President Trump Had Considerable Success Restoring The Rule of Law In 2017

RNLA Co-Chair Joanne Young wrote today in The Daily Caller about how successful President Trump has been restoring the rule of law in 2017.  It began with Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the Department of Justice:

At every turn, Sessions has had to fight against entrenched, liberal career employees and Obama holdovers. But Sessions has remained dedicated. He has increased focus on vigorous and equal enforcement of the laws to reduce violent crime, ended third-party settlement practices that directed taxpayer dollars to liberal outside groups, and defended the rule of law in litigation, such as supporting voter ID laws, free speech, and religious liberty. The process of restoring the rule of law to the Department of Justice will take years, but President Trump and Attorney General Sessions have had an effective first year.

And continued with Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch and other exemplary new federal judges:

At just 50 years old, Justice Gorsuch will serve on the nation’s highest court for many years to come. In his 10 years on the Tenth Circuit, he had demonstrated a commitment to adhering to the text of the Constitution, statutes, and regulations, even when it led to unfortunate results on the facts. He had shown his dedication to the principle that it is for the legislature to decide policy and enact it in law and for judges to apply that law, without inserting their own policy preferences. While his commitment to the rule of law and textualism has earned him the scorn of liberals, it protects the right of the American people to be ruled by the law written by their elected representatives, not by the whim of unelected judges.

President Trump has also started rolling back overreaching regulations and unlawful policies across the Executive Branch:

On taking office, President Trump immediately began rolling back the regulatory overreach that was the hallmark of the Obama years. On January 30, he directed that when an agency promulgated a new regulation in 2017, it had to identify two regulations to repeal. He has periodically directed agencies to review the permissibility of particular rules or interpretations that have impermissibly expanded the scope of certain laws and regulations, such as when he directed the Environmental Protection Agency’s Administrator to review the “Waters of the United States” rule on February 28. 

As the agency personnel nominated by President Trump have taken office, they have worked to review and undo the harmful and expansive interpretations of the Obama years in their agencies. For example, in October, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt ended the “sue and settle” practices whereby radically liberal environmental organizations controlled how the EPA interpreted its own rules through litigation, often being paid with taxpayer money for their efforts. . . . Or consider Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai, [whose] proposal to undo the FCC’s own regulatory overreach of the Obama years, “net neutrality,” was approved last Thursday, despite personal, racially tainted attacks against Pai and his family by outraged liberals. . . . Net neutrality was imposed through an FCC power grab whereby, after 20 years of bipartisan agreement over the Internet, the FCC unilaterally reinterpreted its own governing laws without congressional authorization, despite the previous FCC Chairman admitting that he did not know how the new rule would be interpreted.

Ms. Young concludes by pointing to the very real world consequence of decreased and clearer regulations: a booming economy.  Likewise, judges and a Department of Justice that respect the rule of law protect the rights of all people, ensuring a brighter future for all Americans.