Introduction to U.S. National Politics

 

Foreign Policy	Domestic Policy
US-China Trade	Border Security
NATO Allies	Tax Cuts
Crisis in Venezuela	Cuts to Regulation
Eliminating ISIS	Deregulation
Anti-Semitic Incidents	Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
Immigration	Criminal Justice Reform (First Step Act)
Tariffs	Strengthened Military
Building the wall	Energy and Infrastructure
	Health Care
	Education
	Funding for HIV and Childhood Cancer
	Prescription Drug Pricing
	Abortion Restrictions

 

The table above is of either legislation or specific issues that Donald Trump mentioned in his State of the Union Address.  He touched on some of these briefly and others he proposed and plans to follow up by signing legislation on the issue.  Several of these topics, he is absolutely correct in saying there is work to be done, even if his view does not necessarily reflect that of the entire country.  Some of the proposals he made in his SOTU (State of the Union) Address, can truly be passed.  Some of these include Health Care issues, such as funding for HIV and childhood cancer, which he spoke of in the address.  With this proposal, he is attempting to reach a goal of his administration’s, “eliminating HIV in the United States by 2030” (Vox.com Dylan Scott).  He states, “My budget will ask Democrats and Republicans to make the needed commitment to eliminate the HIV epidemic in the United States within 10 years. Together, we will defeat AIDS in America”.  Here, he is specifically talking about both sides, Democrats and Republicans, working together in order to defeat HIV in America.  To persuade viewers and listeners of the good this would do, despite the sum of $500 million a year, he explains that the ten-year program would be funding “critical lifesaving research”.  Some issues he touched on would be quite difficult for him to pass, but it would not be too unlikely.  An example of this would be his huge infrastructure bill.  He says, “This is not an option.  This is a necessity”, and “many of the newly elected House Democrats from swing districts are (perhaps naively) optimistic about trying to get an infrastructure bill passed”, from the Vox article.  (Vox Scott).  Prescription drug pricing is also an area that Trump has stressed some importance, but it is an issue that even Democrats agree needs to be fixed.  The only issue is that “there is not yet a consensus within the party about the best way to tackle high drug costs” (Vox Scott).

Concerning Executive Power, Donald Trump certainly has a different view than other presidents have had.  A particular quote from the address had some people bothered.  He said, “If there is going to be peace and legislation, there cannot be war and investigation”.  Nancy Pelosi, a Representative from California, saw this statement as a threat.  She stated, “The president should not bring threats to the floor of the House,” Pelosi said. “He said he wasn’t going to cooperate unless we didn’t exercise our constitutional responsibility to oversight” (Roll Call Lindsey McPherson).  Trump stated a lot of things about having to cooperate and compromise for the common good, wanting bipartisan unity in the divided Congress, but his past actions and the ideals of the Democratic members prove it may be difficult to achieve that status.

The Democratic response to the address was given by former Minority Leader of the Georgia House of Representatives, Stacey Abrams.  She stressed several things in her speech.  She especially emphasized issues with gender and race prevalent in the United States, but she also touched on topics such as voting rights and equality, compromise between parties, and education.  She spotlighted the fact that children should be educated from “cradle to career”.  Regarding voting rights, she stated, “This is the next battle for our democracy, one where all eligible citizens can have their say about the vision we want for our country. We must reject the cynicism that says allowing every eligible vote to be cast and counter is a ‘power grab’”.  She also mentioned, “In this time of division and crisis, we must come together and stand for, and with, one another. America has stumbled time and again on its quest towards justice and equality; but with each generation, we have revisited our fundamental truths, and where we falter, we make amends”.

The legislative agenda outlined in the State of the Union Address had many similarities to the agenda outlined for my state legislature of Pennsylvania.  Some issues and topics that occurred in both were, education, health care, infrastructure, and voting reform.  Voting reform and education were more so talked about in the response to the Address, because Abrams stressed these things in her response, whereas Trump may have just touched on these issues briefly.  Issues and legislation on infrastructure and health care were talked about in Trump’s address, especially infrastructure, as he is pushing for legislation on this topic.  Some points outlined in my state legislature that were not talked about or barely talked about in Trump’s address were housing issues, criminal justice and gun violence, as well as energy and environment.

 

State of the Union Address analysis

Domestic proposals	Foreign proposals
·         Trump nominees in the Senate to be confirmed/recognized ·         $500 billion (10 years) to help HIV and cancer patients ·         Upgrading infrastructure ·         Health Care/Pharmacy price transparency ·         Restrictions on abortion ·         First Step Act: allow cooperative inmates to re-enter society as law-abiding citizens: reform sentencing injustice	·         Border wall ·         Imposed tariffs (matching tariff price between countries on same goods)

 

Cross-branch power dynamics:

According to several news networks, specifically CNBC here, states in that President Trump is more than willing to work and compromise with the Speaker and her House majority. In his SOTUA Trump claims that his agenda is not associated with any party, that it is the agenda of the American people and it will be governed as a nation. The President and the House majority agree on many proposals, some of which attempted to pass under democrats before the shutdown. From what I can gather, it seems both parties are on the same side regarding domestic remedies. These domestic proposals, listed in the table above, represent the welfare of all American citizens and do not discriminate to any ascriptive group. The House majority and Trump may have a harder time agreeing on foreign/immigration issues. The only foreign/commerce proposal that may pass through the House is to impose tariffs to other countries. If a country pins an unfair or high tariff on an American import, the government would then have the authority to match that same tariff price on the same or similar goods when exporting to that country. Immigration policies may force a compromise soon, hopefully before another shutdown. Trump proposed a new funding bill for the wall that is still pending approval; slated hopefully for mid-February. However, the President might have to compromise more than the House on this issue considering the Speaker won the shutdown debate, forcing Trump to rethink his wall agenda.

Executive Power:

While reading through the SOTUA transcript, no language or phrases stuck out to me that suggested reference to Trump’s executive power. However, I did some reading on the subject from USA Today here about the current state of power in the oval office. The main pitch of this article is that Trump’s executive power is out-of-check, but the greater executive power today stems from the office not the President. Today’s extreme use of executive power is a product of past presidencies, according to USA Today. Starting with FDR all the way up to G.W. Bush, the American people have increased their demands of action towards any holder of the oval office. Yes, I agree that Trump is going beyond his position’s power. Increasingly troubling is his mentioning of congressional oversight towards misused executive power. His actions, however, are at least attempts to answer demands of many citizens.

 

Democratic Response:

I am a bit confused on Stacey Abram’s rebuttal (this may be because I’m not very political and still have a lot to learn). Essentially, in my opinion, her rebuttal was set on stating how she is disappointed in the current administration because it is lying to its people regarding the state of the nation. She gave examples, some about how jobs are being lost and more and more families are living by paycheck. She states that the government shutdown was unethical and that although parties share different perspectives, both wings share the desire to protect and support its citizens. I agree with this, some people liked the shutdown. I didn’t see the point of it, unwillingness of both parties to compromise equally. What I don’t understand why Abrams stated Trump’s administration is failing on issues that the President had just suggested proposals for that same night. Mainly on domestic issues (see table), the President seems very ready to compromise and resolve those issues. The only issues that are creating partisan politics and debate is with immigration policies.  Some of Trump’s statements about his proposals are more or less accurate. Hundreds of thousands of jobs have been added since January and (from CNN transcript) almost 5 million people are now working and off food stamps. To me, that seems like the economy is growing stronger and unemployment rates are lower for all races. Despite Trump delivering one of his better speeches, he did choose to omit controversial details regarding the unnecessary shutdown of our government and who it affected (unpaid government employees).

Comparing National and State Legislature agendas

Generally, I believe most domestic proposals are in the interest of the people and are not partisan. The only two proposals that are similar (categorically) between Michigan’s agenda and our nation’s is reforming health care affordability/research and revitalization of infrastructure.

The state of the union address primary purpose is to inform Congress and the American people the status of the country and the president’s goal for the upcoming legislative session. The address originally planned for January 29th was pushed back due to House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi after suggesting that the address is to be rescheduled. Speaker Pelosi cited the shutdown, which would’ve been on its 39th day at the time address, to be held after the government was reopened due to strain essential agencies would face preparing for the grandeur of the event.  The President then signed a bill re-opening the government for three weeks so a bi-partisan homeland security package to sign into law including funding for the wall on the southern border. Even with the cancellation and in fighting with Democrats, President Trump held the theme of unity in his address.

“We meet tonight at a moment of unlimited potential. As we begin a new Congress, I stand here ready to work with you to achieve historic breakthroughs for all Americans.” The beginning of the address sets the tone of collocation with Democrats as the divided government calls for compromise to achieve any substantial work. Trump went on to highlight the shared beliefs on promises that were campaigned on; defending American jobs, fair trade, revitalizing infrastructure, reducing the price of healthcare and prescription drugs and a safe, updated and secure immigration system. The reference to the campaign promises as “shared” further shows that even with the differences between the parties, common ground can be found. For example, on infrastructure, he says “I know that the Congress is eager to pass an infrastructure bill — and I am eager to work with you on legislation to deliver new and important infrastructure investment”.

On the other hand, the President made it known that if the House majority were not willing to compromise, he would get it done. When speaking of the funding of the southern border, “In the past, most of the people in this room voted for a wall –the proper wall never got built. I’ll get it built.” He later says that everyone should get together and compromise to get the package passed but he made it abundantly clear that the wall will get built and he’ll be the reason behind it. This very much could be alluding to the idea that the President has floated around in declaring a national emergency in order to secure funding for the wall, the ultimate executive power move. Following his view of executive power, the president brings up the investigation spearheaded by Robert into the Trump campaign and collusion with Russia during the 2016 Presidential Election. In his boasting of the economic growth the country has faced in his tenure with 304,000 jobs added in January, Trump states “The only things that can stop it are foolish wars, politics or ridiculous partisan investigations, If there is going to be peace and legislation, there cannot be war and investigation. It just doesn’t work that way!” His view of congressional oversight is clear, he believes that the investigation which he refers to as a “witch hunt”, will hinder any further growth and ability to sustain our economy. That the investigation itself is a partisan ploy to undermine his efforts and the legitimacy of his presidency which shows obvious resentment and the feeling that he as president, should not be nuanced with these type of things as it interferes with their power.

The Democratic response of the address lead by the former candidate for Governor of Georgia Stacey Abrams, served as an opposition of the sentiments expressed the president. Abrams details the chronicles of her own family who fluctuated between the lower middle class and working class sharing the hardships her parents had to endure. Through these hardships, Abrams highlights that “while success is not guaranteed, we live in a nation where opportunity is possible. But we do not succeed alone.” Abrams major disagreements come to the partial government shutdown which left hundreds of thousands of workers furloughed many working without pay.  That the decision was not notable as it put the American people in hardship many not being able to pay rent and need assistance to secure food. Another area of disagreement comes from the defense of Roe v Wade a stark contrast to Trumps want to end late-term abortions. Abrams acknowledges that compromise can be met in securing the border but the displaced children must be addressed. Another area of compromise which is possible is on the fronts of agriculture, entrepreneurship and health care shared interests with President Trump.

Virginias state legislature shares similar issues in their agenda to those highlighted during the state of the union. The major legislative goal for this session is job creation, unemployment, farmland preservation, environmental justice, DACA recipients and tax policy. At the moment Virginia is contesting an abortion bill from Gov. Ralph Northam. The bill’s intention is to lift all restrictions on abortions in the state of Virginia which Republicans in the legislature have fought against in particular the provision to allow abortions in the third trimester. This aligns with Trump’s call for a bill to be signed to end late-term abortions be signed by Congress and Democrats calling for Roe v. Wade to be held up fully. However. they differ as environmental protections are seen as a bipartisan issue as Governor Norton signed an executive order establishing the Virginia Council on Environmental Justice and in a bipartisan win with legislative leaders, backed a coal ash clean-up bill enforcing Dominion Energy to clean up four coal ash ponds around the state with some dating back to the 1930s. In response to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that President Donald Trump signed more than a year ago, the Senate Finance subcommittee is brainstorming options for helping Virginians who might pay higher state taxes this spring because of changes in federal law. The Virginia legislature is somewhat mirroring the state of Congress at the moment, compromising on issues which affect all people but staying true to those which are embedded in the values of the two parties respectively.

 

 

 

 

Domestic Policy	Foreign Policy
Confirm nominees that are stuck in the Senate	Prevention of war with North Korea; Attending second summit with Kim Jong Un
To end HIV in the US by 2030	Withdrawal from INF treaty
500 Million to end childhood cancer over the next 10 years	Withdrawing troops from Syria
United States Reciprocal Trade Act:  if another country places an unfair tariff on an American product, we can charge them the same tariff on what they sell to us	$100 billion in defense spending from allies
Infrastructure investment	Recognized Juan Guaidó as legitimate leader of Venezuela
Prescription drug pricing & Transparency	New trade deal with Chinas is in talks
to prohibit the late-term abortion	Speaking with afghan leaders and the Taliban
Increased funding for personnel on the southern border and to build the wall	Strong opposition towards Iran. Reaffirming the positive impact of Withdrawal from the nuclear deal
Replacing NAFTA with USMCA — the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement that will re balance the trade relationship to benefit America