On the recordJanuary 24, 2017
according to President Trump's words, yesterday--not Friday--was his first official day in office. It is an important distinction because throughout the campaign, President Trump made numerous promises about what he would do on his first day. So we went through them. Turns out he made upwards of 30 promises of Executive actions or plans that he would announce on day 1. This didn't require any congressional approval; he could just announce it. Even by a generous count, the President fulfilled only two or three of them. Let me mention just a few of the important omissions. The President campaigned against both establishments, promising to oppose elites and the powerful in Washington, ``to drain the swamp.'' He campaigned against the Democratic establishment, but he also campaigned against the Republican establishment. As a result, he explicitly promised to introduce an 18-point plan for ethics reform on day 1. How did he do on that? He promised to sign a 5-year ban on lobbying after officials worked in Congress or the White House, but he did not deliver. He promised to institute a lifetime ban on White House officials from lobbying on behalf of a foreign government, but he did not deliver. He promised to put in place a complete ban on foreign lobbyists raising money for American elections, but again he did not deliver. On day 1, did President Trump fulfill his pledge to bring ethics reform to Washington? No.…
