President Trump arrives at the midpoint of his first 100 days in office with a handful of accomplishments under his belt, yet many more unanswered questions on his horizon.
As of March 10, 50 days into his presidency, Trump had signed 28 executive actions, rolled back dozens of Obama-era rules and presided over the introduction of a healthcare reform plan in the House.
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But he has not yet charted a clear path forward on many of his key promises, from slashing corporate taxes to tearing up the Iran nuclear deal, and hundreds of high-level positions within the administration remain vacant as the president struggles to shepherd his remaining Cabinet nominees through the Senate.
Trump’s allies contend he has already made significant progress toward the goals he set for the first 100 days of his administration.
“Main Street now recognizes that America is open for business again. That’s the president’s message, and he reinforces it every day,” Bryan Lanza, former communications director for Trump’s transition team, told the Washington Examiner. “If you’re an American worker, you now have the most successful negotiator in the world fighting for your job, and that’s something to be excited about.”
Lanza acknowledged gains on Capitol Hill have been “slow” due to the legislative process. However, he pointed to several areas, including national security, where Trump has managed to find success on his own.
“I think that we’ll see that he’s going to keep his promises,” Lanza said. “The president’s will is stronger than anyone understands.”
A historical tradition
Ever since Franklin D. Roosevelt pioneered the concept of attaching significance to the 100-day period at the beginning of a U.S. presidency, his successors have been judged by their first 100 days in office. Presidents are expected to set in motion the most important parts of their agenda during this period while avoiding the costly mistakes that their inexperience can cause.
Trump observed tradition by putting forward a basic plan in October 2016 for his first 100 days, giving voters a window into what he would do if elected. The plan, which his campaign dubbed the “Contract with the American Voter,” outlined 22 priorities Trump would pursue upon taking office.
John Feehery, a Republican strategist, suggested Trump left himself room to maneuver with his pre-inaugural proposals for the first 100 days.
“President Trump never clearly articulated a 100-day agenda, a la the New Deal,” Feehery said. “So I don’t think folks are checking off any boxes in anticipation of him getting hurriedly through the first 100 days.”
Indeed, Trump made one of his only other direct references to the first 100 days in a brief video message released by the transition in mid-November, and that agenda was much more vague. However, it retained the pledge to institute lobbying bans on administration officials and the promise to strike down two old regulations for each new one. Trump has already achieved both policies.
Early successes
Although a legal setback for Trump’s initial attempt to pause the flow of Middle Eastern refugees through executive order in late January caused the White House to re-evaluate its pace, the first few weeks of the Trump administration were characterized by a flurry of activity as the new president worked to undo the executive actions of his predecessor. Those rapid-fire policy changes gave Trump a string of victories with which to rebut his critics.
For example, Trump had promised in mid-November to make the death of the unpopular Trans-Pacific Partnership a “day one” priority. And while he didn’t get to TPP on Jan. 20, Trump did deliver on his pledge to scrap the trade deal just three days after his inauguration.
Trump’s decision on Jan. 31 to nominate Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court galvanized conservatives who had considered that vacancy among the most consequential issues facing the new president.
Delivering on the second-highest priority in his original 100-day agenda, Trump quickly implemented a hiring freeze across the federal government. He has steadily pursued the 11th and 12th items on that agenda, both of which related to energy restrictions, by chipping away at Obama-era environmental regulations where it is possible. And on immigration Trump has taken steps to end sanctuary cities, curb “catch-and-release” policies and find the funding necessary to build his signature border wall.
But Trump’s early efforts to flex his muscles through executive action have given way to the stark reality of lawmaking on Capitol Hill, where the president has failed to gain traction for much of his agenda amid withering Democratic opposition.
Major delays
Halfway through his first 100 days, Trump has not hit any of the 10 legislative benchmarks he set out to achieve during this symbolic timeframe. Only one, repealing and replacing Obamacare, has seen any real progress.
The Obamacare reform plan put forward by House GOP leadership last week faced a lukewarm reception from conservative and moderate Republicans alike, a sign that the bill will likely encounter obstacles before it reaches Trump’s desk.
“If that bill goes through, his first year will be a success. If that bill and tax reform go through, it will be a major success,” said Charles Lipson, a political science professor at the University of Chicago. “On the other hand, if either fail or are watered down significantly, his presidency is in real trouble.”
Trump has seemingly abandoned another aspect of the original plan for his first 100 days: congressional term limits. During the campaign, Trump’s agenda had included a constitutional amendment imposing term limits on members of Congress. However, Trump has stayed silent on the proposal since winning the election, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced in mid-November that the Senate would not consider term limits.
Other legislative goals in Trump’s original 100-day agenda included an infrastructure package, tariffs, a school choice bill and wide-ranging tax cuts. But the president is far from achieving any of those policies at the midpoint of his first 100 days.
“I’ve been really struck by the depth and breadth of the Democratic opposition. I don’t think the Democratic base has acknowledged why they lost and, in many cases, even that they did lose fair and square,” Lipson said. “The strategy they are pursuing, opposition on all fronts … has significantly slowed his agenda.”
What’s more, Democrats have repeatedly lunged for the openings Trump himself has given them during his first 50 days, such as his inaccurate claims about the crowd size at his inauguration or his more recent assertion, without proof, that Obama wiretapped his communications during the campaign. The ensuing imbroglios have often left White House staffers fending off controversy while the president’s agenda simmers on the back burner.
“I’m surprised by how many of Trump’s dust-ups and other problems are due to self-inflicted wounds,” Lipson said. “Tossing out incendiary allegations on Twitter and refusing to provide any evidence for the allegations creates problems on its own. I would call that a ‘signal-to-noise’ problem. The signals of Trump’s agenda on healthcare, taxes, immigration and de-regulation, among other things, are being lost in all the noise that his tweets are generating.”
