Trump's Quietly Growing List of Victories
Nothing comes easy in the Trump presidency, but over the last few months the White House has shown fitful but real progress toward more effective policymaking.
From domestic policy to foreign affairs, President Trump has notched more real victories over the fall and winter months than during the rest of his administration combined. This includes the passage of a large tax-cut package, the long delayed first major legislative achievement of his presidency. Trump has appointed conservative judges and further cut regulations. He has fulfilled campaign promises by announcing the end of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and announcing a plan to move the U.S. Embassy there from Tel Aviv. He has also presided over the end of ISIS’s territorial control in Syria and Iraq.
These and other victories seem to reflect a learning curve. Most new presidents manage to ram through top priorities in their first days or months in office, when their political capital is high, but Trump entered office with little goodwill and little or no understanding of either policy or the policymaking process, as well as a staff largely inexperienced in either—though proficient at intramural feuding. There’s that Trump himself has, creating a more effective team. The rub is that insofar as the Trump administration is hitting its stride, it is doing so just as the prospects for further success dry up.
