.S. from citizens of seven terror hot spots: Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Somalia and Sudan.
Two multipronged orders on border security and immigration enforcement, including the authorization of a U.S.-Mexico border wall; the stripping of federal grant money to sanctuary cities; hiring 5,000 more Border Patrol agents; ending “catch-and-release” policies for illegal immigrants; and reinstating local and state immigration enforcement partnerships.
Two orders reviving the Keystone XL pipeline and Dakota Access pipelines. He also signed three other related orders that would expedite the environmental permitting process for infrastructure projects related to the pipelines.
An order to reinstate the so-called “Mexico City Policy” — a ban on federal funds to international groups that perform abortions or lobby to legalize or promote abortion. The policy was instituted in 1984 by President Ronald Reagan but has gone into and out of effect depending on the party in power in the White House.
A notice that the U.S. will begin withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. Trump called the order “a great thing for the American worker.
An order imposing a hiring freeze for some federal government workers as a way to shrink the size of government. This excludes the military, as Trump noted at the signing.
My favorite of all the provisions he has instituted allows the 8,000 fired military service men and women to return to active duty. They were fired for failure to take the experimental vaccine during COVID. They will be allowed back at their previous rank and receive back pay.
Imagine the Biden administration firing thousands when recruitment has been at an all-time low. This must have affected our military readiness and is dangerous for our country. These men and women stood up for what they believed, and they are finally being rewarded.
The country appears to be rallying behind the president, and most are very supportive of what has happened so far. Patriotism is fashionable in America again, and so are public displays of faith.
I enjoyed watching the patriotism of the fans at the playoff football games and the public display of faith from players. We’ve come a long way since Tim Tebow took a knee in prayer and was ridiculed by the media. At the same time, the media cheered those players who took a knee during the National Anthem. When the Kansas City Chiefs took a knee in prayer at this week’s playoff game, it was OK. Acknowledging God is back in vogue. Praise the Lord.
I can’t wait to see what week two will hold. The promise to Make America Great may be right around the corner.
Joyce Krawiec represented Forsyth County and the 31st District in the North Carolina Senate from 2014 to 2024. She lives in Kernersville.
