President Trump signed two executive orders to increase domestic timber production. The order calls for the Secretary of the Interior to review all timber and streamline the process for application and harvest of timber within the United States. This order also calls for the Endagered Species Committee to streamline its process for applications and review under the Endangered Species Act.
Along with this executive order is another order for several departments to review the national security threats to the United States due to timber imports.
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| The Department of The Interior manages all public lands in the United States, including forests. |
Canada supplies 42% of American lumber imports, and China supplies 15%. Overall, the United States produces around 53% of its own lumber, and President Trump seeks to increase that share.
English Established As Official Language Through Executive Order
In another example of executive overreach, Trump issued an executive order establishing English as the official language of the United States today. This issue does not fall within executive authority and should be decided by Congress. However, as we have seen, President Trump is not a fan of the Constitutional boundaries on his authority, and he frequently works unconstitutionally to do whatever he wants.
The order states that all agencies still have the authority to provide any language services required to make things run smoothly in their departments.
English has effectively been the official language of the United States since the nation's founding, and it's unclear to me what this order actually achieves for any practical purposes.
Federal Judge Rules Trump Cannot Fire Head of Independent Agency
A federal judge ruled that Trump cannot fire the head of the office of Special Counsel for political reasons, in one of many cases that are almost certainly headed to the Supreme Court—where Trump is likely to receive carte blanche for all his whims.
The office of Special Counsel is independent, as it protects whistleblowers and other people who may come forward with damning information to powerful people and organizations in the United States. Trump's desire to enforce political ideological purity on independent agencies threatens the independence of those agencies. The politicization of independent watchdogs is also a threat to the United States of America.
Lumber production in the United States 2019 | Statista
Top 10 North American and U.S. Lumber Producers, 2023 - Forisk
Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production – The White House
Addressing the Threat to National Security from Imports of Timber, Lumber – The White House
Designating English as the Official Language of The United States – The White House
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