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7 Numbers that Shaped President Trump’s First 100 Days in Office




   

 

These are a few of the numbers that have defined President Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office.

GoBankingRates | By Jenn McBride

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April 29 marks President Donald Trump’s 100th day in office. While many suggest 100 days is too short a time to assess the chief executive, others argue that a president’s first 100 days set the tone for his entire term.

After losing the popular vote, Trump entered the Oval Office with the lowest approval ratings of any recent president. As the minutes tick down to day 100, take a look at some of the other numbers that have defined Trump’s early days in office.

7 Numbers that Shaped President Trump’s First 100 Days in Office
Wikimedia Commons Public Domain / Office of the President of the United States

26 Executive Orders Signed

The first action President Trump took after his inauguration was to sign an executive order that sought to minimize the economic burden of the Affordable Care Act — otherwise known as Obamacare — until it could be repealed and replaced. Although the order gives few specifics, it waives penalty taxes for uninsured individuals, saving them up to $2,085.

To date, Trump has signed 26 executive orders. While it might seem like Trump’s pen has been busy creating executive orders from the moment he took office, this isn’t out of the ordinary.



Trump signed seven executive orders in his first 12 days as POTUS, which is only two fewer than Obama during that same time frame. By 100 days in, Trump has surpassed Obama’s 19 executive orders. The only other president to sign 26 executive orders in his first 100 days was Lyndon Johnson.

7 Numbers that Shaped President Trump’s First 100 Days in Office
Wikimedia Commons Public Domain / Office of the President of the United States

24 Cabinet Positions Filled

President Trump successfully filled his cabinet in the first 100 days of his presidency. The last member of Trump’s cabinet, Sonny Perdue, was confirmed as USDA Secretary of Agriculture on April 24.

On his 100th day, former president Barrack Obama was three positions short on cabinet members, including Attorney General and Secretaries of Labor and Commerce. Obama’s final confirmation of Attorney General Loretta Lynch came 161 days into his presidential term.

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos — who was confirmed on February 7 after a tie-breaking vote cast by Vice President Mike Pence — is possibly Trump’s most controversial appointee. Protesters briefly blocked DeVos from entering a Washington, D.C., middle school just days after her confirmation. That incident, as well as an unusually high number of threats, led to the hiring of additional security detail, which will reportedly cost taxpayers $8 million over an eight-month period.

7 Numbers that Shaped President Trump’s First 100 Days in Office
FloridaStock / Shutterstock.com

31 Days Spent at Trump Properties

President Trump might keep a hectic schedule, but that doesn’t mean he’s locked in the Oval Office. In Trump’s first 100 days in office, he spent slightly less than one-third of those days at one of his luxurious Trump properties.

The president used his time at his properties — most notably his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida — to mix business with some leisure time. He focused on diplomatic relations with China’s president Xi Jinping in early April, and he hosted Japanese Minister Shinzo Abe and his wife in February. Cabinet members, senators and other notables met or golfed with Trump during his stays.

Each trip to Mar-a-Lago might be costing taxpayers in excess of $1 million. While the White House is still working on exact figures, law enforcement overtime in Palm Beach County alone runs $60,000 per day. Air Force One costs about $142,380 per flying hour. Each time the president visits, special equipment like his armored limo and transport helicopter are shipped to the area. Additionally, security must sweep and prep the area before his arrival.

7 Numbers that Shaped President Trump’s First 100 Days in Office
James Steidl / Shutterstock.com

61% Reduction in Illegal Immigrants Apprehended

Since President Trump’s election in November, border crossing apprehensions have decreased steadily. The number of people who have illegally crossed the border peaked at an all-time high of nearly 67,000 individuals in October 2016.

During his first week in office, Trump signed an executive order directing agencies to “deploy all lawful means to secure the Nation’s southern border to prevent further illegal immigration into the United States.” The order also provided for U.S. Customs and Border protection to hire 5,000 more border patrol agents.

In February, illegal border-crossers arrested totaled 23,570, the lowest number in the past five years. By March 31 — 70 days into Trump’s presidency — the number of illegal immigrants arrested dropped to 16,600.

The National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine estimates that taxpayers shell out $296 billion for the current immigration system each year. Each illegal immigrant deported costs taxpayers an average of $10,854 for food, housing and transport back to his country of origin.

7 Numbers that Shaped President Trump’s First 100 Days in Office
Sherry V Smith / Shutterstock.com

$4 Billion in Potential Border Taxes

President Trump didn’t take long signing an executive order to begin work on a wall between the U.S. and Mexico. Exactly where the money will come from, however, remains a mystery.

What isn’t a mystery is how much it’s expected to cost. Trump’s proposed America First Budget rolls out an estimate of $4 billion in the first two years of construction. However, that won’t build the entire wall, according to Director Mick Mulvaney.

Although Trump insists the U.S. has enough leverage on Mexico to force the country to pay for the wall, the initial funds will come from U.S. taxpayers’ pockets.

One proposed solution involves a border tax on all goods coming from Mexico. If the tax becomes a reality, expect it to dip into your wallet, as you could see higher prices on everything from fruits and vegetables to gasoline.

7 Numbers that Shaped President Trump’s First 100 Days in Office
bakdc / Shutterstock.com

$18 Billion in Proposed Budget Cuts

On March 16, Budget Director Mick Mulvaney announced President Donald Trump’s latest news: the proposed America First budget. The 2017 budget proposal contains $18 billion in cuts from some agencies, with the money being redistributed elsewhere.

The budget proposes a 31 percent reduction within the Environmental Protection Agency, the largest cut for any agency. Money saved would go toward $54 billion in additional defense spending, plus more money for border enforcement, law enforcement, school choice and veteran care.

The budget is by no means a done deal. “This budget does not address the big-picture items such as policy changes, revenue flows, tax policy, mandatory spending,” Mulvaney said. “This is simply the topline spending budget. That’s why we call it the budget blueprint, and not the full budget. That full budget, which will contain all the rest of those pieces and parts, will be released in May.”

7 Numbers that Shaped President Trump’s First 100 Days in Office
Flickr.com / Ryan Johnson/NorthCharleston

600,000 Jobs Created

Even before taking office, President Trump negotiated to bring jobs back to the U.S. During his first week in office, he met with leaders from top manufacturing companies and labor unions to encourage them to reinvest in America and to negotiate bringing jobs back to the country. More than two dozen companies make up his Manufacturing Jobs Initiative, to share insights on bringing work back to American soil.

Earlier this month, Trump announced that the administration has thus far created more than 600,000 jobs — including 37,000 in the manufacturing industry — since he took office in January. Trump’s jobs numbers are contested by a variety of media outlets.

This article is originally published in the GoBankingRates.com

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