Expectations
Trump would hardly be alone in turning back some of his predecessor's policies.
According to the website FiveThirtyEight, Obama signed 19 new executive orders and reversed nine of the orders signed by President George W. Bush in his first 100 days. Eight years earlier, Bush signed 11 new executive orders and revoked 4 Clinton-era actions.
The 100-day benchmark dates back to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who came into office in 1933 and unleashed a flurry of activity. Over the course of 105 days, Congress passed 76 bills – far exceeding current trends.
By contrast, statistics compiled by Govtrack show just seven bills were passed during George W. Bush’s first 100 days in 2001, and 11 in Obama’s in 2009.
“I am not sure it is as relevant as it once was in this age of new media and increased partisanship. The historical comparison to FDR is not a good gauge since he came into office at a time of national crisis with Democratic control of Congress and a mandate to act,” said Karlyn Bowman, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.
Jason Grumet, president of the Bipartisan Policy Center, agrees that the measure is out of step with current legislative and political realities.
“The whole idea of 100-day agenda is fundamentally at odds with the political reality of 2017 and actually has the potential to undermine the presidency if [Trump] chooses to run roughshod over the Congress,” he told FoxNews.com.
The 100 days may not be important in historical terms, but it is important in setting a tone.
“While Trump needs to get off to a clean start and take quick, decisive action, I think he would be well-advised to break his agenda into three parts – a hundred hours, weeks and months,” said Bill Whalen, a research fellow with the Hoover Institution.
In the meantime, Whalen suggests the new administration address the issues most important to his base – repealing ObamaCare and the Supreme Court.
A Politico/Harvard University poll found Trump voters rank ObamaCare as their top priority. However, it is only the second priority for the general public.
Several political and policy obstacles lie in the administration’s path starting with the confirmation of Rep. Tom Price as secretary of Health and Human Services, noted Paul Howard, director of health policy at the Manhattan Institute.
“The good thing is that the last administration has left behind a lot of administrative flexibility to lay the groundwork for repealing ObamaCare, but it is crucial they get Price confirmed and get some victories behind him,” he said.
According to Howard, if the intention is to simultaneously repeal and replace the law, Trump will need to cut some deals with moderate Democrats to avoid the mistake Obama made in passing it.
The self-professed dealmaker also promised action on jobs by either withdrawing from or renegotiating NAFTA and withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Both efforts may set up an early battle with the pro-free trade GOP leadership in Congress.
“The president has wide latitude to act on trade issues, so one of the significant early questions will be how willing Congress will be to accept his authority on trade,” Grumet said.