Down to the Nitty-Gritty: Pressure on Trump to Craft Agenda

Donald Trump ran on the platform of immediate change.  Now the voters who elected him are watching him closely to see whether he fulfills his promises.

Replacing Obamacare

One of Trump's most repeated claims on the campaign trail was to repeal and replace Obamacare.  In fact, Trump often promised to "get rid of Obamacare on my first day in office."

Speaking on The 700 Club Thursday, economist Stephen Moore, who's part of Trump's economic team, told Pat Robertson that the president-elect's pledge to repeal and replace Obamacare is one of the main reasons he won.  Moore pointed out that Obamacare isn't just a heath care issue, it's also an economic one.

Moore said if you factor-in inflation, most Americans have not seen a pay raise in 10 years. He said Trump supporters understand that's largely because Obamacare has extracted such a large piece of employers' budgets that there is nothing left over for raises.

Moore said Trump's health care plan will still cover all Americans, although he said with Trump's plan "you actually will get to keep our doctor and your hospital."  

He said Trump's health care policy centers on allowing health insurers sell policies across state lines, thus increasing competition and driving down costs. He said Trump favors tort reform, which caps the amount of awards people can receive from malpractice lawsuits, which will drive down costs. 

Supreme Court Justices

Evangelicals turned out in huge numbers for Trump, 81 percent voting for the billionaire businessman compared to just 16 percent for Hillary Clinton.  

Many evangelicals said the main reason they voted for Trump was because of the Supreme Court.  Currently there is one vacancy on the high court because of the untimely death of the staunchly conservative Antonin Scalia in February. Trump is under pressure to fill that slot shortly after taking the oath of office Jan. 20. Other vacancies on the high court will likely arise during the Trump administration, due to the avancing age of some of the justices, including the liberal Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who is 83.  During the campaign, Trump released a list of potential Supreme Court justices he might nominate, consisting of conservatives who would likely rule pro-life and in favor of religious freedom such as Diane Sykes, a member of the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, and William Pryor, a judge on the 11th Circuit Court.

Choosing His Cabinet

President-elect Trump will be choosing his cabinet in the months leading up to his inauguration so he can get to business right away after taking office.  Political insiders are speculating that some of Trump's most loyal advocates, ones who have been campaigning for him since the earlier days of his campaign, will make up his cabinet.  

Dr. Ben Carson, the retired neurosurgeron and Trump rival in the Republican primary,  is being touted as a possible Secretary of Health and Human Services. 

Rudy Giuliani, the former prosecutor and New York City mayor is being talked about as attorney general.

Kellyanne Conway, Trump's campaign manager is a possible Chief of Staff, as is Reince Priebus, the head of the Republican National Committee.

Newt Gingrich is believed to be on the short list for Secretary of State.  Other possible west wing appointees include  Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions as Defense Secretary, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie as Commerce Secretary and Retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn as Trump's National Security Advisor.

Tax Reform

Tax reform, particularly corporate tax reform, was a hallmark of the Trump campaign platform.  He plans to slash the corporate tax rate, which is now a whopping 35 percent, the highest in the industrialized world, to just 15 percent. The plan is designed to bring businesses who relocated in other countries to bring their jobs back to the U.S. 

Will He Build the Wall?

One of the earliest and most highly publicized campaign promises was his pledge to "build a wall" on the entire border between the United States and Mexico as a way to curtail illegal immigration. Will he do it? According to The Hill, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Wednesday stopped short of committing to funding the construction of a massive wall running hundreds of miles through the desert but expressed strong support for tougher border security.

"We're going to be talking to the president about his agenda. Border security is important," he said. "Achieving border security is something I think should be high on the list."