He doesn’t actually need Congress to do anything new in many cases.
The work requirements for Welfare programs is already the law, but Obama waived it with an EO in 2009. Reverse the EO and direct your hand-picked managers to follow the law, cracking down on fraud, etc. All of that is within existing laws with nothing needed from Congress.
I doubt Congress has any say in how the Executive branch chooses to run the Department of Education, EPA, Energy, etc. as long as existing laws are followed — those that are not subject to “prosecutorial discretion”. Trump’s new heads for all those agencies could and should review all existing regulation enacted by those agencies and throw out any that are not specifically called for by existing legislation or are in any way in conflict with the literal or spiritual meaning of the enacted legislation. No Department is REQUIRED to spend the money budgeted for it and if it has been gutted and spent next to nothing, what is Congress going to do ?
There is a huge body of regulations that are really in conflict with the legislation as passed by Congress. All of the public hearing before regulatory agency boards amount to nothing — they are not obligated to pay attention to citizens’ concerns. Past Executive branches via their cronies created that body of regulations, and Trump’s hand-picked cronies can dismantle it. Congress may complain, court challenges may ensue, but that would take united opposition from Congress and by the time the courts make a decision the dismantling will be a done deal.
For seven years Obama has given us a lesson on just how far the power of the Executive can stretch while Congress and Courts are ignored. Trump should take advantage of these existing weaknesses in the so-called system of checks and balances. Then, just before he leaves office, he should ask Congress to pass a bill that fixes those weaknesses and restores proper checks on Executive power.
That's true, and while it won't eliminate the deficit much less the debt it putting us on the right track. Some states are doing that now, though the Feds are challenging them. I'd rescind the executive order day one. And there are others which could reduce expenditures as well as increase revenues, like his offshore drilling bans and EPA requirements designed to destroy the coal industry. Instead of silly comments about the debt and recessions, without solutions, his advisors should give him a list of ten executive orders like the one you mention to be rescinded day one. With their fiscal economic and employment impact.
Thanks for all your informative posts in the 2 threads about Trump’s plan to reduce the deficit. Then debt.