Liz Peek: 10 critical priorities for Trump’s first day back in the White House
https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/4901314-trump-second-term-priorities
Donald Trump told Fox News’s Sean Hannity last year that he wouldn’t be a dictator “except on Day One.” On that first day back in office, he said, “I want to close the border, and I want to drill, drill, drill.”
It was clear what he meant — and he even added, “After that, I’m not a dictator” — but liberals across the country at least feigned outrage over such “authoritarian” comments.
They conveniently ignore the whirling dervish nature of Joe Biden’s earlyWhite House days.
Biden, of course, unilaterally canceled the Keystone Pipeline; dictated masks be worn on federal property (and on planes and trains); moved to rejoin the World Health Organization and the Paris Climate Accords; froze student debt collections; set stricter emissions limits for vehicles; suspended oil drilling leasing on federal lands; terminated Trump’s 1776 Commission; revoked Trump’s efforts to exclude illegal immigrants from the U.S. Census; reinforced the protections for illegal migrants brought to the U.S. as children; abolished the ban on travel to the U.S. from (at that point) 11 countries with serious terrorism problems (the so-called “Muslim ban”); paused deportations of people in the U.S. illegally; stopped building the border wall; banned workplace discrimination against gay, lesbian and transgender employees; restored collective bargaining power and workplace protections for federal workers; undid Trump’s regulatory approval process; and approved a whole slew of measures addressing the COVID pandemic.
This day of unilateral power was of course celebrated by the media, which cheered Biden’s efforts to undo pretty much everything his predecessor had done, including closing our southern border.
So if Trump is reelected, what should be his top priorities for his first 100 days? Here are 10 of them:
- Restoring order at the border comes first, as Trump has already indicated. Illegal immigration is a top concern for voters, and rightly so; allowing more than 10 million unvetted people to enter our nation has become a nightmare for towns and cities across the U.S.
In towns like Aurora, Colo., Venezuelan gangs attracted to next-door Denver’s sanctuary city status have caused mayhem, forcing locals to cough up millions of dollars to beef up law enforcement. In New York City, residents are paying $5 billion to house and feed tens of thousands of migrants who reportedly account for some 75 percent of arrests for violent crimes. It is not fair and it must end.
- Trump must also reduce incentives for people to come illegally by eliminating Sanctuary City laws. After all, what are sanctuary cities protecting illegal immigrants from? From our own laws! The idea that illegal residents who commit serious crimes are not always turned over for deportation is a scandal.
Along the same lines, Trump should call on Congress to eliminate birthright citizenship, which automatically makes any child born on U.S. soil a citizen. This principle is widely abused and is a serious magnet attracting illegal entrants and birth tourism. Nearly every other developed country except Canada has abandoned birthright citizenship; we should too.
- Trump should also change the Census so that it does not count illegal immigrants. Democrats in charge of states that are losing populationdue to high taxes, rampant crime, poor schools and a deteriorating quality of life, like California and New York, face little penalty for their ideological excesses and mismanagement. As legal residents move elsewhere, the states should lose seats in Congress, Electoral College votes and financial handouts. But because they have welcomed large numbers of illegal immigrants, the impact is muted and they aren’t held politically accountable.
- Trump must also “drill, baby, drill,” rescinding the many Biden-Harris regulations that have made it harder and more expensive to drill for oil and gas. Most important is putting back in play the millions of acres in Alaska’s Arctic Natural Wildlife Refuge, which industry experts say could eventually boost U.S. production by some 1 million barrels per day.
U.S. oil output is at record levels today, but studies show we could be producing much more. On balance, more production means lower prices, and consequently less income for adversaries such as Russia and Iran.
- Another priority should be to enforce the tough sanctions that Trump levied on Iran during his presidency. The Biden-Harris White House has allowed Iran’s oil output to surge, along with their income. This foolhardy empowering of the Middle East’s most aggressive sponsor of terror has put the region on the brink of all-out war.
- The Government Efficiency Commission proposed by Trump and Elon Musk has been enthusiastically endorsed by many, including JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon, who called it a “very good idea.” Given the ever-growing bloated federal bureaucracy, he is right.
- Canceling Biden’s executive order mobilizing all federal agencies to register voters fits with the efficiency drive. This is not the role of government. It is also ripe for abuse, as it lets Democrats target districts rich with their own unregistered potential voters.
- Trump should revoke the security clearances of the 51 former intelligence officials who lied to interfere with the 2020 election. Trading on the perception that they knew something, they falsely accused the New York Post of falling for Russian disinformation and “smearing” Hunter Biden with its election-eve story about the “laptop from Hell.” Not only was the Post story vindicated, the laptop was also used as evidence against the younger Biden in his trial on federal gun violations.
- Trump should cancel all Department of Defense initiatives regarding DEI, or Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. These cost taxpayers $114 million this year.
- Last, and most importantly, the former president should move heaven and earth to make our elections secure and transparent. Nothing could be more important to our country than re-establishing confidence that the vote is fair. Some 81 percent of Americans approve of requiring a government-issued photo ID to vote; that should be the law.
Trump wants to enact many outside-the-box ideas that could make our country work again. Let’s hope he gets the chance.
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