Is Trump’s economic agenda doomed?
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While Trump’s administration started with strong congressional support, it seems as if his actions have created a rejection towards his economic agenda
During the first days of Trump’s presidency, there was an overwhelming support of Congress. His supporters were under the impression that there was a Republican majority –with 237 seats out of 420 in the House, and 52 seats out of 100 in the Senate– and that, according to them, would make things easier for his political and economic agenda. However, over time, things have gone awry.
One of the first obstacles in Trump’s administration was the initial failure on repealing Obama Care and replacing it with his own healthcare bill. The lack of unity in the Republican Party was the first sign that things wouldn’t be as easy as expected. The president’s firsts executive orders didn’t land well on his image and started to reduce the trust that the Party had on him. The manifestations all over the country didn’t help either.
After six months under Trump’s presidency, the chances of passing his economic agenda have decreased drastically. According to Barry Ritholtz –columnist at Bloomberg View–, while, at first, the odds of passing the economic legislative agenda was at 96%, now the odds have fell to 25%. “And even that might be optimistic”, Ritholtz said.
His views on the president’s future seem to be mostly negative. He argues that the country’s leader has isolated himself from potential supporters. Even more, the columnist stated, “hundreds of key positions have gone unfilled as people increasingly perceive working for Trump as a career killer”.
While political opponents find these views encouraging and could even push further for Trump’s impeachment –who, once again, is under investigation for the charge of obstruction of justice–, it’s not entirely positive to have a stagnant economic policy.
Douglas Holtz-Eakin –economic adviser in John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign– has highlighted the importance of Trump’s infrastructure initiative and has a clear perspective about its potential contributions to the prosperity of the United States. “Carefully chosen [infrastructure] projects can improve national connectivity and economic efficiency” having a positive impact on the American work force, according to Holtz-Eakin.
Evidently, Trump’s political stance and his way of carrying out his presidency has affected the support he initially had. Lack of trust and pessimism is quickly reducing the chances of improving the United States’ economy –although is still riding a high wave. As Barry Ritholtz declared, despite the three years left of Trump’s presidency, this “once-in-a-generation opportunity is slipping away”.
LatinAmerican Post | Juan Sebastian Torres
Copy edited by Susana Cicchetto
