Like most other politicians, President Donald Trump made many promises while on the campaign trail throughout 2015 and 2016. From deporting all of the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the country to building a large wall on our southern border, Trump has had his fair share of radical policies. Which will become law, and which will fade into oblivion? Here’s a few of his many political policies explained in detail.

 

Health Care

Trump has repeatedly claimed that ‘priority one’ of his presidency is the repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, the 44th president’s crown jewel in his legislative legacy. The ACA covers 22 million Americans with health care at a lower cost than private coverage. The ACA made health care coverage mandatory for all Americans in some form, driving average costs down for everybody and improving average health care quality for Americans. Trump has proposed repealing the act immediately and proposing a replacement “very soon,” even though leaders of the Republican Party in the Senate estimated that it would take two to three years to pass an alternative plan.

 

The Wall

President Trump first mentioned his plan to build a wall on the mexican border during his announcement speech in July of 2015 from Trump Tower in New York City. Trump also pledged that Mexico would pay for the building of the wall, a point that the Mexican president, Congress and people have all denied fervently. Recently, Trump has compromised on this idea, saying that Mexico will pay for the wall once it is built, leaving the initial cost to the American taxpayers.

 

Russian Interference in the Election

The actions of Russia before, during and after this election season have no doubt been the hottest topic on the news and with President Trump. 19 of the nation’s intelligence agencies, including the FBI, CIA and Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), concluded in a report published in October that the government of Russia hacked the Democratic Party’s email server and published those leaks through WikiLeaks in an attempt to assist Trump’s campaign. Trump has repeatedly denied these claims, even though Republican Senate leaders, including Sen. John McCain, who ran against former President Obama in 2008, accept it as fact, a prime example of the divisions between the White House and Capitol Hill. In a press conference on Jan. 10, Trump said the hack on the Democratic Party’s email server “may have been Russia,” the closest Trump has ever been to blaming Russia. Russia’s affiliation is accepted as fact in both parties. It’s very unlikely that significant sanctions or other punishments against Russia will be signed into law under a Trump presidency.

 

Russian Actions in Ukraine

In March of 2014, the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea was annexed by Russia. The move was disguised as a democratic referendum and has been viewed as an aggressive action by the Kremlin. The European Union and the United States have both put punitive sanctions on Russia for the annexation, as well as their assistance to an ongoing rebellion in eastern Ukraine. The rebels are Russian separatists and are reportedly supplied by Russia, though they have denied this. Both the Republican and Democratic parties have called for additional sanctions, and some for war crime investigations, against Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin. President Trump has again come to Russia’s defense, saying that additional sanctions are not required and that Crimea is a part of Russia legally.

 

Russian Actions in Syria

Russia has also assisted President Bashar Al-Assad of Syria in the ongoing Syrian Civil War. The rebels have been supplied by the United States, and Russia has run multiple air strike raids against the rebels on behalf of the Syrian government. John Kerry, Secretary of State under President Obama and Democratic presidential nominee in 2004, called for war crime investigations against President Putin and President Assad for the airstrikes and the large amounts of civilian casualties, some killed by poison gas, which has been outlawed since World War I in the Geneva Conventions. Trump, his advisors and his cabinet nominees have all refused to call Putin a war criminal, a point that has been criticized mainly by former Republican presidential candidate Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida. Trump’s actions allude to a future of inaction on additional sanctions against Russia and possible combativeness between the Trump administration and Senate Republicans.

 

House of Representatives and the Independent Ethics Committee

Late at night on Jan. 2, House Republicans added to their proposed rules for the new House session that the Independent Ethics Committee would be put under control of the House itself. This committee has acted as the watchdog for the House, accepting anonymous complaints and investigating them individually and independently. The rule, if put into effect, would gut the power of the committee, leaving very few to be responsible for the oversight of the House of Representatives and its Congressmen. The plan was reversed by Virginia Representative Bob Goodlatte, against the recommendation of House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin. Then-President-Elect Trump displayed his disapproval of the move the next day, tweeting “With all that Congress has to work on, do they really have to make the weakening of the Independent Ethics Watchdog, as unfair as it … may be, their number one act and priority. Focus on tax reform, healthcare and so many other things of far greater importance! #DTS.” The tweet was followed by a swift reversal from the House, removing the proposal from the rules. This may signal something greater in government for the next four years. President Trump appears to be the final word in the House of Representatives, a level of control he hasn’t been able to manage over the Senate so far. To Trump, the House is a blank check for policy within realistic boundaries, with only the Senate holding him back once he announces his Supreme Court Justice pick, as well as with his other policies.

 

Supreme Court

After the sudden and unexpected death of Justice Antonin Scalia in February of 2016, the Supreme Court is nearing a whole year of only having eight justices on the court. President Obama nominated Merrick Garland to the court, but the Republican Senate has refused to schedule an appointment hearing date for him. The Republican Party has gone against tradition by blocking Obama’s nominee in an effort to wait for a Republican justice to be appointed. It is unclear who Trump’s nominee will be, but it is almost guaranteed that his nominee will be appointed almost immediately after their nomination, changing the Court to a 5-4 Republican majority. This paves the way for sweeping changes in Constitutional Law, and many court cases that may be overturned, including Roe v. Wade, the decision that makes it illegal to ban abortions.

 

Reproductive Rights and Planned Parenthood

Trump’s policies on the campaign trail about reproductive rights have followed the Republican Party’s platform, as Trump is firmly pro-life. He plans to overturn the Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade once he appoints a Republican justice. This court case makes it illegal to ban abortion, and overturning it would pave the way for states to make abortion illegal. It is although unlikely that it will be made illegal nationally however, as the Republican Party has long fought on the side of states’ rights. Trump also wants to withdraw all federal funding from Planned Parenthood. Planned Parenthood is a public clinic service that provides basic health care and parenting resources to many poor Americans, mostly women. Planned Parenthood also provides abortions, but abortions are paid for by private donations to the organization, as they can not be paid for with federal funds. If all goes to plan for President Trump, Planned Parenthood will be fully de-funded and will have to shut its doors, leaving many poor Americans without access to health services.

 

These policies may or may not be put into place, but they are policies that Trump ran on. If he does not fulfill these promises, he may face an uprising from his own base.