This Week’s TRUMP REPORT CARD by Constance Hanna Conniehanna131@gmail.com

This article appeared in The County Compass September 14-20 issue.
     The President plans to visit as many as 13 states in the next seven weeks to sell the need for tax reform.  He will concentrate on states he won during the general election that have a Democrat senator up for reelection next year.  These include Florida, Indiana, Michigan, Montana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.  In some instances, cabinet members will follow the President’s visit to amplify his message.  This is a proactive strategy to energize voters to contact their representatives and senators and let their preferences be known.  Good luck, Mr. President!
     This week the President announced his seventh wave of Federal Judicial Appointments.  He nominated 16 individuals this time.  The Democrats continue to slow the appointments by using the full 30 hours of debate allowed for each nomination.  By mid-July each of the four previous administrations (Bush 41, Clinton, Bush 43, and Obama) had an average number of 190 appointments confirmed.  For President Trump, that number was 50.  In August, James Langford (R-OK) proposed reducing the debate time to 8 hours or less which would allow a debate and a vote on five or more appointments a week instead of one or two.
So far, this has not come to fruition.
     President Trump hosted Senators for a bipartisan dinner at the White House on Tuesday, September 12th.  Senators Joe Donnelly (D-IN), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Joe Manchin (D-WV), John Thune (R-SD), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), and Pat Toomey (R-PA) discussed advancing the Administration’s legislative priorities in general, and there was emphasis on tax cuts for American families in particular.  Michael Goodwin of The New York Post said that, although there is no guarantee for success, “History consistently rewards those presidents whose leadership produces results that reflect a broad consent of the governed.”
     Reflecting this same thought, President Trump said on Thursday, “When we set aside our differences — and it’s amazing sometimes how little our differences are — we put our country and the citizens of our country first.”
     I’d say the President had another “A” week, but it’s a good thing I’m not rating the Senate.  They’re not earning high marks, but maybe they’ll respond well to a shared dinner and shared ideas.  And maybe we should call them?!!
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