The Trump administration has already begun its work through delaying hearings for cases on voting rights and signing off on executive orders relating to Republican efforts to repeal of the Affordable Care Act.
On Friday evening, after the Inaugural Parade, Trump signed an executive order presented by White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus that directed government agencies to “ease the burdens” of the Affordable Care Act pending a repeal of the law. The order did not provide any specific information about what kind of relief that agencies should give to “minimize the economic burden.” Republicans in Congress approved a budget resolution last week that would allow committees to begin work on repealing the Affordable Care Act. Committees were instructed to draft legislation by January 27.
Government agencies are also preparing for the change in administration by putting off hearings for cases relating to discrimination against people of color. Hours after Trump was sworn into office, Department of Justice lawyers asked a U.S. district court to delay a hearing for a case on Texas’ voter ID law because of the “change in administration.” The hearing was scheduled for next week. DoJ lawyers have argued that the law had discriminatory intent against voters of color, but lawyers said they needed time to brief the new administration.
Texas’ voter ID law is one of the strictest in the country. University identification provided to students, which is free, is unacceptable for voter ID, but gun licenses, which can cost anywhere from $70 to $140, are acceptable forms of ID. Attorneys for the Campaign Legal Center, which represents the plaintiffs in the case, argue that the law discriminates against Hispanic and African American voters.
In July, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed previous rulings that it did not comply with the Voting Rights Act. Although a U.S. district judge ordered a temporary fix for the 2016 election, allowing people who can’t “reasonably obtain” an ID to vote, some complained that local officials were misleading voters about these new rules. The Court of Appeals then remanded the argument for discriminatory intent back to the U.S. district judge. The new hearing date is set for February 28.
In addition to these actions, the administration removed all mention of climate change from the White House website and created a page dedicated to “An American First Energy Plan.” The website’s civil rights, health care, and LGBT sections are also gone.
The Trump administration also ordered the Interior Department to shut down its official Twitter accounts on Friday. National Park employees received a letter, which read, “We have received direction from the Department through [the Washington Support Office] that directs all [Department of Interior] bureaus to immediately cease use of government Twitter accounts until further notice.”
Earlier that day, the National Park Service shared tweets that noted the small size of the inauguration crowd compared to Obama’s inauguration. The Department of the Interior has subsequently resumed tweeting.