By Drue Allison
The beginning of a presidential term is a time for change and, in some cases, confusion. So far, Trump has tried to reform health care, had his campaigners investigated wiretapping in Trump towers, and marking up the budget for the year.
The first of the events is the reform of Obamacare, replacing it with the GOP’s new health care plan. In a CNN article, an aide said about Trump’s involvement, “Either doesn’t know, doesn’t care or both. But he is very involved in the sale now, and “appears energized by that.” This can mean a plethora of things, however, there is still a larger impact on the country if this new plan is put into place.
One of the new possibilities is that more affordable options will be given to younger applicants. The elderly will not get as much coverage and cannot possibly expand Medicaid for better coverage after 2020. While there are various changes, some of the main parts including: “protections for people with pre-existing conditions (though insurers would be allowed to charge higher premiums to individuals whose coverage has lapsed) and letting children stay on their parents’ insurance plans until the age of 26.”
Since Trump has accused Obama and the FBI of wiretapping Trump Tower, there has been a flurry of media coverage. It was recently released that the Tower was indeed tapped, but not to listen in on Trump during his campaign. Apparently, a Russian mafia member was running an, “international money-laundering, sports gambling and extortion ring,” which was said in an ABC article.
There is yet to be a response from Trump on his allegations and the new information released. At this point, the tensions between the former president and the current have continued, however, Obama has yet to comment on the false accusations.
The FBI continues to investigate Trump on other suspicions that he had dealings with Russia during his campaign. It is thought that Trump corresponded with Russian operatives in order to ruin Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
There has yet to be convicting information at this point. Other cogs in his campaign have already been tied to Russia from months ago.
The new budget created by Trump has also provided some controversy. His plan is to increase military spending by $54 million dollars and cutting programs such as meals on wheels. It also focuses on less spending on the arts and agricultural department. In in article by the Washington Post, it is said, “The vulnerable programs include rural development and research grants but exclude SNAP (food stamps) and crop subsidies. The USDA will also reduce staff by an unspecified amount at various service center agencies around the country.”
The defense department will also be changing, but will be the increasing spending. The same Washington Post article said, “President Trump has cast it as a historic increase in defense spending, but critics say it is actually more of an incremental boost and much smaller than what he promised on the campaign trail.”
In under the first 100 days, President Trump has made many changes and continues to make changes deemed as controversial.