President Trump has had enough. He has done his best to work with the Democrats and some rogue Republicans but to no avail.
Because they won’t act to solve our problems, Trump has had to go it alone and some of Trump’s unilateral actions have been blocked. usually in error.
But Trump is a fighter and he has a command of the bureaucracy now and knows how to beat it. Today he let heads roll in DHS because he wants a new direction on immigration and knew he could not fight the bureaucrats so he changed them.
In this case, he used a loophole to make an end around on some bad judicial decisions and elimiate red tape. From The Hill:
President Trump will travel to Texas Wednesday to announce two new executive orders that aim to make it easier for the oil and gas industry to get permits for pipeline construction, among other infrastructure needs.
The executive orders, which will be announced at the International Union of Operating Engineers’ International Training and Education Center outside Houston, will each focus on incentivizing private investment in energy infrastructure and streamlining permitting of projects, according to a White House official.
“The two Executive Orders the President will sign will help American energy companies avoid unnecessary red tape, allowing the U.S. to continue to be the undisputed global leader in crude oil and natural gas production for the foreseeable future,” the official said in a statement.
The move follows on the heels of a presidential permit that Trump issued in late March to jump-start the delayed construction of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline.
The new permit would invalidate a previous March 2017 permit, which is currently being held up by courts, and instead replace it with a new permit for a pipeline with a facility in Montana.
A White House spokesperson told The Hill that the new permit “dispels any uncertainty.”
“Specifically, this permit reinforces, as should have been clear all along, that the Presidential Permit is indeed an exercise of Presidential authority — that is not subject to judicial review under the Administrative Procedure Act,” the spokesperson added.
Trump’s new permit is already being challenged in court. An environmental group on Friday sued the administration, arguing Trump lacked the authority to issue the permit, because Congress — not the executive branch — has the sole power to administer federal lands.
From The Hill:
President Trump on Friday signed a presidential permit to jump-start construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline with a facility in Montana, a move seen as a way to circumvent previous court orders halting development.
The permit authorizes energy company TransCanada Corp. to “construct, connect, operate, and maintain” pipeline facilities between the U.S. and Canada.
The permit also allows for the maintenance of a pipeline facility at Phillips County, Montana, for importation of the oil to the U.S.
The order supersedes a March 2017 order. That permit was invalidated by a Montana federal judge in November. The ruling is being appealed in the 9th Circuit. Separately, a December lawsuit placed an injunction on most pre-construction activities.
“For the avoidance of doubt, I hereby revoke that March 23, 2017, permit,” Trump wrote in Friday’s order.
