×
Newsmax TV & Webwww.newsmax.comFREE - In Google Play
VIEW
×
Newsmax TV & Webwww.newsmax.comFREE - On the App Store
VIEW
Skip to main content
Tags: trump | bills | legislation | signed | tax cut | obamacare

Trump Has Bigger Impact With Fewer Bills Signed

Trump Has Bigger Impact With Fewer Bills Signed
President Donald J. Trump signs the Tax Cut and Reform Bill in the Oval Office at The White House in Washington, D.C., on December 22, 2017. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images)

By    |   Wednesday, 03 January 2018 10:27 AM EST

When President Trump boasted “We’ve signed more bills — and I’m talking about through the legislature — than any president, ever,” the mainstream media piled on immediately, showing that Trump had signed the least number of bills into law of any president since Truman.

True, some bills signings were merely ceremonial, as presidents regularly sign bills that name federal buildings and other pomp and circumstance. A superficial analysis might even conclude that signing less than 100 “actual” bills into law in a given year is a sign of impassable Congressional gridlock or, worse, a stalled presidential agenda.

However, a deeper analysis reveals a theme to the first year of the Trump presidency of less government, and better government.

And that should be music to conservative ears.

But, wait. Conservatives are always complaining that Washington politicians aren’t “doing their job” that they were elected to do. Isn’t their job to pass laws?

Not necessarily. Simply passing a law for the sake of doing so is more like plate spinning than governing: it looks good for a short while and may satiate the immediate needs of voters back home, but it accomplishes little or nothing. If you subscribe to the belief that government is bloated, overly burdensome, and far too intrusive into our everyday lives, as conservatives do, then the job of elected representatives, and indeed the president, would be to alleviate those burdens through thoughtful governance. That means repealing some laws, not passing more.

Whether you believe it occurred by design (as supporters of the president would) or it’s simply dumb luck (as so-called “Never Trumper” conservatives may think) the first year of the Trump presidency started to do just that.

Consider, many bill signings by President Trump diminished government. President Trump signed many “disapproval” bills that reversed Obama-era rules conservatives loathed, including removal of rules that blocked states from withholding federal funding to facilities performing abortions like Planned Parenthood. A victory for federalism.

Trump also enacted bills that didn’t catch the glitzy headlines, but created new “good government” policies, like providing the VA the ability to fire incompetent employees, and expanding protection for whistleblowers throughout government, or the “Forever GI Bill” which made it easier for veterans to find institutes of learning that give them priority in enrollment.

Not to mention the full overhaul of the federal tax system and repeal of the Obamacare individual mandate that you might have heard about in the news at the end of the year.

When these few enacted bills are considered along with Trump’s executive actions like repealing President Obama’s DACA executive order that restoring Congress’s power to legislate immigration and naturalization concerns, and the regulatory savings that saw the repeal of 22 federal regulations for every new one promulgated, which jolted American enterprise into greater productivity, the theme of a “shrinking” government becomes more apparent.

In the end, Trump’s “less” may actually mean more than what past presidents have accomplished in their first year in office.

Gene Berardelli is a street-smart trial attorney who, through his time as the Law Chair of the Republican Party in Brooklyn, New York, has developed a solid reputation as an election attorney successfully representing conservative candidates.

Russell Gallo is a security expert and combat veteran who attained the rank of First Sergeant in the New York Army National Guard, earning a Combat Action Badge in Iraq. Together, they host Behind Enemy Lines Radio, a national award-winning radio show and podcast broadcasting out of "The People's Republic of" New York that airs weekly on AM and FM radio stations as part of the Talk America Radio network. To read more of their reports — Click Here Now.

© 2023 Newsmax. All rights reserved.


BerardelliandGallo
In the end, Trump’s “less” may actually mean more than what past presidents have accomplished in their first year in office.
trump, bills, legislation, signed, tax cut, obamacare
609
2018-27-03
Wednesday, 03 January 2018 10:27 AM
Newsmax Media, Inc.

Sign up for Newsmax’s Daily Newsletter

Receive breaking news and original analysis - sent right to your inbox.

(Optional for Local News)
Privacy: We never share your email address.
Join the Newsmax Community
Read and Post Comments
Please review Community Guidelines before posting a comment.
 
TOP

Interest-Based Advertising | Do not sell or share my personal information

Newsmax, Moneynews, Newsmax Health, and Independent. American. are registered trademarks of Newsmax Media, Inc. Newsmax TV, and Newsmax World are trademarks of Newsmax Media, Inc.

NEWSMAX.COM
America's News Page
© Newsmax Media, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Download the NewsmaxTV App
Get the NewsmaxTV App for iOS Get the NewsmaxTV App for Android Scan QR code to get the NewsmaxTV App
NEWSMAX.COM
America's News Page
© Newsmax Media, Inc.
All Rights Reserved