January 18, Pray for the powerful Word of God to be proclaimed over our nation, and that every knee would bow before Jesus.

Transcription

1 January 18, 2017 REAGAN S FAMILY BIBLE TO BE USED AT THE INAUGURATION Every Bible is precious and noteworthy, that is for sure. Some Bibles, however, travel more than others. Such is the case with Ronald Reagan s family Bible, used by Reagan when he was sworn into office as both California governor and U.S. president. This Bible has a hand-tooled natural leather cover depicting a dove, a horseman and the inscription Cowboy Chapter Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Normally on display at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, it will be a pivotal part of the inaugural ceremonies on Friday. When Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas swears in Vice President-elect Mike Pence, the Indiana governor s right hand will rest upon the Reagan Bible the first time anyone other than Reagan has done so at an inauguration. It will be open to II Chronicles 7:14, scripture also used by the 40th president in his own inaugurations. If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land, the passage reads. The Reagan Foundation and Institute says the Bible is a priceless artifact and requires special protection, and is entrusting it to Andrew Littlefair, one of President Reagan s top White House aides, and who now serves on the board of trustees for the foundation. He will hand-carry the Bible from Los Angeles to Washington and put it under lock and key, the organization advises. It will be humbling to enter office with President Donald Trump, standing next to my family, with my wife Karen holding the same Bible used by President Reagan when he took office, notes the ever-gracious Mr. Pence. (Contributor: By Jennifer Harper for The Washington Times) Pray for the powerful Word of God to be proclaimed over our nation, and that every knee would bow before Jesus. so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. (Isa. 55:11)

2 TRUMP PROMISES A PACKED 'DAY ONE' AGENDA President-elect Donald Trump has a busy Inauguration Day ahead of him -- in between the oath of office and the inaugural balls, he's pledged to take some big league actions as part of a Day One agenda that will set the tone for his presidency. Incoming presidents often set sights high for their first day in office, with mixed results. President Obama promised to shut down Guantanamo Bay at the start of his presidency; yet the detention center remains open, albeit with far fewer inmates. What Trump says he'll do -- and actually achieves -- likewise could differ. But here's an overview of what Trump may have in store for his first day. Immigration Trump s presidential campaign centered on illegal immigration. It is perhaps not surprising many of his Day One promises fall under the immigration banner. During the campaign, he outlined a series of steps he could take immediately, largely using executive power. He repeatedly promised to eliminate every unconstitutional executive order -- referring specifically to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans (DAPA), which granted legal status to illegal immigrants brought to the U.S. as children, or who have children who are citizens or legal residents. Additionally, he has pledged to suspend immigration from terror-prone regions where vetting cannot be properly done. And he's vowed to instruct the State Department to immediately suspend the Syrian refugee resettlement program and develop a plan for a safe zone in the region. Trump also says he intends to ask Congress to pass Kate s Law after Kate Steinle, who was killed in 2015 by an illegal immigrant to ensure criminal aliens convicted of illegal reentry receive strong mandatory minimum sentences. In a speech in Gettysburg, Pa., in October, he promised to yank federal funding from so-called sanctuary cities on his first day. In a transition video in November, he also pledged to direct the Department of Labor to investigate all abuses of visa programs that undercut the American worker on his first day in office. His most famous campaign promise -- a wall on the southern border -- also has been supposedly slated for Day One action. In a speech in September in Phoenix, Ariz., Trump said on his first day, we will begin working on an impenetrable, physical, tall, power, beautiful southern border wall. Though Trump still is vowing to build the wall, it's unclear what he could actually do on the first day. He also promised the U.S. will begin deporting the approximately 2 million criminal illegal immigrants in the country -- though here, too, it's unclear what he could do on his first day. Day one, my first hour in office, those people are gone, he said. ObamaCare Trump s website says he will ask Congress to immediately deliver a full repeal of ObamaCare on Day One.

3 To an extent, Congress has already started, taking the first procedural step this week to set the stage for a repeal/replace vote. However, it will almost certainly be well after Jan. 20 before Congress can deliver on a "full repeal." Trump said at his Wednesday news conference they'll bring out a full plan to replace and replace the law after his HHS nominee is approved. Regulation and Trade In a September speech in Greenville, S.C., Trump said he intends to direct every agency in government to begin identifying all wasteful job-killing regulations on his first day. He also has said he intends to allow vital energy infrastructure projects, like the Keystone Pipeline, to move forward." Trump has further promised to issue an immediate notification that his administration intends to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership. He has said he will also inform NAFTA partners of his intention to renegotiate that deal. As for other deals, he has promised to cancel billions in payments to U.N. climate change programs and use the money to fix America s water and environmental infrastructure. He also vowed in his November transition video that he will formulate a rule that says for every new regulation, two old regulations must be eliminated. Defense Trump says he will convene a Day One meeting of his generals and instruct them to submit a plan for defeating ISIS within 30 days. In his November video, he said he will ask the Department of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to develop a comprehensive plan to defend American infrastructure from cyber attacks and all other attacks. Backing up his tough rhetoric on China, he has vowed to declare the country a currency manipulator on Day One as well. Ethics As part of his plan to "drain the swamp," he laid out a first day plan in Gettysburg, Pa., in October in which he said he wants to: Propose a Constitutional Amendment to impose term limits on all members of Congress Place a hiring freeze on all federal employees (this would exempt the military, public health and public safety) Impose a five-year ban on executive officials becoming lobbyists after they leave the government Impose a lifetime ban on executive officials lobbying on behalf of a foreign government

4 Ban foreign lobbyists from raising money for American elections In addition to these actions, at a rally last January he promised to get rid of gun-free zones, though it is far from clear how he would do this. All told, Trump s first-day pledges go down as some of the most ambitious for a president-elect. How many of these he will be able to do on Jan as opposed to later in his first 100 days and beyond -- remains to be seen. As Trump has said: It s going to be a very busy first day. (Contributor: By Adam Shaw for Fox News - Adam Shaw is a Politics Reporter and occasional Opinion writer for FoxNews.com.) Pray for a peaceful restoration of biblical values as the new administration makes sweeping changes to the status quo. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. (Ps. 51:12) TRUMP VOWS INSURANCE FOR EVERYBODY IN OBAMACARE REPLACEMENT PLAN President-elect Donald Trump said in a weekend interview that he is nearing completion of a plan to replace President Obama s signature health-care law with the goal of insurance for everybody, while also vowing to force drug companies to negotiate directly with the government on prices in Medicare and Medicaid. Trump declined to reveal specifics in the telephone interview late Saturday with The Washington Post, but any proposals from the incoming president would almost certainly dominate the Republican effort to overhaul federal health policy as he prepares to work with his party s congressional majorities. Trump s plan is likely to face questions from the right, after years of GOP opposition to further expansion of government involvement in the health-care system, and from those on the left, who see his ideas as disruptive to changes brought by the Affordable Care Act that have extended coverage to tens of millions of Americans. In addition to his replacement plan for the ACA, also known as Obamacare, Trump said he will target pharmaceutical companies over drug prices. They re politically protected, but not anymore, he said of pharmaceutical companies. The objectives of broadening access to insurance and lowering health-care costs have always been in conflict, and it remains unclear how the plan that the incoming administration is designing or ones that will emerge on Capitol Hill would address that tension. In general, congressional GOP plans to replace Obamacare have tended to try to constrain costs by reducing government requirements, such as the medical services that must be provided under health plans sold through the law s marketplaces and through states Medicaid programs. House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) and other Republicans have been talking lately about providing universal access to health insurance, instead of universal insurance coverage.

5 Trump said he expects Republicans in Congress to move quickly and in unison in the coming weeks on other priorities as well, including enacting sweeping tax cuts and beginning the building of a wall along the Mexican border. Trump warned Republicans that if the party splinters or slows his agenda, he is ready to use the power of the presidency and Twitter to usher his legislation to passage. The Congress can t get cold feet because the people will not let that happen, Trump said during the interview with The Post. Trump said his plan for replacing most aspects of Obama s health-care law is all but finished. Although he was coy about its details lower numbers, much lower deductibles he said he is ready to unveil it alongside Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). It s very much formulated down to the final strokes. We haven t put it in quite yet but we re going to be doing it soon, Trump said. He noted that he is waiting for his nominee for secretary of health and human services, Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.), to be confirmed. That decision rests with the Senate Finance Committee, which hasn t scheduled a hearing. Trump s declaration that his replacement plan is ready comes after many Republicans moderates and conservatives expressed anxiety last week about the party s lack of a formal proposal as they held votes on repealing the law. Once his plan is made public, Trump said, he is confident that it could get enough votes to pass in both chambers. He declined to discuss how he would court wary Democrats. So far, Republicans have taken the first steps toward repealing the law through budget reconciliation, a process by which only a simple majority is needed in the Senate. The process would enable them to dismantle aspects of the law that involve federal spending. The plan that Trump is preparing will come after the House has taken more than 60 votes in recent years to kill all or parts of the ACA to adopt more conservative health-care policies, which tend to rely more heavily on the private sector. I think we will get approval. I won t tell you how, but we will get approval. You see what s happened in the House in recent weeks, Trump said, referencing his tweet during a House Republican move to gut their independent ethics office, which along with widespread constituent outrage was cited by some members as a reason the gambit failed. As he has developed a replacement package, Trump said he has paid attention to critics who say that repealing Obamacare would put coverage at risk for more than 20 million Americans covered under the law s insurance exchanges and Medicaid expansion. We re going to have insurance for everybody, Trump said. There was a philosophy in some circles that if you can t pay for it, you don t get it. That s not going to happen with us. People covered under the law can expect to have great health care. It will be in a much simplified form. Much less expensive and much better. Republican leaders have said that they will not strand people who gained insurance under the ACA without coverage. But it remains unclear from either Trump s comments in the interview or recent remarks by GOP leaders on Capitol Hill how they intend to accomplish that.

6 For conservative Republicans dubious about his pledge to ensure coverage for millions, Trump pointed to several interviews he gave during the campaign in which he promised to not have people dying on the street. It s not going to be their plan, he said of people covered under the current law. It ll be another plan. But they ll be beautifully covered. I don t want single-payer. What I do want is to be able to take care of people, he said Saturday. Trump did not say how his program overlaps with the comprehensive plan authored by House Republicans. Earlier this year, Price suggested that a Trump presidency would advance the House GOP s health-care agenda. When asked in the interview whether he intends to cut benefits for Medicare as part of his plan, Trump said no, a position that was reiterated Sunday on ABC by Reince Priebus, Trump s incoming chief of staff. He did not elaborate on that view or how it would affect his proposal. He expressed that view throughout the campaign. Timing could be difficult as Trump puts an emphasis on speed. Obama s law took more than 14 months of debate and hundreds of hearings. To urge lawmakers on, Trump plans to attend a congressional Republican retreat in Philadelphia this month. Moving ahead, Trump said that lowering drug prices is central to reducing health-care costs nationally and that he will make it a priority as he uses his bully pulpit to shape policy. When asked how exactly he would force drug manufacturers to comply, Trump said that part of his approach would be public pressure just like on the airplane, a nod to his tweets about Lockheed Martin s F-35 fighter jet, which Trump said was too costly. Trump waved away the suggestion that such activity could lead to market volatility on Wall Street. Stock drops and America goes up, he said. I don t care. I want to do it right or not at all. He added that drug companies should produce more products in the United States. The question of whether the government should start negotiating how much it pays drugmakers for older Americans on Medicare has long been a partisan dispute, ever since the 2003 law that created Medicare drug benefits prohibited such negotiations. Trump s goal is uncertain, however, with respect to Medicaid, the insurance for low-income Americans run jointly by the federal government and states. Under what is known as a Medicaid best price rule, pharmaceutical companies already are required to sell drugs to Medicaid as the lowest price they negotiate with any other buyer. On his plan for tax cuts, Trump said that we re getting very close to putting together legislation. His advisers and Ryan met last week and have been working from his campaign s plan and from congressional proposals to slash current rates. It ll probably be 15 to 20 percent for corporations. For individuals, probably lower. Great middle-class tax cuts, Trump said. On corporate tax rates, We may negotiate a little, but we want to bring them down and get as close to 15 percent as we can so we can see a mushrooming of jobs moving back. Trump said he would not relent on his push for increasing taxes on U.S. companies that manufacture abroad and insisted that the upcoming tax cuts should be enough reason for companies to produce within the United States.

7 If companies think they re going to make their cars or other products overseas and sell them back into the United States, they re going to pay a 35 percent tax, he said. Briefly touching on immigration, Trump said that building a border wall and curbing illegal immigration remain at the top of his to-do list and that he is spending significant time looking at ways to begin projects, both with Congress and through executive action. He did not disclose what was to come on those fronts. (Contributors: By Robert Costa and Amy Goldstein for The Washington Post) Pray that President-elect Trump will have wisdom as he attempts reform existing laws, and pray for unity between the branches of government. May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Rom. 15:5-6) TRUMP S CABINET PICKS FACE TOUGHER VOTES THAN PREVIOUS PRESIDENTS NOMINEES President-elect Donald Trump cleared a first hurdle on his Cabinet nominees last week when Congress approved an exemption letting retired Marine Gen. James Mattis serve as the next defense secretary but some cracks are showing. Some 150 House Democrats and another 17 members of the Senate caucus opposed the Mattis fix, using the vote as an early chance to show displeasure with Mr. Trump even before he takes office. Gen. Mattis will still need confirmation from the Senate, and Republicans are hoping to have a full slate of top national security Cabinet jobs ready for votes once Mr. Trump is sworn in at noon Friday. But the president-elect is not likely to match the records of Presidents Clinton, Obama or George W. Bush, each of whom got most of his Cabinets approved within a couple of days of taking office, facing almost no dissent. A large number of Democrats have already said they would vote against their colleague, Sen. Jeff Sessions, whom Mr. Trump has tapped to be attorney general. After reviewing his record and giving careful consideration to his answers during the hearing, I am not confident in Sen. Sessions ability to be a defender of the rights of all Americans or to serve as an independent check on the incoming administration, Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, said last week. Former oil company CEO Rex Tillerson, Mr. Trump s pick to lead the State Department, is likewise proving a ripe target for Democrats. He did not demonstrate the awareness, judgment or independence I expect from our nation s chief diplomat, said Sen. Tim Kaine, Virginia Democrat and his party s vice presidential nominee last year. Coming up this week are hearings on Mr. Trump s picks for the Interior, Education, Commerce, Energy, Treasury and Health and Human Services departments, and for the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Republicans say Democrats are being unfair to Mr. Trump, while Democrats said the president-elect has gone outside the mainstream for his picks, which is sparking intense resistance.

8 Democrats are likely to cast more no votes than Republicans did on the entire initial slate of Mr. Obama s 2009 Cabinet picks. In that year, seven of Mr. Obama s Cabinet nominees were confirmed on Inauguration Day on voice votes, and another four were confirmed within a week. Those included two sitting senators: Ken Salazar for interior secretary, who cleared without opposition, and Hillary Clinton for secretary of state, who was confirmed on a vote of Mr. Bush and Mr. Clinton also had smooth transitions. Mr. Bush s first 11 Cabinet-level picks were approved without opposition, and almost all of Mr. Clinton s slate was approved in two days without dissent. Even President Reagan, for whose nominees Democrats forced roll-call votes, won easy confirmations. In last week s first set of hearings, Democrats accused the nominees of breaking with Mr. Trump on a number of areas, with Russian policy being the most notable. The president-elect said he had no problem with any disagreements. We want them to be themselves, and I told them, Be yourselves and say what you want to say. Don t worry about me, he told reporters. Predictions of mass Republican defections have yet to materialize, and no Republican has announced opposition to any of Mr. Trump s nominees. Mr. Tillerson is considered the most endangered, with skepticism from Republican Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and a harsh grilling last week by Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida. Mr. Sessions has total support within the Republican Party and has won a commitment from Sen. Joe Manchin III, West Virginia Democrat. Trump has exceeded my expectations, said Sen. Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican whom many analysts had watched for a possible defection. He said he s had the most difficulty deciding on nominees of intelligence posts. I m a great advocate for privacy, and it s yet to be determined. I m going to look for the answers from CIA as well as Director of National Intelligence and things like that. I want to know whether they will be safeguarding Americans privacy, he said. Some Democrats worry that if they reject some of the initial slate of nominees, Mr. Trump s replacement picks could be even worse. I ve frankly been reflecting on: If not Mr. Tillerson, who else might President-elect Trump choose? Sen. Christopher A. Coons, Delaware Democrat, said in an interview with MSNBC. He conducted a sort of Celebrity Apprentice review process to come up with a nominee for secretary of state, and he seriously considered Rudy Giuliani and John Bolton, and I try to imagine how they would have fared in today s confirmation hearing.

9 Sen. Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican who voted to confirm some of Mr. Obama s more contentious nominees, breaking with most in his party, said he was hoping Democrats would show the same deference toward Mr. Trump s right to pick his team. I took a lot of heat for voting for some of these nominees of his. I thought it was the right thing to do, he said, pointing in particular to his vote for Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch. That was not popular. I ve been called a traitor by conservative talk radio for doing that. But I had no reason no to. She s a qualified individual. She had nothing in her background to disqualify her. (Contributor: By S.A. Miller and Stephen Dinan for The Washington Times) Pray that the nominees for President-elect Trump s cabinet will be godly men and women who exemplify integrity and follow the Lord wholeheartedly. Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. (Ecc. 12:13)