Failure after failure...

Which campaign promises has Trump kept?

By MADELINE CONWAY

President Donald Trump was voted into office on a raft of campaign promises that delighted his hardcore supporters and horrified his critics. Here’s where those pledges stand as Trump closes out the first stretch of his administration:

Repeal and replace Obamacare

Status: Failed on the first try, with another attempt underway

Trump pledged to introduce legislation to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act within the first 100 days of his presidency.

House Republicans propose health care bill

WHAT WENT RIGHT
In early March, Republican leaders in the House introduced a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare called the American Health Care Act. Trump publicly backed the bill, and the White House was involved in negotiating with members of Congress in hopes that they would pass it.

WHAT WENT WRONG
House leaders pulled the bill from the floor in late March when it became clear that they lacked the votes to pass it. No Democrats were expected to vote for it, and it also garnered opposition from some members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus as well as Republican moderates in the Tuesday Group. Polls also showed it was deeply unpopular with the public.

Republicans now hope to pass a revised bill

WHAT WENT RIGHT
Republicans been working on a revised plan that has begun circulating among House members and earned the support of the House Freedom Caucus. House leaders say they hope to vote on it soon.

WHAT WENT WRONG
It remains to be seen when or if the revised bill will go to the House floor for a vote. Then it would still need to pass the more moderate Senate, where Republicans have a slimmer majority.

Tax reform

Status: In its early stages

Trump pledged to introduce tax reform legislation, reducing rates for the middle class and businesses and simplifying the tax code, within the first 100 days of his presidency.

White House proposes tax reform structure

WHAT WENT RIGHT
The White House unveiled a one-page proposal for how to tackle tax reform on April 26, leading up to Trump’s 100th day in office. It calls for an overhaul of the tax code to reduce the number of tax brackets from seven to three, cut the corporate tax rate dramatically and eliminate the estate tax, among other points.

WHAT WENT WRONG
The plan Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House economic adviser Gary Cohn described to reporters is a page-long outline, not legislation. It is unclear when it will be fleshed out and debated by Congress.

Infrastructure

Status: Incomplete, but under discussion

Trump pledged to introduce a revenue-neutral infrastructure package that would leverage “public-private partnerships, and private investments through tax incentives, to spur $1 trillion in infrastructure investment over ten years” within the first 100 days of his presidency.

Plan remains to be seen

WHAT WENT RIGHT
Trump has signaled that he still plans to pursue an infrastructure bill, likely after health care and tax reform.

WHAT WENT WRONG
So far, the White House has introduced no formal proposals. The president has also weighed attaching infrastructure to other legislation to earn support for it: “Infrastructure is so popular that I might want to use it for another bill,” he told The New York Times in April. “Infrastructure is so popular with the Democrats and pretty popular with the Republicans. A lot of Republicans want infrastructure, too.”

School choice and education

Status: Incomplete, but parts proposed

Trump pledged to introduce legislation within the first 100 days of his presidency that would redirect “education dollars to give parents the right to send their kid to the public, private, charter, magnet, religious or home school of their choice,” end federal Common Core standards, expand vocational and technical education and improve two- and four-year college affordability.

Trump included school choice in his budget

WHAT WENT RIGHT
The budget Trump proposed increasing the government’s investment in school choice through grants that fund charter school expansion and a new $250 million private school choice program. Signaling his continued support for these kinds of policies, Trump also appointed Betsy DeVos, a school choice advocate, to be his education secretary.

WHAT WENT WRONG
Congress hasn’t yet funded these programs.

Child care

Status: Incomplete, but under discussion

Trump pledged to introduce childcare legislation within the first 100 days of his presidency. The bill “allows Americans to deduct childcare and eldercare from their taxes, incentivizes employers to provide on-site childcare services and creates tax-free dependent care savings accounts for both young and elderly dependents, with matching contributions for low-income families,” he said as a candidate.

Plan remains to be seen

WHAT WENT RIGHT
Ivanka Trump has met with lawmakers and others to discuss the issue of child care and paid leave. The outline of the tax reform plan that the White House released in late April references “providing tax relief for families with child and dependent care expenses” but does not provide more detail.

WHAT WENT WRONG
The White House has not proposed any stand-alone child care legislation.

Nominate a Supreme Court justice

Status: Complete

I will “begin the process of selecting a replacement for Justice Scalia from one of the 20 judges on my list, who will uphold and defend the U.S. Constitution.”

Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch

WHAT WENT RIGHT
Trump nominated Judge Neil Gorsuch, a conservative widely viewed as qualified for the job, to fill the late Antonin Scalia’s seat in January. Trump had named him as a possible nominee during his campaign.

Senate confirmed Gorsuch

WHAT WENT RIGHT
The rollout of the appointment went smoothly. Gorsuch was sworn in as the Supreme Court’s newest associate justice in April.

WHAT WENT WRONG
Republicans in the Senate had to resort to changing the chamber’s rules, invoking the so-called nuclear option, to push Gorsuch through. Democrats had mounted a filibuster against his nomination, unhappy that Republicans had blocked President Barack Obama’s pick to join the court, Judge Merrick Garland, in 2016.

Cancel federal funding to “sanctuary cities”

Status: Attempted, but blocked

I will “cancel all federal funding to sanctuary cities.”

Trump threatened to revoke their funding Executive Order

WHAT WENT RIGHT
Trump issued an executive action in late April targeting so-called sanctuary cities, threatening to revoke funding for those that do not cooperate with federal immigration officials.

WHAT WENT WRONG
The order was blocked by a judge in San Francisco, and cities that call themselves sanctuaries are still receiving federal funding. The administration has also suggested to mayors that the action would not affect many cities because the administration will define sanctuary cities pretty narrowly.

Begin deporting criminal undocumented immigrants and cancel some visas

Status: Parts in progress

I will “begin removing the more than two million criminal illegal immigrants from the country and cancel visas to foreign countries that won’t take them back.”

Immigration arrests spike

WHAT WENT RIGHT
Officials have continued to deport some undocumented immigrants since Trump took office, and there has been a decline in illegal border crossings since last year. And Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests of immigrants have increased in Trump’s first months: The Washington Post reported in April that ICE arrests of immigrants without criminal records more than doubled compared to last year.

WHAT WENT WRONG
Trump has not moved to cancel visas to other countries as a negotiating tool.

Suspend immigration from certain terror-prone countries and demand “extreme vetting”

Status: Attempted, but blocked

I will “suspend immigration from terror-prone regions where vetting cannot safely occur. All vetting of people coming into our country will be considered ‘extreme vetting.’”

Trump tried to enact a travel ban, twice Executive Order

WHAT WENT RIGHT
Trump signed two executive orders seeking to suspend immigration and travel from several Muslim-majority countries, one in January and a revised version in March. The White House insists that the revised ban is constitutional and necessary for national security purposes.

WHAT WENT WRONG
Both versions of the travel ban have been blocked in the courts and prompted protests across the country. The ban’s critics contend that it is discriminatory and a back-door attempt to ban Muslims from coming to the country.

Rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program

Status: Incomplete

“We will immediately terminate President Obama’s two illegal executive amnesties, in which he defied federal law and the constitution to give amnesty to approximately 5 million illegal immigrants.”

Trump appears to have reversed his position

WHAT WENT WRONG
Trump has not rescinded DACA, which offers some undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children protection from deportation. Trump has softened his language since taking office, telling the AP in April that so-called Dreamers should “rest easy” because his administration’s policy is to deport criminals, not them. His administration is being sued, however, by a former DACA recipient who was recently deported.

Fund a border wall

Status: Incomplete, but proposed

Trump pledged to introduce legislation within the first 100 days of his presidency that would “fully” fund the “construction of a wall on our southern border with the full understanding that the country of Mexico will be reimbursing the United States for the full cost of such wall.”

Trump has requested some funding for the wall

WHAT WENT RIGHT
Trump requested funding for the wall in his budget proposal. Mick Mulvaney, Trump’s Office of Management and Budget director, said in March that the president wanted Congress to put $1.5 billion toward his border wall in a supplemental spending bill in 2017 and $2.6 billion in 2018, totaling $4.1 billion over two years.

WHAT WENT WRONG
Despite initial pushes from the Trump administration, Congress has not included funding to build a border wall in the most recent version of its spending bill, though it includes new border security funding. Regardless, while estimates on the cost of constructing the wall vary, the money Trump requested would not have come close to covering it “fully,” as he pledged to do in his first 100 days. Mexico has also made clear that it has no intention of paying for the project.

Establish new mandatory minimum sentences for immigration crimes

Status: Under discussion in Congress

Trump pledged to introduce legislation within his first 100 days that would establish new mandatory minimum sentences for some immigration crimes, targeting deported immigrants who reenter the U.S. illegally and those with criminal records, and “enhance penalties” for foreigners who overstay their visas.

Similar legislation is in Congress

WHAT WENT RIGHT
Republican Sen. Ted Cruz has sponsored legislation known as the “Stop Illegal Reentry Act” or “Kate’s Law” to institute a “5-year mandatory minimum prison term for an alien who re-enters after being removed following a conviction for an aggravated felony or following two or more prior convictions for illegal re-entry” and increase the maximum sentence for any person re-entering the country illegally after deportation to five years.

WHAT WENT WRONG
The White House has not offered its own proposal on this front. The Senate has not voted on Cruz’s version.

Create crime task force

Status: In progress

Trump pledged to introduce legislation within the first 100 days of his presidency that would aim to reduce “surging crime, drugs and violence by creating a task force on violent crime and increasing funding for programs that train and assist local police.”

Trump requested the task force Executive Order

WHAT WENT RIGHT
Trump issued an executive action in February directing Attorney General Jeff Sessions to start a new task force devoted to “crime reduction and public safety.”

Increase resources to federal law enforcement

Status: Proposed

Trump pledged to introduce legislation within his first 100 days in office to put more resources toward federal law enforcement and prosecutors to “dismantle criminal gangs and put violent offenders behind bars.”

Trump requested more law enforcement funding

WHAT WENT RIGHT
Trump’s budget requested funding to hire more Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol agents, as well as immigration judges and border enforcement prosecutors.

WHAT WENT WRONG
Congress is still negotiating the upcoming spending bill, but it had not allocated more funding toward this previously.

End defense sequester

Status: Proposed

“As soon as I take office I will ask Congress to fully eliminate the defense sequester and will submit a new budget to rebuild our military.”

Trump’s budget requested more defense spending

WHAT WENT RIGHT
Trump’s budget called for a large increase in defense spending, including ending the caps on spending that were implemented as part of sequestration.

WHAT WENT WRONG
The defense sequester is still in place. Congress may increase the Pentagon's budget modestly in the upcoming spending bill.

Reform the Department of Veterans Affairs

Status: In progress

Trump pledged to introduce legislation within the first 100 days of his presidency that would allow veterans to “receive public VA treatment or attend the private doctor of their choice.”

Trump extended some VA health benefits

WHAT WENT RIGHT
Trump signed a bill into law in April extending a program that gives some veterans the option to get medical care from private doctors. Trump also signed an executive order in late April to enhance whistleblower protections at the VA and has pledged that his administration will continue working to reform it.

WHAT WENT WRONG
The White House has not offered other major legislation on this front.

Reform immigration screening

Status: In progress, with some efforts blocked

Trump pledged to introduce legislation within the first 100 days of his presidency that would establish “new screening procedures for immigration to ensure those who are admitted to our country support our people and our values.”

Trump orders screening changes in travel ban Executive Order

WHAT WENT RIGHT
Trump signed two executive orders seeking to suspend travel and immigration from several Muslim-majority countries, and the orders included stricter vetting procedures for visa applicants.

WHAT WENT WRONG
Both executive orders have been blocked by the courts, preventing those changes from taking effect.

State Department orders stricter visa screening

WHAT WENT RIGHT
In March, after the second travel ban was blocked, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson directed U.S. embassies to toughen their screening of some foreigners seeking visas to come to the U.S. In a diplomatic cable, Tillerson asked officials to identify “populations warranting increased scrutiny” and vet those more carefully. Additionally, he said applicants who had been in Islamic State-controlled territory should be subjected to a “mandatory social media check.”

WHAT WENT WRONG
Tillerson had also offered U.S. embassies direction on how to implement Trump’s second travel ban, but it was subsequently blocked in court. Also, the White House has not proposed legislation on this issue, preferring to act through the executive branch.

Cybersecurity plan

Status: Incomplete

“I will appoint a team to give me a plan [to address cybersecurity] within 90 days of taking office.”

Plan remains to be seen

WHAT WENT RIGHT
Trump hosted a group in late January to discuss cybersecurity at the White House. “We must protect federal networks and data. We operate these networks on behalf of the American people and they are very important,” Trump said.

WHAT WENT WRONG
But more than 90 days after taking office, Trump has yet to appoint a team to develop a program to counter hackers, let alone finalize a plan. POLITICO reported in April that there is confusion in the administration about who is supposed to be working on it.

Keep Guantanamo Bay prison open

Status: Complete

“We are keeping [it] open ... and we're gonna load it up with some bad dudes, believe me, we're gonna load it up.”

It’s still open

WHAT WENT RIGHT
Unlike his predecessor, Trump did not promise to close the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, and it remains open. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said in March that he sees “no legal problem whatsoever” with the president continuing to use the prison. “There’s plenty of space,” he said. “We’re well-equipped for it.”

Renegotiate NAFTA

Status: In progress

“I will announce my intention to renegotiate NAFTA or withdraw from the deal under Article 2205.”

Trump agrees to renegotiate the deal

WHAT WENT RIGHT
Trump said in late April that he had discussed renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement, which he repeatedly described as bad for American workers on the campaign trail, with leaders of Mexico and Canada. He said he had considered terminating it altogether but agreed to renegotiate it at their request. “Deal very possible!” he tweeted.

Pull out of TPP

Status: Complete

“I will announce our withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership.”

Trump called off the deal Executive Order

WHAT WENT RIGHT
Trump signed an executive action in January pulling the U.S. out of the trade agreement, which he had repeatedly criticized on the campaign trail. President Barack Obama had supported it, though it did not go before the Senate for a vote during his time in office.

Label China a currency manipulator

Status: Not happening

“I will direct the Secretary of the Treasury to label China a currency manipulator.”

Trump reversed his position

WHAT WENT WRONG
Trump changed his stance on this issue in April, after meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. “They’re not currency manipulators,” Trump told The Wall Street Journal.

Identify “foreign trading abuses”

Status: In progress

“I will direct the Secretary of Commerce and U.S. Trade Representative to identify all foreign trading abuses that unfairly impact American workers and direct them to use every tool under American and international law to end those abuses immediately.”

Trump ordered a study Executive Order

WHAT WENT RIGHT
Trump signed executive actions in late March ordering the Commerce Department and U.S. trade representative to conduct a review of American trade deficits over 90 days. “We’re going to investigate all trade abuses, and, based on those findings, we will take necessary and lawful action to end those many abuses," Trump said.

Establish tariffs

Status: Incomplete

Trump pledged to introduce legislation establishing tariffs to “discourage companies from laying off their workers in order to relocate in other countries and ship their products back to the U.S. tax-free” within the first 100 days of his presidency.

Trump has not pushed much on this issue

WHAT WENT RIGHT
The U.S. instituted a new tariff on Canadian softwood lumber in late April.

WHAT WENT WRONG
Since taking office, Trump has not pushed for the wide-ranging tariffs on foreign imports that he discussed as a candidate. Trump’s tax reform proposal does not include the border adjustment tax favored by some Republicans, either.

Cut two federal regulations for every new one

Status: In progress

I will institute a “requirement that for every new federal regulation, two existing regulations must be eliminated.”

Trump called to cut regulations Executive Order

WHAT WENT RIGHT
Trump signed an executive action in January ordering federal agencies to “identify at least two existing regulations to be repealed” for every new one they propose.

WHAT WENT WRONG
The action does not require that the regulations identified be eliminated at that time. Reuters also noted at the time that “the move does not cover independent agencies that crafted many of the rules required by the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law, including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.”

Lift restrictions on energy production

Status: In progress

“I will lift the restrictions on the production of $50 trillion dollars’ worth of job-producing American energy reserves, including shale, oil, natural gas and clean coal.”

Trump moved to gut Obama environmental rules Executive Order

WHAT WENT RIGHT
Trump issued an executive action in March targeting Obama-era environmental regulations, directing, among other points, the Environmental Protection Agency to review and considering rescinding the Clean Power Plan, which regulates power plant carbon emissions.

Move projects like the Keystone pipeline forward

Status: In progress

I will “lift the Obama-Clinton roadblocks and allow vital energy infrastructure projects, like the Keystone Pipeline, to move forward.”

Trump greenlights pipeline projects Executive Order

WHAT WENT RIGHT
Trump issued executive actions advancing the Keystone and Dakota Access pipeline projects in January. Those construction projects were controversial among environmental and other liberal groups, who had pressured President Obama to stop them. In March, Trump further OK’d construction on the Keystone project.

Cancel payments to U.N. climate change programs

Status: Incomplete, but proposed

I will “cancel billions in payments to U.N. climate change programs and use the money to fix America’s water and environmental infrastructure.”

Trump asked Congress to stop funding the programs

WHAT WENT RIGHT
Trump’s proposed budget called for ceasing funding for the U.N.’s Green Climate Fund and the Global Climate Change Initiative.

WHAT WENT WRONG
The U.S. is still funding these programs.

Cancel Obama executive actions

Status: Some completed

I will “cancel every unconstitutional executive action, memorandum and order issued by President Obama.”

Trump has rescinded some rules

WHAT WENT RIGHT
Trump has rescinded some, but not all, Obama-era rules. Trump has signed off on undoing several Obama orders, such as gun control regulations, and Trump’s appointees have stepped back from some Obama-era rules, like Department of Education guidelines on which public school bathrooms transgender children should use.

WHAT WENT WRONG
Trump has not rescinded all programs that he promised, namely the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which offers a protected status to some young undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children.

Term-limits amendment

Status: Incomplete

I will “propose a constitutional amendment to impose term limits on all members of Congress.”

Plan remains to be seen

WHAT WENT WRONG
While he proposed a term-limit amendment as a candidate, as president Trump has not pushed for one.

Federal hiring freeze

Status: Completed, then revoked

I will institute a “hiring freeze on all federal employees to reduce the federal workforce through attrition (exempting military, public safety, and public health).”

Trump instituted a hiring freeze Executive Order

WHAT WENT RIGHT
Trump signed an executive action in January ordering an immediate hiring freeze that exempted military personnel and said agencies could make exceptions for “any positions that it deems necessary to meet national security or public safety responsibilities.”

WHAT WENT WRONG
The administration lifted the hiring freeze in April. The White House indicated that it still expects some departments to downsize or stay the same size. “What we're doing tomorrow is replacing the across-the-board hiring freeze that we put into place on Day One in office and replacing it with a smarter plan, a more strategic plan, a more surgical plan,” said Mick Mulvaney, director of Trump’s Office of Management and Budget.

Lobbying bans

Status: Parts complete, with caveats

I will institute “a five-year ban on White House or Congressional officials becoming lobbyists after they leave government service...a lifetime ban on White House officials lobbying on behalf of a foreign government [and] a complete ban on foreign lobbyists raising money for American elections.”

Trump enacted new rules on lobbying Executive Order

WHAT WENT RIGHT
In January, Trump issued an executive action requiring that officials in his White House wait five years after leaving to lobby the agency in which they served. As Trump promised, the order did institute a lifetime ban on White House officials lobbying on behalf of foreign governments.

WHAT WENT WRONG
Former White House officials may still lobby other parts of the government after they leave the administration, just not their own departments. Trump also has not pushed for his promised ban on foreign lobbyists fundraising for American elections. Overall, the executive order in some ways weakened and in some ways strengthened ethics rules in place under the Obama administration.

Ethics reform legislation

Status: Incomplete

Trump pledged to introduce ethics reform legislation within the first 100 days of his presidency. The package would aim to “drain the swamp and reduce the corrupting influence of special interests on our politics,” he said.

Plan remains to be seen

WHAT WENT WRONG
The Trump White House has introduced no such legislation. Vice President Mike Pence said in November that Trump “is determined to move ethics reform in the next year in the Congress.”