OPINION:
Politicians aren’t exactly known for following through on their vows. Pledges that might win a primary tend to change on the way to the general election only to be forgotten by Inauguration Day. But conventional wisdom has never applied to President Trump.
“Action, not words, count — and you’re going to see a lot of action,” he said Monday from the Capitol’s Emancipation Hall.
The freshly sworn-in 47th president spoke later that day to 20,000 supporters at Capital One Arena, attended the usual gala events and then signed a flurry of executive orders while fielding questions from the assembled press.
Mr. Trump’s detailed responses demonstrated he knew what he was signing. The same can’t be said of his predecessor.
Directives issued Monday shared the theme of restoring competency. Agencies must jettison racial preferences and embrace merit-based hiring principles. The federal workforce must show up at the office five days a week. Members of the senior executive service who refuse to execute the agenda that the American people just approved will be fired.
There’s no way for the president to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed” — as the Constitution directs — unless the commander in chief has the authority to remove insubordinate officers. Mr. Trump learned the hard way that Washington insiders will stop at nothing to abuse their positions to achieve their personal political goals.
The 51 former intelligence community officials who signed the deceitful letter claiming the Hunter Biden laptop was Russian disinformation just had their security clearances revoked. For what seems like the first time in Washington, misconduct has consequences.
Under new rules, rogue bureaucrats will no longer be able to thumb their noses at the First Amendment by coercing social media companies into silencing political opponents — or worse. The presidential order prohibiting the weaponization of government cites the case of Douglass Mackey in which “The Department of Justice even jailed an individual for posting a political meme.”
Mr. Trump nullified what had been the DOJ’s obsession for the past four years by granting full pardons to 1,500 Jan. 6 protesters. “They go after these people violently,” he explained. “There’s never been anything like this. Almost 100% of the people are convicted.” By contrast, prosecutors gave Black Lives Matter rioters a pass in 2020.
With a few strokes of his presidential pen, Mr. Trump reversed all the disastrous policies that left our southern border wide-open. He proceeded to declare a national emergency, allowing the stationing of troops to stop the invasion.
The border was Mr. Trump’s top priority during the campaign. “We don’t want criminals coming into our country,” he explained. It’s still his top priority.
Drug cartels were put on notice that the human smuggling and drug smuggling rings wouldn’t be allowed to operate with impunity any longer. He also reinstated the “Remain in Mexico” policy and ordered deportations.
On the economic front, Mr. Trump instructed Cabinet secretaries to find ways to reduce inflation’s impact on families. The best way to do that, the president said, is to “drill baby, drill.”
Driving down the costs of energy reduces the costs of all goods and services. Mandates promoting intermittent sources of energy like windmills and solar panels drive up energy costs, so those are going away. Mr. Trump also watered down restrictions on the kinds of dishwashers and light bulbs Americans can buy.
Action was promised, and over 200 actions were delivered in the span of a few hours, all of which were discussed on the campaign trail. It’s a refreshing change and a sign of things to come.
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