I recently came across an article on Fox News’ website listing off the recent executive orders the President Donald Trump signed into law since taking office. Many of the executive orders dealt with issues that went on during the Obama administration that never got resolved, such as the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline and the United States’ involvement in the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. However,many others have stirred up a great deal of controversy and caused many to takes sides. This includes an order imposing a 120-day suspension of the Department of Homeland Security’s refugee settlement program and a 90-day ban on travel to the U.S. from 7 nations in the Middle East, all of which have been dealing with domestic conflict. As well as an order to government agencies requiring that for every new regulation that is introduced, two other regulations must be abolished.
Over the past few years I’ve heard numerous right-wing commentators on television and the radio heavily criticize former president Barack Obama for the numerous executive orders he made in the later years of his administration, especially on the issues of immigration and the economy. It is interesting now to see the silence, and somewhat approval from the same commentators on Trump’s orders regarding the same issues. I suppose this is because now these people have a person in office who supports their ideals, so this is understandable. Being a liberal, and someone who understands the checks and balances that make our federal government work effectively, I do not support his recent executive orders. I would say this disapproval comes from the magnitude of his orders and what they will mean for my side going forward.
The biggest orders that I have problems with are the Secretary of the Treasury’s review of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial regulatory law, the new rules regarding regulations, the travel ban, and the delaying of Obama’s proposal to the Labor Department regarding financial professionals putting client’s interests first during retirement. While the travel ban is not unconstitutional, it gives us a poor reputation with our allies in the Middle East in the fight against terrorism. I have worries over the easing of regulations on Wall Street and financial institutions, mainly because the last time we reduced regulations and rules of the financial sector, we ended up with the worst economic recession since the Great Depression (referring to the 2007 crash).