Trump Watch: Day 33 Wrap-Up
Good evening, Trump Watchers. Here is your Trump-related news for Wednesday, February 22, 2017:
— As I am writing this wrap-up, news just broke that Trump and his administration (namely, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and Attorney General Jeff Sessions) have reversed the guidelines enacted by President Obama that allowed transgender students to use the restroom associated with their gender identity. This could have negative effects on transgender students who are more likely to be the targets of bullying or harassment as a result of the reversal. Based on multiple articles I’ve read about this, DeVos was actually in favor of keeping President Obama’s order in place, but Sessions was adamantly opposed to it and ultimately DeVos caved on the issue. This news is still developing as I write this, so if there are any important updates I will post links on the Trump Watch Facebook page.
— Yesterday the Department of Homeland Security released two memos describing how they would carry out two of Trump’s executive orders relating to immigration enforcement (not to be confused with the travel ban executive order, though). In a nutshell, the memos released by DHS show that there will be a drastic expansion in the people deemed “priorities for removal”. While President Obama only sought to deport undocumented immigrants who committed serious crimes, Trump’s new rules will mean that any undocumented immigrant who has been convicted of any crime will be sought for deportation, as well as any undocumented immigrant who has just been charged with a crime (but not convicted). Additionally, anyone who is believed to have committed an act for which they could be charged will be fair game under Trump’s laws. According to NPR, over 11 million could be impacted by the new regulations.
— In response, Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Videgaray said today that Mexico will fight any mass deportations of undocumented immigrants back to Mexico, and will seek assistance from the United Nations if necessary. This is likely to be a topic of conversation on Thursday, when U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly meet with the President of Mexico.
— The much-anticipated follow-up to Trump’s travel ban is set to be released next week. It was supposed to come out this week, but for unknown reasons, Trump has pushed it back until next week. According to this article from Bloomberg, Trump said, “The new order is going to be very much tailored to what I consider a very, very bad decision. We can tailor the order to the decision to get just as much.”
— Public support for the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) is on the rise according to a Politico/Morning Consult poll. When Trump took office in January, approval for the ACA was at 41% and disapproval was at 52%. Those numbers have now shifted to 45% and 45%, respectively. Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers are still trying to figure out what to do about the ACA. According to an article published by NPR today, they are looking for ways to trim back the 10 “essential health benefits” that the law requires all insurers to provide. Of those, maternity coverage appears to be one of the benefits most likely on the chopping block.
— In a new Quinnipiac University poll released today, Trump’s disapproval rating continues to grow. The poll reported that he had a 44% disapproval rating a few days after taking office, 51% disapproval on February 7, and as of today that number has climbed to 55%. According to today’s poll, “A majority of respondents said Trump is not honest (55 percent), doesn’t have good leadership skills (55 percent) or care about everyday Americans (53 percent), isn’t level-headed (63 percent), doesn’t share their values (60 percent) and is doing more to divide the country than unite it (58 percent).”
That’s all for tonight. I’ll be back with a Day 35 wrap-up on Friday evening.
