Trump’s First Executive Orders: Attack Obamacare, Raise Taxes

Donald Trump signed several executive orders just minutes after the end of his inaugural parade. The earliest of them were designed to remove protections for middle-class homeowners, appoint people to his cabinet in contravention of law, freeze regulation of businesses, and make a symbolic gesture against the Affordable Care Act. So far, he has not yet begun construction on his border wall or begun to deport undocumented immigrants. He had previously promised to do both things in the first hours after taking office. Chief among the orders was one that allowed confirmation of Trump's nominees for defence secretary and homeland security secretary. James Mattis and John Kelly, respectively, were too recently retired from their military careers to accept the posts by law, according to NPR. Trump also made some symbolic gestures. One was against regulation, another against the Affordable Care Act. "The Trump administration will send a letter to all executive agencies tonight to immediately abide by a regulatory freeze," White House press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters this afternoon, according to the Washington Examiner. The first order Trump signed was a non-specific one designed to “ease the burden of Obamacare,” Spicer told reporters. Read the full order below.

Trump also suspended a reduction in the premium rate offered by the Federal Housing Administration to home buyers. The reduction, relatively small, would have saved home buyers about $500 a year. In effect, this is a tax increase on the middle class.

Watch video of Trump signing the orders below.