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Trump Threatens to Shut Down the Southern Border Without Wall Funds, and He Has the Power to Do It

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If the partial government shutdown continues without a congressional deal to fund the wall, President Trump says, he’ll be forced to shut down the border entirely. And he could do it, with or without Congress’ cooperation.

“We will be forced to close the Southern Border entirely if the Obstructionist Democrats do not give us the money to finish the Wall & also change the ridiculous immigration laws that our Country is saddled with,” the president tweeted Friday, one week after the start of the partial shutdown.

And while this claim might send the cadre of Trump’s usual critics into a violent fainting spell, closing the border is completely within his power.

As Conservative Review’s Daniel Horowitz explained back in October, President Trump not only has the inherent executive authority to close the border, as well as other immigration powers delegated by past Congresses, but he also has the popular mandate that got him elected.

Federal law “allows the president, whenever he finds that ‘the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States,’ to ‘suspend’ all forms of immigration ‘for such period as he shall deem necessary,’” Horowitz explains. It also “grants the president an almost equal level of authority to subject entry of all aliens entering or departing to ‘such reasonable rules, regulations, and orders, and subject to such limitations and exceptions as the President may prescribe.’”

“If demanding that all immigrants enter legally or apply for asylum in a safe and controlled environment at a consulate rather than at a border controlled by some of the most dangerous people in the world is not a ‘reasonable rule,’” Horowitz concludes, “I’m not sure what is.”

President Trump has long made the case that physical border security is critical to America’s interests, both for our national security and the preservation of our national sovereignty. Closing the border down until the American people get the security they voted for would be a logical next step. (For more from the author of “Trump Threatens to Shut Down the Southern Border Without Wall Funds, and He Has the Power to Do It” please click HERE)

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Bret Stephens Is Wrong. Donald Trump Is Great for Israel

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Bret Stephens of the Israel-hating New York Times published an absurd column Wednesday denouncing President Trump as “bad for Israel.”

In his piece, titled “Donald Trump is bad for Israel,” Stephens proclaims that Israel is far worse off than ever before with President Trump in the Oval Office.

The piece has been shared widely on social media by NeverTrumpers on the right and people who don’t really care about Israel but now recognize that it might be politically advantageous to pretend to care about Israel.

“What Israel most needs from the U.S. today is what it needed at its birth in 1948: an America committed to defending the liberal-international order against totalitarian enemies,” Stephens writes, adding, “as opposed to one that conducts a purely transactional foreign policy based on the needs of the moment or the whims of a president.”

It is lazy and incorrect to label President Trump’s foreign policy as implementing a “transactional” or “isolationist” agenda. Through his rhetoric and policies, it’s clear that the president rejects Stephens’ preference for nation-building and long-winded intervention in Islamic civil wars, which he masks as “defending the liberal-international order.” President Trump more accurately identifies as a restraint-minded realist, who campaigned on bringing Americans soldiers home from long, unaccomplished wars in the Islamic world. But the president has shown the willingness to deploy kinetic action against our various enemies and adversaries if necessary. Indeed, it is Stephens’ ideology, embraced by past administrations, that led to painful Israeli land concessions, an Iraqi vacuum filled by Iran, and the empowerment of Islamists across the region — that is quite bad for Israel.

Advocating for his U.S. foreign policy preferences, Stephens says:

From that, everything follows. It means that the U.S. should not sell out small nations — whether it was Israel in 1973 or Kuwait in 1990 — for the sake of currying favor with larger ones. It means we should resist interloping foreign aggressors, whether it was the Soviets in Egypt in the 1960s, or the Russians and Iranians in Syria in this decade. It means we should oppose militant religious fundamentalism, whether it is Wahhabis in Riyadh or Khomeinists in Tehran or Muslim Brothers in Cairo and Ankara. It means we should advocate human rights, civil liberties, and democratic institutions, in that order.

“Trump has stood all of this on its head,” he concludes.

Oddly, Stephens is effectively endorsing U.S. foreign policy under President Trump. This president has instituted punishing sanctions against Moscow for its military aggression and has taken direct action against Russia on several fronts. He withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal and imposed harsh and effective sanctions against Tehran, and he has endorsed the aspirations of self-government for the Iranian people. He has supported the Saudi monarchy’s battle against Wahhabi forces both domestically and abroad. He has stood with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi against the Muslim Brotherhood in Cairo. The only legitimate grievance Stephens has in the aforementioned paragraph is President Trump’s friendliness with the regime in Ankara, which supports the Muslim Brotherhood. But on every other issue, Stephens is misleading his audience and/or incorrectly identifying President Trump’s foreign policy.

Stephens continues:

He shows no interest in pushing Russia out of Syria. He has neither articulated nor pursued any coherent strategy for pushing Iran out of Syria. He has all but invited Turkey to interfere in Syria. He has done nothing to prevent Iran from continuing to arm Hezbollah. He shows no regard for the Kurds. His fatuous response to Saudi Arabia’s murder of Jamal Khashoggi is that we’re getting a lot of money from the Saudis. He speaks with no authority on subjects like press freedom or religious liberty because he assails both at home. His still-secret peace plan for Israel and the Palestinians will have the rare effect of uniting Israelis and Palestinians in their rejection of it.

It’s odd that Stephens is lighting up the president for his Syria policy, when just last week, he was singing the praises of Defense Secretary James Mattis, who is largely responsible for implementing the Syria policy. It was Mattis, hell-bent on his “only ISIS” approach to the Syrian civil war, who showed no interest in pushing back against Tehran, Moscow, or Ankara.

In fact, Mattis’ “only ISIS” approach to the war in Syria is hurting Israel and paving Iran’s land bridge from Tehran to Beirut. By solely focusing on the Sunni insurgency, Secretary Mattis was doing the heavy lifting for Russia, Iran, and the Assad regime. If Stephens is indeed concerned with who is best for Israel, he should be thanking the president for ending the broken Syria military policy that continued to empower Israel’s and America’s shared adversaries.

As for Jamal Khashoggi, it’s interesting that Stephens is bringing him up in an article about Israel, considering that the non-journalist Saudi operative-turned-Qatari asset hoped Israel would “die by force” at the hands of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.

Stephens then turns completely delusional on “press freedoms” and “religious liberty,” considering the fact that President Trump has done absolutely nothing to censor either of these fundamental rights, unless you consider temporarily revoking Jim Acosta’s hard pass an urgent press freedom issue.

Yet the columnist from the Israel-hating New York Times presses on. “Is any of this good for Israel?” he asks.

He begins by recycling his aforementioned shoddy arguments against Iran, Russia, and Turkey. Then Stephens badly exposes the lack of intellectual depth in his piece.

“If you think that another grave threat to Israel is the inability to preserve at least a vision of a future Palestinian state — one that pursues good governance and peace with its neighbors while rejecting kleptocracy and terrorism — the answer is no,” he concludes.

In his endorsement of a two-state solution for Israel and a “future Palestinian state,” Stephens is essentially calling for the reality of a terrorist state next to Israel. The Palestinian national movement began as a reaction to the Zionist movement that brought about the modern state of Israel. Since its beginnings, the Palestinian movement has been led by jihadi terrorists who committed themselves to Israel’s annihilation. Both the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, the terrorist group that rules the Gaza Strip, have a long history of inciting terrorism, directing terrorist attacks, and widely endorsing all forms of violence against Israel and its people.

Stephens ends his piece by proclaiming that President Trump is worse on Israel than President Barack Obama:

During the eight years of the Obama presidency, I thought U.S. policy toward Israel — the hectoring, the incompetent diplomatic interventions, the moral equivocations, the Iran deal, the backstabbing at the U.N. — couldn’t get worse. As with so much else, Donald Trump succeeds in making his predecessors look good.

Utter nonsense. President Trump’s foreign policy has helped reinforce a bond between Israel and the United States government that was badly damaged under the Obama regime, when top officials were constantly threatening and harassing Israel and seemingly endorsing its enemies’ ambitions against it.

By moving the U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, President Trump helped the Jewish state restore its rightful claims to sovereignty over its lands. President Trump’s leadership on the Jerusalem issue, coupled with his unapologetic defense of the U.S.-Israel alliance, has encouraged other countries — even Arab-Muslim states in the region — to forge diplomatic cooperation with Israel, some for the first time. That only increases Israel’s economic independence.

Israel still faces many diplomatic and military challenges. Hezbollah and the Iranian regime continue to encroach on its borders, heightening the prospect of a coming regional war of unprecedented proportions. However, should Israel once again be forced to defend itself against radical Islamist actors, it will find that it has no greater friend than President Trump in the White House. (For more from the author of “Bret Stephens Is Wrong. Donald Trump Is Great for Israel” please click HERE)

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Trump’s Shutdown Shot: ‘Do Dems Realize Most People Not Getting Paid Are Democrats?’

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President Trump on Thursday urged Senate Democratic lawmakers to relent in the shutdown fight over border security spending, and he jabbed them for furloughing government workers who tend to be Democrats.

“Have the Democrats finally realized that we desperately need Border Security and a Wall on the Southern Border. Need to stop Drugs, Human Trafficking,Gang Members & Criminals from coming into our Country,” Mr. Trump tweeted.

The appeal belied the complete lack of negotiations. Both sides have dug into their positions and are bracing for the partial government shutdown to last into the new year when a new Congress with a House Democratic majority will enter the standoff. . .

It is the same case Mr. Trump has made since the partial shutdown standoff began nearly a week ago with his demand for roughly $5 billion in border security funding that includes a wall or barrier on the southern border. . .

The president also asked Democrats if they were aware of whom was going without pay while 25 percent of the federal government is shuttered. (Read more from “Trump’s Shutdown Shot: ‘Do Dems Realize Most People Not Getting Paid Are Democrats?'” HERE)

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Sarah Sanders Reveals Touching Moment With U.S. Soldier — His Reason for Joining Army Will Give You Chills

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By The Daily Caller. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders shared details of a “powerful” moment between President Donald Trump and a U.S. soldier in Iraq on Wednesday. . .

According to Sanders, the young Army member rejoined the military because of President Donald Trump’s election.

Trump allegedly replied, “And I am here because of you.” (Read more from “Sarah Sanders Reveals Touching Moment With U.S. Soldier — His Reason for Joining Army Will Give You Chills” HERE)
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Powerful: U.S. Soldier Tells Trump He Returned to Serve in the Military Because of Him

By Washington Examiner. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders on Wednesday shared behind-the-scenes images of President Trump’s first visit to a war zone as commander in chief, including one memorable exchange with a soldier.

“Powerful moment – Member of United States Army told the President he came back into the military because of him. And President Trump responded, ‘And I am here because of you,'” Sanders tweeted of Trump’s trip to Iraq. “I met him after and he gave me the patch from his arm. Incredible.” . . .

Trump’s Middle East travels comes after he had been widely criticized for being the first president since 2002 not to spend time with military personnel during the holiday season. It also followed his announcement last week that he intended to withdraw troops from neighboring Syria and nearby Afghanistan. (Read more from “Powerful: U.S. Soldier Tells Trump He Returned to Serve in the Military Because of Him” HERE)

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Trump Visits U.S. Troops in Iraq for First Trip to a Conflict Zone

By The Washington Post. President Trump greeted U.S. troops on an unannounced trip Wednesday to Iraq, where he defended his decision to withdraw forces from neighboring Syria and declared that the Islamic State is “very nearly defeated” while making his first visit to a conflict zone as commander in chief. . .

After months of public pressure for him to spend time with troops deployed to conflicts in the Middle East and Central Asia, Trump touched down at the joint U.S.-Iraqi base west of Baghdad after a secret flight from Washington.

Accompanied by first lady Melania Trump, the president sounded a triumphant note as he addressed U.S. service members on the day after Christmas. “We’re no longer the suckers, folks,” he said. And he warned that he was committed to withdrawing troops from foreign wars even when his administration’s experts object. (Read more from “Trump Visits U.S. Troops in Iraq for First Trip to a Conflict Zone” HERE)

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Internet Exploded at Trump for Christmas Eve Call to Young Child. But Her Parents Tell a Different Story.

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. . .Speaking with Collman Lloyd — a 7-year-old girl from Lexington, South Carolina — on Christmas Eve from the White House, a video, which quickly went viral, showed the president asking Collman if she still believes in Santa Claus — but it was his follow-up statement, which implied Santa is not real, that incited criticism and accusations that Trump had “ruined” Christmas. . .

Instead, Collman’s father — 40-year-old Donald J. Lloyd — told BuzzFeed News that he would use similar language to speak to his daughter about Santa Claus. He also said he believes Trump’s remarks have been “blown out of proportion and unfairly politicized,” according to BuzzFeed.

“I think it’s crazy it became a big deal. It’s Christmastime. I’d love to keep politics out of Christmas,” Donald said. “It didn’t bother me — I like to talk to my kids like adults.” . . .

In the end, both parents appreciated how Trump treated their daughter. At first, they thought she was speaking with a pre-recorded message, then they realized Collman was actually speaking with the president.

“He said, ‘Happy Christmas … It was great speaking to you, Collman … Please tell [your family] I wish them a happy Christmas,'” Erica explained. “It made her Christmas.” (Read more from “Internet Exploded at Trump for Christmas Eve Call to Young Child. But Her Parents Tell a Different Story.” HERE)

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President Trump Announces When the Shutdown Will End

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By The Blaze. During a Christmas call with U.S. troops, President Donald Trump made it clear that there won’t be a quick end to the partial shutdown of the government unless Democrats cave on their refusal to fund the border wall that was a signature promise of his campaign.

President Trump made the remarks on Tuesday morning in response to a question about when he thought the government would be reopened. In response, Trump said, “I can’t tell you when the government is going to be open. I can tell you it’s not going to be open until we have a wall, a fence, whatever they would like to call it.”

In response to a question from a reporter in the Oval Office, President Trump touted some of the progress that has recently been made on border security, and also explained some of the claims he has made on Twitter in recent days about sections of the wall that are already under construction.

“One other thing people don’t understand or know… we’ve renovated massive amounts of very good wall — wall that was good but was in bad shape…. And in addition to that, and I think very, very importantly, we’ve built a lot of new wall. So it’s all being built; the new piece, the new section, it’s very, very exciting what’s going on there, and you’ll see it because in January I’m going there. … So, while we’re fighting over funding, we’re also building, and it’s my hope to have this done, or completed — all five hundred to five hundred-fifty miles — to have it either renovated or brand new by election time,” Trump said.

Trump also reiterated his claim that he already has sufficient funding to build a wall in the $25 billion that Congress approved for border security during the last round of funding talks, but that “We want the wall money to be increased, because I want to finish it.” (Read more from “President Trump Announces When the Shutdown Will End” HERE)

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Trump’s Christmas message to Democrats: Government shutdown will last ‘until we have a wall’

By Fox News. President Trump has a Christmas message for Democrats – the government is going to remain partially shut down “until we have a wall [or] fence.”

Trump, speaking to reporters Tuesday in the Oval Office during the fourth day of the impasse, also revealed that he will be going to the border in Texas for a “groundbreaking” ceremony for a portion of the project at the end of January.

“While we’re fighting over funding, we’re also building, and it’s my hope to have this done, completed, all 500 to 550 miles, to have it either renovated or brand new by Election Day,” he said.

Democrats, though, remain opposed to approving additional funding for a border wall as part of a new government spending package — and their hand only strengthens once the party takes control of the House next month. The White House warned over the weekend that the shutdown standoff could extend into the new year, and Trump on Tuesday made clear he’s not planning to budge either. (Read more from “Trump’s Christmas message to Democrats: Government shutdown will last ‘until we have a wall’” HERE)

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Trump Answers Christmas Eve Calls From Children Looking for Santa Claus

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By AP. Before attending Christmas Eve services at Washington National Cathedral, President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump took calls from children anxious to find out where Santa is on his gift-giving journey.

In one conversation, Trump asked a 7-year-old named Coleman, “Are you still a believer in Santa?” He listened for a moment before adding, “Because at 7, it’s marginal, right?” Trump listened again and chuckled before saying, “Well, you just enjoy yourself.”

Mrs. Trump told a caller that Santa was in the Sahara. Several minutes later, she reported that Santa was far away in Morocco but would be at the caller’s home on Christmas morning.

(Read more from “Trump Answers Christmas Eve Calls From Children Looking for Santa Claus” HERE)

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President Trump to 7-Year-Old: ‘Are You Still a Believer in Santa?’

By NPR. The setting was perfect. The fire was beautifully ablaze, the trees enormously enormous, as the first couple sat beside dainty telephone tables ready to delight young callers in search of Santa.

But what happened next could be considered less than perfect — especially for a young boy named Coleman or his family, who might have had some explaining to do after the brief phone call.

Coleman and the president had been connected through NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, which on Christmas Eve is tasked with tracking Santa’s movements as he delivers gifts around the world. (It is still operating despite the partial government shutdown.) . . .

A few seconds into the chat with Coleman, Trump asked: “You doing well in school? … What are you going to do for Christmas? … Are you still a believer in Santa?” . . .

“Because at 7 it’s marginal, right?” Trump asked the child. (Read more from “President Trump to 7-Year-Old: ‘Are You Still a Believer in Santa?'” HERE)

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‘Bushies’ Creep Into Trump’s Administration

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President Donald Trump uses the term “Bushie” as shorthand for anyone he considers too establishment, thinks too conventionally, or is just, in the president’s mind, a pain.

But a strange thing has been happening within his administration lately. Bush administration alums now run huge swaths of Trump’s government. They’re at high levels of his departments of Homeland Security, Labor, State, Health and Human Services, and Treasury. At the White House, they staff his legal and domestic policy offices. . .

Earlier this month, Trump picked Bill Barr, an attorney general under President George H.W. Bush, as his replacement for Jeff Sessions. Two of his recent hires for the White House counsel’s office, Mike Purpura and Pat Philpin, served under President George W. Bush. They will report to the new White House counsel, Pat Cipollone, who served in the elder Bush’s Justice Department.

Meanwhile, the newly confirmed deputy secretary of the Treasury Department, Justin Muzinich, worked on Jeb Bush’s presidential campaign and helped draft his tax plan. Trump’s pick to run the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Heath Tarbert, served as an associate counsel to George W. Bush — a fact unmentioned in a recent White House announcement of his nomination. Jim Jeffrey, a former senior aide in George W. Bush’s White House, became Trump’s U.S. special representative to Syria in August. (Read more from “‘Bushies’ Creep Into Trump’s Administration” HERE)

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Here’s How the Trumps Plan to Spend Christmas

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Because of the government shutdown that is looming, President Donald Trump plans to stay in Washington, D.C. First Lady Melania Trump is returning from Florida so the family can be together on Christmas.

“Due to the shutdown, President Trump will remain in Washington, D.C. and the First Lady will return from Florida so they can spend Christmas together,” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement on Saturday. . .

(Read more from “Here’s How the Trumps Plan to Spend Christmas” HERE)

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Christmas Review: The Promises Trump and Republicans Kept — and the Ones They Didn’t

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Which campaign promises did President Donald Trump deliver for conservatives before Christmas 2018? At the end of 2017, the Republican majority and the president delivered on some of their promises, but failed to keep most of them. In 2018, sadly, Republicans lost control of the House of Representatives after spending the last year of their majority failing to do what they said they would do.

Let’s review the unfinished promises from 2017 and see what was kept:

1. Full repeal of Obamacare

Republicans did not fully repeal Obamacare in 2018, as was promised in 2010 and every election thereafter. After reducing the individual mandate tax penalty to zero in the 2017 tax bill, the Republican Congress did not act on health insurance reform, putting the burden on the Trump administration to enact changes to the law by executive order.

President Trump worked with Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., to develop regulations to expand access to association health plans, offering cheaper insurance plans for small businesses and collectives of people who band together to purchase health insurance. The administration also expanded the length of time Americans are permitted to purchase cheaper short-term health insurance plans to three years. However, these executive branch workarounds are not permanent solutions and can be reversed by a future Democratic president.

Several lawsuits have moved forward against Obamacare, and in December, a Texas federal judge declared the entire law unconstitutional based on the Republicans’ change to the individual mandate. That ruling is likely to be challenged, however, giving the Roberts Supreme Court another opportunity to save Obamacare next year.

President Trump and the Republicans have not kept their promise to fully repeal Obamacare yet.

2. Border security and the wall

President Trump’s border wall has not been fully funded by Congress, though parts of it were constructed in 2018. In a March spending bill, Congress authorized $641 million to be spent to build 33 miles of physical barriers in Southern Texas’ Rio Grande Valley. Construction there will begin in February.

Congress also appropriated $292 million to the Department of Homeland Security to replace pre-existing “ineffective” fencing in Southern California, New Mexico, and western parts of Texas. But the Republican majority in Congress did not fund the full $25 billion requested by President Trump, unable to overcome Democratic opposition in the Senate.

There is an ongoing debate as the year ends over attaching $5 billion as a down payment for the wall in a spending bill needed to pass Congress by midnight tonight to keep the government fully open. President Trump says he will not sign a bill without wall funding, and Democrats refuse to vote for wall funding. The unfunded parts of government are likely to shut down, and Congress will need to negotiate wall funding in 2019 to open them back up.

For now, the wall is not built or fully funded.

3. Repeal Dodd-Frank

In June 2017, the House of Representatives voted to repeal the “Obamacare of financial markets” along party lines. The U.S. Senate killed the House bill, and Congress went back to the drawing board. In May 2018, Congress passed and President Trump signed a bipartisan agreement to roll back parts of the law, but it was not fully repealed.

Most disappointing, the unconstitutional Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was not eliminated. This is a promise half-kept and unlikely to be revisited in Trump’s first term.

4. Nominate a pro-life justice to the Supreme Court

President Trump kept this promise with the nomination of Justice Gorsuch in 2017, but in 2018 he had another opportunity to keep it by appointing a second pro-life justice. He chose Justice Brett Kavanaugh. The court with Kavanaugh has not yet taken up an abortion case, but it did reject one. Justice Kavanaugh cast the deciding vote to reject a case dealing with state funding for Planned Parenthood. Justice Neil Gorsuch, Trump’s 2017 appointee, voted in favor of hearing the case.

Does that mean Trump failed to nominate a pro-life justice in Kavanaugh? It’s still too early to tell, but that decision by the court was a troubling sign.

5. Pain-capable abortion ban

In January, the United States Senate voted to end debate and advance a federal ban on abortions after 20 weeks of gestation, the point at which scientists believe an unborn baby can feel pain. The vote failed to reach the 60-vote threshold to overcome obstruction from Democrats, and Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, voted to block the bill as well.

Had Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., invoked the two-speech rule to overcome Democratic obstruction, the bill would have passed Congress and have been sent to President Donald Trump’s desk for his signature.

6. Defund Planned Parenthood

Planned Parenthood was not defunded in 2018, and in fact, congressional Republicans say they will give up attempts to defund the nation’s largest abortion provider in 2019 now that the Democrats have control of the House of Representatives. This is the most disappointing broken promise from Republicans under President Trump.

7. First Amendment Defense Act

A federal version of laws designed to protect religious liberty by preventing the government from penalizing Americans for affirming that marriage is only the union between a man and a woman was introduced by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, in the Senate and by Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, in the House.

The president supports this legislation. “If Congress considers the First Amendment Defense Act a priority, then I will do all I can to make sure it comes to my desk for signatures and enactment,” Trump wrote in a letter in 2016.

Congress still hasn’t moved on it and likely won’t pass it with Democrats in control of the House.

8. Fixing the Fed

Congress did not pass or even vote on legislation to audit the Federal Reserve in 2018, despite efforts from Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., to push the issue. And despite President Donald Trump’s campaign preference for auditing the Fed and abandoning fiat currency for a gold standard, he has not championed the issue as president.

9. Tax reform

In 2017, President Trump signed a tax reform plan that, while short of a fundamental restructuring of the American tax system, gave most Americans a solid tax cut and gave American businesses a huge competitive edge. In 2018, the House of Representatives voted to make the tax cuts permanent. The Senate has not yet considered that legislation.

10. Scrap Obama’s unconstitutional executive orders (DACA to start)

In 2017 President Trump canceled Obama’s unconstitutional amnesty, but since then federal courts have undone Trump’s executive action. It is Congress’ responsibility to pass immigration reform that will undo Obama’s damage to the Constitution and put the courts in their place. Republicans must rein in the courts to keep this promise.

11. Repeal the EPA “Waters of the United States” rule

The Trump administration began the formal process of repealing this tyrannical regulation permitting the government to seize control of puddles last year, and earlier this year the EPA rule was suspended. Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Rand Paul, R-Ky., lead an effort to permanently repeal the rule in June, but their bill was defeated in the Senate.

Trump’s administration is working to replace the rule, but a future Democratic president may be able to bring it back unless Congress ends it permanently.

12. National right to carry

President Trump was a strong advocate for the Second Amendment on the campaign trail. As president, he has not yet pushed for Congress to pass legislation guaranteeing concealed carry reciprocity nationwide.

Instead, Trump’s administration is advancing a sweeping gun control regulation to ban bump stocks, a gun accessory that uses recoil energy from semi-automatic rifles to increase the firearms’ rate of fire. Contrary to popular belief and lies from gun control advocates, bump stocks do not turn rifles into machine guns. Sean Davis, writing for The Federalist, warns that the Trump administration’s gun control effort “could eventually be used as a basis for a presidential administration unilaterally banning and confiscating all semi-automatic weapons.”

President Trump is not only breaking his promise to protect and advance the Second Amendment, his administration is working to undermine it.

In the remaining two years of Trump’s presidency, Democrats will control the House of Representatives, and President Trump and the Republican majority in the Senate will need to fight harder than ever to keep these promises ahead of the 2020 election. Conservatives must keep pressuring Congress and the president to fulfill their pledges to the American people. (For more from the author of “Christmas Review: The Promises Trump and Republicans Kept — and the Ones They Didn’t” please click HERE)

Follow Joe Miller on Twitter HERE and Facebook HERE.