On Wednesday afternoon, the praise for President Trump came pouring in, which was a rare thing in these days of shutdowns, caves, and FBI raids.
The Trump administration had just granted an exemption to an Obama-era regulation on discrimination in foster care programs funded by the federal government.
Miracle Hill Ministries, a foster care program in South Carolina, had sought the exemption from the federal regulation barring discrimination on the basis of religion. Gov. Henry McMaster had petitioned Trump’s Department of Health and Human Services to grant this exemption so that Miracle Hill could continue its practice of placing children only in Christian families. Miracle Hill stood accused of discriminating against a Jewish couple.
It was the wrong move.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for religious freedom. Miracle Hill ought to be free to deal only with Christian foster parents.
But the Trump administration did this the wrong way.
Although it’s common and legal for HHS’s Agency for Children and Families to grant exemptions under specific conditions, including on the basis of religion. It still can cause problems.
Right off the bat, it’s clear to see how people will react. The Left will completely pick apart the decision.
Several groups have already spoken out. The Anti-Defamation League said that the decision was “shameful, illegal and immoral,” allowing foster care agencies “ … to openly discriminate against Jews, gay couples and others who don’t follow their faith.”
Children’s Rights, a nonprofit organization who represents children in government-run programs, told The Chronicle of Social Change they are already considering taking legal action.
Critics charge that Trump completely bypassed the system.
Which, in a way, he did.
Trump didn’t abolish the rule Obama made. He just carved a hole in it. Granting an exemption to a regulation is much easier than repealing a regulation.
As we know from civics class, regulations are often extensive, and it takes time to break them down. The majority of them are difficult to undo, and all require long legal battles.
Adam White, a Hoover Institution research fellow, once noted, “[one] can’t just walk in and say, ‘this is gone.’ You have to go through the whole rulemaking process … ”
As a result, Democrats may have a stronger legal argument when they inevitably sue, possibly even taking it to the Supreme Court. Poking holes in a rule, rather than dismantling it fully, also creates instability and confusion.
Trump wanted a quick fix and the only way to do so was to create an exemption for this single high-profile case. (McMaster had made Miracle Hill a rallying cry in his 2018 re-election.)
But in the long run, this quick fix could come back to bite Trump.
