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| Today, President Trump ordered all agencies to make their spending public. I believe it's already public, but he wants it to be public-er. |
Trump Supports Invitro Fertilization
Trump signed an executive order asking his cabinet provide recommendations on how to improve access to invitro fertilization, and specifies that "our Nation’s public policy must make it easier for loving and longing mothers and fathers to have children." This is an interesting order, because last year, Senate Republicans blocked a bill drafted by Senate Democrats to protect IVF. Many Republicans believe life begins when the egg is fertilized, and therefore view the high failure rate of IVF as murder. However, based on all that I can find, they're all applauding President Trump's executive order today.
The stated purpose of the order is to combat the fertility rate, which the press release states has dropped 2% per year since 2014.
This order has not yet been entered into the Federal Register, so I can't see all the verbiage, but I may write more when it becomes available, if I find anything noteworthy. There is an odd tone to the press release that may appear in the order itself, or may not.
Trump Orders That Independent Agencies Are No Longer Independent
Also today, Trump signed an executive order ending the independence of independent agencies. The press release states, "So-called independent agencies like the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have exercised enormous power over the American people without Presidential oversight."
I talked about this on February 12. The administration asked the Supreme Court to weigh in on the true dependence of independent agencies, in an effort to force political purity on agencies that were created to be non-partisan. However, he is moving forward without the guidance of the Supreme Court. The order will require that all policies the independent agencies have must be approved by the White House.
The most worrisome for most people—based on my observations online—is the Office of Special Counsel, which protects whistleblowers who inform us of corruption.
The lawsuits seeking to protect independent agencies from the whims of whomever is in the White House are making their way to the Supreme Court.
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