President Trump tells his Cabinet to cut the fat

The White House • October 17, 2018

Deregulation doesn't make headlines as often as some other topics. While Americans can see the results of policies such as tax cuts immediately in their paychecks, cutting stifling red tape across the Federal bureaucracy is a long-term investment in building a stronger, freer, and more competitive America.

But regulation is the perfect symbol of Washington's decades-long power grab. "An ever-growing maze of regulations, rules, restrictions has cost our country trillions and trillions of dollars, millions of jobs, countless American factories, and devastated many industries," President Donald J. Trump says. Now, 21 months into his Presidency, regulatory reform has saved American families and business owners $33 billion.

Compare that with the Obama record: In his first 21 months in office, President Obama imposed $245 billion in regulatory costs on the American people.

Unlike most politicians, President Trump backed up his campaign talk with a specific promise, pledging that his government would cut two regulations each year for every new one added. The results? The Trump Administration issued 176 deregulatory actions last year—eliminating 12 regulations for every new one.

Today, the President met with American workers from a number of industries to hear firsthand how these policies have affected them. Here are just a few examples of how the deregulation revolution is making Americans' lives a little easier:

• The Department of Labor made it simpler for small businesses to provide better health insurance to their employees through association health plans.
• The Department of Veterans Affairs greatly expanded veterans' ability to use telehealth services, giving them access to state-of-the-art care everywhere.
• Areas off the coast of New England have been opened to commercial sea scallop harvesting for the first time in years—an economic benefit of $654 million for American fishermen.

Next up: In today's Cabinet meeting, President Trump directed each member of his Cabinet to streamline their agency's budget by 5 percent this fiscal year.

Get the facts: President Trump is freeing Americans from Washington's overreach

Another economic record

Hardly a week goes by without more good news on America's booming economy. The latest record: Job openings hit a new all-time high of 7.136 million for the month of August, revealing a strong, active market for American labor. "Openings dwarfed the total level of workers looking for jobs, which stood at 6.23 million for that month and fell to 5.96 million in September," Jeff Cox reported for CNBC.

In case that weren't enough, the total number of job hires also climbed to a new record: 5.78 million. Compared with a few short years ago, in today's economy, American workers are having far less trouble finding work.

President Trump chimed in on Twitter. "Incredible number just out, 7,036,000 job openings. Astonishing - it's all working! Stock Market up big on tremendous potential of USA. Also, Strong Profits. We are Number One in World, by far!"

CNBC: Job openings hit record 7.136 million in August

Bonus: The President is right—America is no. 1 in global competitiveness again!

Video of the day

Yesterday, Vice President Mike Pence and Second Lady Karen Pence visited Georgia to survey damage from Hurricane Michael. Their visit came a day after President Trump and the First Lady visited Florida and Georgia to meet with first responders and volunteers.

"The people impacted by #HurricaneMichael remain in our hearts. Yesterday, the @VP and I traveled to Georgia to see firsthand the devastation. We spoke with business owners & farmers. The storm destroyed years of work & they still exuded great strength & faith. We are with you!" the Second Lady tweeted.

Watch the Vice President and Second Lady stand with the people of Georgia.

Photo of the Day

 

Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead

President Donald J. Trump, joined by Vice President Mike Pence and members of his Cabinet, meets with workers about cutting regulatory red tape | October 17, 2018