During the 2016 campaign, Donald Trump made more than 280 promises, though many were contradictory or just uttered in a single campaign event. But on Oct. 22, Trump issued what he called his “Contract with the American Voter.” This was a specific plan of action that would guide his administration, starting from the first day, and listed 60 promises. He even signed it with his distinctive signature. During Trump’s term, The Washington Post Fact Checker will track the progress of each pledge – and whether Trump has achieved his stated goal. Sign up for the weekly Fact Checker newsletter here.
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government process
Link to this card:
wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=1
Propose a constitutional amendment to impose term limits on all members of Congress
Status:
Promise broken
Updated Jan. 15, 2020
Deadline: Jan. 23, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
In Trump's three years, no action has been taken. So we are labeling this as broken.
government process
Link to this card:
wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=2
Impose a hiring freeze on all federal employees to reduce the federal workforce through attrition (exempting military, public safety and public health)
Status:
Compromise
Updated Apr. 12, 2018
Deadline: Jan. 23, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
On the day Trump took office, White House chief of staff Reince Priebus sent a memo to federal agencies instructing the bureaucracy to enact a federal hiring freeze. Then, on Jan. 23, Trump signed an order that formally froze hiring. But it later emerged the hiring ban was scheduled to last just 90 days. On April 12, White House budget director Mick Mulvaney said the freeze would be ended and the White House would seek to embark on a government-wide effort to overhaul the executive branch and significantly reduce its workforce. In the end, the freeze only affected some agencies. It was lifted only at some and is still in place at others; some agencies have grown and others have shrunk. So this will be labeled a compromise.
Link to this card:
wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=3
Require that for every new federal regulation, two existing regulations must be eliminated
Status:
Promise broken
Updated Jan. 1, 2018
Deadline: Jan. 23, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
Trump has claimed this promise was kept and in fact exceeded -- that between 7 and 22 regulations were eliminated for each new regulation enacted. But a detailed November 2020 Penn Program on Regulation report discovered that this was just spin. "Overall about three completed actions in the regulatory agenda appear for every action
designated as deregulatory," the report said. There are various ways one can crunch the numbers but the report also notes, as did our fact checks, that "a substantial percentage of completed actions classified as deregulatory were also classified as routine or not significant." So this has been labeled a promise broken.
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wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=4
Impose a five-year ban on White House and congressional officials becoming lobbyists after they leave government service
Status:
Promise broken
Updated Jan. 29, 2017
Deadline: Apr. 13, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
On Jan. 28, 2017, Trump signed an order that he said would impose a five-year ban on lobbying after government service by executive-branch officials. This appeared broader than the language in the contract, which said it would apply to White House officials, but it fails to fulfill his repeated pledge to "drain the swamp." There is no reference in an executive order to a ban on congressional officials. The five-year ban applies only to lobbying one’s former agency — not becoming a lobbyist. Moreover, Trump weakened some of the language from similar bans under Obama and George W. Bush, and reduced the level of transparency. Given that this action in many ways is a step backward, we will label this as a promise broken. (On April 12, Bloomberg News reported that Trump also granted a waiver to a White House aide who had signed the pledge but left to join a business lobbying association.)
Link to this card:
wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=5
Impose a lifetime ban on White House officials lobbying on behalf of a foreign government
Status:
Promise broken
Updated Jan. 20, 2021
Deadline: Jan. 23, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
This was originally listed as a promise kept but with less than 12 hours left in his term, Trump reversed himself and rescinded the executive order that he said would result in a lifetime ban on administration officials lobbying for foreign governments. So this is now listed as a promise broken.
Link to this card:
wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=6
Impose a complete ban on foreign lobbyists raising money for U.S. elections
Status:
Promise broken
Updated Jan. 15, 2020
Deadline: Jan. 23, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
In Trump's first three years, no apparent action has been taken. So we are labeling this as broken.
trade
Link to this card:
wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=7
Announce the U.S. intention to renegotiate NAFTA or withdraw from the deal under Article 2205
Status:
Promise kept
Updated Apr. 27, 2017
Deadline: Jan. 23, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
On Jan. 22, 2017, Trump said he will begin renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement when he meets with the leaders of Canada and Mexico. He did not mention withdrawing from the deal, under the Article 2204 clause of the agreement, if he did not get what he wanted. On April 26, Trump tweeted that he had spoken the presidents of Mexico and Canada about renegotiating NAFTA. "I agreed, subject to the fact that if we do not reach a fair deal for all, we will then terminate NAFTA," he wrote. This appears to fulfill his promise to announce this threat, so we will label this as kept. Eventually, the Trump administration negotiated an updated version of the trade pact, relabeled the United States-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) agreement.
Link to this card:
wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=9
Direct the secretary of the treasury to label China a currency manipulator
Status:
Promise kept
Updated Jan. 15, 2020
Deadline: Jan. 23, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
This was a promise broken at first -- and then suddenly kept. On April 12, 2017, Trump announced he would not label China a currency manipulator -- a promise he had pledged to do on his first day in office. Trump told the Wall Street Journal that he had changed his mind because China is not currently manipulating his currency, though that was already apparent during the election season. But then on Aug. 5, 2019, he tweeted that China was manipulating its currency after the yuan fell below 7 to the dollar after Trump announced additional tariffs. The Treasury Department a few hours later applied the largely symbolic label. (In 2020, Trump dropped the designation ahead of a trade-deal signing, but we will keep this as a promise kept.)
Link to this card:
wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=10
Direct the secretary of commerce and U.S. trade representative to identify all foreign trading abuses that unfairly impact American workers
Status:
Promise kept
Updated Apr. 1, 2019
Deadline: Jan. 23, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
Trump administration officials have taken action against what it described as foreign trading abuses, with Trump quick to impose sanction or levy tariffs.
trade
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wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=11
Direct the secretary of commerce and U.S. trade representative to use every tool under American and international law to end foreign trading abuses immediately
Status:
Promise kept
Updated Apr. 1, 2017
Deadline: Jan. 23, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
On March 31, Trump signed executive order 13785, which established enhanced procedures for imposing antidumping and countervailing duties for trading abuses. This does not quite match the promise but it is relatively close, so we will mark it as kept.
energy
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wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=12
Lift the restrictions on the production of $50 trillion worth of job-producing American energy reserves, including shale, oil, natural gas and clean coal
Status:
Promise kept
Updated Jan. 1, 2018
Deadline: Jan. 23, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
On March 28, 2017, Trump signed an order that instructed federal regulators to rewrite key Obama-era rules curbing U.S. carbon emissions — namely the Clean Power Plan, which was intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the nation’s electric plants. It also sought to lift a moratorium on federal coal leasing and remove the requirement that federal officials consider the impact of climate change when making decisions. Trump's tax bill includes an historic measure to open the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling.
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wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=13
Lift the Obama-Clinton roadblocks and allow vital energy infrastructure projects, like the Keystone Pipeline, to move forward
Status:
Promise broken
Updated Jan. 18, 2021
Deadline: Jan. 23, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
On Jan. 24, 2017, Trump signed an order clearing the way for the controversial Dakota Access and Keystone XL oil pipelines to move forward. He also signed a memorandum that would expedite environmental reviews of "high-priority" infrastructure projects. But by end of Trump's presidency, the Keystone pipeline remained unbuilt because of various court proceedings and in one of his first acts, President Biden terminated the permit granted by Trump.
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wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=14
Cancel billions in payments to U.N. climate change programs and use the money to fix America’s water and environmental infrastructure
Status:
Compromise
Updated Jun. 2, 2017
Deadline: Jan. 23, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
On June 1, 2017 Trump announced he would withdraw the United States from the Paris Accord on climate change. He made clear he would not deliver the remaining $2 billion the United States has committed to the Green Climate Fund. On one level, this is a promise kept, but Trump specifically said he would devote the funds to fixing environmental and water structures in the United States, so we will monitor to see if that is the case. His budget overall has reduced funding for environmental initiatives. Update: We can find no evidence the money saved in UN payments was used for environmental projects. So this mix of promise kept and promise broken is labeled a compromise.
Link to this card:
wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=15
Cancel every unconstitutional executive action, memorandum and order issued by President Obama
Status:
Compromise
Updated Jan. 16, 2018
Deadline: Jan. 23, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
Trump has certainly attacked Obama's legacy and tried hard to reverse it but he has not canceled every order. The use of the term "unconstitutional" suggests wiggle room on this pledge so we will mark this as a compromise.
government process
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wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=16
Begin the process of selecting a replacement for Justice Antonin Scalia (from list of 20 issued during campaign)
Status:
Promise kept
Updated Jun. 1, 2017
Deadline: Jan. 23, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
On Jan. 24, 2017, Trump told reporters: "I'll be making my decision [on a Supreme Court justice] this week and we'll be announcing next week." We will monitor to see whether he chooses a nominee from the list of 20 possibilities released during the campaign. On Jan. 31, Trump announced the selection of Neil Gorsuch, one of the names on his original list. Gorsuch was ultimately confirmed by the Senate with a vote of 54-45.
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wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=17
Cancel all federal funding to sanctuary cities
Status:
Promise broken
Updated Jan. 14, 2020
Deadline: Jan. 23, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
On Jan. 25, 2017, Trump issued an executive order that declared that sanctuary cities that refused to comply were not eligible for federal grants, except those deemed necessary for law enforcement purposes. This is much more timid than Trump's promise to cancel all federal funding -- and the order will be tested in the courts. So we cannot label this yet as "kept." On April 25, 2017, a federal judge imposed a nationwide injunction against the executive order. In June, 2017, the House passed a bill that would fulfill Trump's promise but no action was taken in the Senate. Then the Trump Justice Department tried to insist on new requirements but has been repeatedly blocked by the courts. Four appeals courts have largely ruled that the federal government cannot withhold funds because of sanctuary policies, though a federal appeals court in July sided with the Trump administration on the issue. The issue had not been settled by the Supreme Court by the time Trump left office.
Link to this card:
wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=18
Begin removing the more than 2 million criminal illegal immigrants from the country
Status:
Updated Nov. 30, 2020
Deadline: Jan. 23, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
The Department of Homeland Security issued memos that considerably broaden the pool of undocumented immigrants prioritized for removal, including those who have been charged with crimes but not convicted, those who commit acts that constitute a “chargeable criminal offense,” and those who an immigration officer concludes pose “a risk to public safety or national security.” The crackdown has not yet rounded up 2 million criminal illegal immigrants -- about 800,000 people have been deported in Trump's first three years, fewer than under Obama in the same period -- and some experts doubt there are that many in any case. But Trump's immigration enforcement has been aggressive.
Link to this card:
wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=19
Cancel visas to foreign countries that won't take back criminal illegal immigrants
Status:
Compromise
Updated Jan. 14, 2020
Deadline: Jan. 23, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
On Jan. 25, 2017, Trump signed an executive order that said: "The Secretary of State shall, to the maximum extent permitted by law, ensure that diplomatic efforts and negotiations with foreign states include as a condition precedent the acceptance by those foreign states of their nationals who are subject to removal from the United States." This is much less sweeping than his pledge to immediately cancel visas from those countries. On April 8, The Washington Post reported that the State Department had not acted on that order and that "Trump is confronting the same diplomatic and legal challenges as his predecessors, including whether to jeopardize national security and economic interests so that a nation such as China will accept all Chinese citizens that U.S. authorities want to deport." But in September, 2017, the Trump administration announced visa restrictions against four relatively small countries -- Cambodia, Eritrea, Guinea, and Sierra Leone, followed by Burma and Laos in 2018 and Ghana and Pakistan in 2019. He has not targeted China, one of the biggest offenders, but eight of the ten countries which have faced sanctions were named during the Trump administration. Given that Trump during the campaign suggested he would target all countries, this will be considered a compromise.
Link to this card:
wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=20
Suspend immigration from terror-prone regions where vetting cannot safely occur
Status:
Compromise
Updated Sep. 26, 2017
Deadline: Jan. 23, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
On Jan. 27, 2017, Trump signed an executive order that contained a temporary entry ban that would affect citizens of seven countries — Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Somalia. The order also halted all refugees from Syria, and suspended all refugee admissions for 120 days. This is somewhat different from his promise to "suspend immigration from terror-prone region" so we will continue to evaluate this promise. But within days this action was blocked nationwide by a federal district court in Washington state, and then by the a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. So we have switched this to "stuck." Trump on March 6 issued a revised order, this time not including Iraq and making numerous other changes. But it also was blocked by the courts. Then, on June 26, the Supreme Court permitted a scaled-back version of the ban on travelers from six mostly Muslim countries to take effect, while deciding to hear the merits of the case in the fall. The court’s unsigned order said the government may not bar those with a “bona fide” connection to the United States, such as having family members here, or a job or a place in an American university. When the Trump administration narrowly defined a "bone fide" connection to exclude grandparents, the Supreme Court on July 19 rejected that narrow interpretation. On Sept. 25, Trump issued a revised order that blocks even visits from residents of Syria and North Korea, immigrants from Somalia and Iran, while placing other restrictions on Chad, Libya, Yemen and Venezuela. Some 65,000 visas a year would likely fall under the ban. As such, we are moving this ration from stuck to compromise.
Link to this card:
wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=21
Impose “extreme vetting” on all people coming into our country
Status:
Promise kept
Updated Sep. 26, 2017
Deadline: Jan. 23, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
In August, 2017, Trump gave a speech in which he called for including an ideological screening test to weed out those who don't "share our values and respect our people." He added that "only those who we expect to flourish in our country — and to embrace a tolerant American society — should be issued immigrant visas." Yet thus far the administration has not acted to put this vision in place, though a National Vetting Center has been created and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has heightened vetting for immigrants.
Link to this card:
wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=22
Create at least 10 million jobs in the first term
One-month net change in jobs, in thousands
Net change in jobs since Jan. 2017:
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Status:
Promise broken
Updated Jan. 15, 2020
Deadline: Jan. 19, 2021
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Fact Checker analysis:
This turned out to be a spectacular failure. Trump had claimed his economic program will create 25 million jobs over ten years, so we tracked a prorated figure of 10 million in four years, or 2.5 million a year. In his first three years, job growth had not quite kept pace at a level for Trump to meet his goal. In 2020, the economy collapsed because of the coronavirus pandemic and millions of people lost their jobs, putting Trump in the hole. He became the first president since Herbert Hoover (and the Great Depression) to leave office with fewer people employed than when he became president. So this is a promise broken -- though it was silly for Trump to make such a pledge in the first place. Often, a president has little control over economic events that affect job growth.
economy
Link to this card:
wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=23
Propose and pass tax simplification bill in which the largest tax reductions are for the middle class
Status:
Promise broken
Updated Dec. 16, 2017
Deadline: Apr. 29, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
The conference report approved by House and Senate negotiators was largely a corporate tax cut. Individual tax cuts were included but many expire within ten years. The largest reductions were not for the middle class.
economy
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wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=24
Give a middle-class family with two children a 35 percent tax cut
Status:
Compromise
Updated Dec. 16, 2017
Deadline: Apr. 29, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
The conference report approved by House and Senate negotiators would initially cut taxes for a average family of four making $59,000 a year but the provisions expire over the next ten years so that by 2024 this family would face an increase in taxes. Lawmakers claim the tax cuts will be extended but there is no guarantee.
economy
Link to this card:
wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=25
Reduce the number of tax brackets from seven to three, and likewise greatly simplify tax forms
Status:
Promise broken
Updated Dec. 16, 2017
Deadline: Apr. 29, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
On April 26, 2017, Trump unveiled a plan that would reduce the number of tax brackets to three. But the conference report approved by House and Senate negotiators left the number of tax brackets at seven and introduced new complexity. So this is a promise broken.
Link to this card:
wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=26
Lower the business tax rate from 35 percent to 15 percent
Status:
Compromise
Updated Dec. 16, 2017
Deadline: Apr. 29, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
On April 26, 2017, Trump unveiled a plan that would cut corporate taxes from 35 percent to 15 percent. But the conference approved by House and Senate negotiators reduced the rate to 21 percent. That's still a big cut, but less than what the Trump had promised.
Link to this card:
wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=27
Grow the economy 4 percent a year
Percent change in GDP from previous quarter
Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis
Status:
Promise broken
Updated Jan. 26, 2018
Deadline: Jan. 19, 2021
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Fact Checker analysis:
Trump never came close to meeting this promise. For 2017, the gross domestic product grew at an annual rate of 2.3 percent, well short of Trump's promised target. For 2018, the GDP grew at an annual rate of 2.9 percent, still far short of Trump's 4 percent goal. In 2019, the GDP grew 2.2 percent. With the economic collapse in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, the GDP decreased 3.5 percent in 2020. Thus Trump fell far short of his goal and so this is a promise broken.
Link to this card:
wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=28
Allow trillions of dollars of American corporate money overseas to be brought back at a 10 percent tax rate
Status:
Promise kept
Updated Dec. 20, 2017
Deadline: Apr. 29, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
The tax bill signed into law by Trump allows corporations to repatriate assets at 8 percent and liquid assets at 15.5 percent. That's an average slightly higher than 10 percent but it is close enough we will mark this as kept.
trade
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wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=29
Establish tariffs to discourage companies from laying off their workers in order to relocate in other countries and ship their products back to the U.S. tax-free
Status:
Promise kept
Updated Apr. 30, 2018
Deadline: Apr. 29, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
Trump imposed a 25 percent tariff on steel and 10 percent on aluminum products on March 23, 2017, saying the imports threatened national security. He also imposed large tariffs on China and often threatened tariffs on other nations.
economy
Link to this card:
wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=30
Leverage public-private partnerships and private investments through tax incentives to spur $1 trillion in infrastructure investment over 10 years
Status:
Promise broken
Updated Sep. 27, 2017
Deadline: Apr. 29, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
The Washington Post reported that Trump told lawmakers that he was abandoning a key element of his planned $1 trillion infrastructure package, complaining that certain partnerships between the private sector and federal government simply don't work. Now the administration wants to force states and localities to foot most of the bill. Trump has offered no serious infrastructure legislation during his presidency.
Link to this card:
wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=31
Make sure the $1 trillion infrastructure plan will be revenue neutral
Status:
Promise broken
Updated Jan. 15, 2018
Deadline: Apr. 29, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
In Trump's presidency, no action was taken. So we are labeling this as broken.
education
Link to this card:
wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=32
Redirect education money to give parents the right to send their kid to the public, private, charter, magnet, religious or home school of their choice
Status:
Promise broken
Updated Mar. 16, 2017
Deadline: Apr. 29, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
Trump's budget plans proposed to shift $1.4 billion toward expanding charter schools, private-school vouchers and other alternatives to traditional public schools. But Congress refused to approve it, so this is a promise broken.
Link to this card:
wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=33
End Common Core
Status:
Promise broken
Updated Jan. 15, 2020
Deadline: Apr. 29, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
In Trump's presidency, no serious action has been taken on this promise. (He only ordered a review of the federal government's education-related regulations to assess whether they unlawfully interfere with state and local decision-making.) As of Dec. 30, 2019, 39 states are implementing Common Core or a revised version of it, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. So we are labeling this as broken.
education
Link to this card:
wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=34
Expand vocational and technical education
Status:
Promise kept
Updated Mar. 16, 2017
Deadline: Jul. 17, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
Trump in June 2017 signed an executive order that ordered the Labor Department to roughly double to $200 million the taxpayer money spent on learn-to-earn programs. The money would come from existing job training programs.
education
Link to this card:
wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=35
Make two- and four-year college more affordable
Status:
Promise broken
Updated Jan. 1, 2018
Deadline: Apr. 29, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
Trump's budget contains deep cuts in aid for low-income and first-generation college students. The budget would eliminate the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant program, a 50-year-old program, for a savings of $732 million, which goes to more than a million poor college kids each year. The budget would also reduce Federal Work Study "significantly" though no dollar figure was given. The tax bill that Trump signed raised taxes on four-year universities.
Link to this card:
wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=36
Fully repeal and replace Obamacare
Status:
Promise broken
Updated Oct. 11, 2017
Deadline: Apr. 29, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
Trump's promise to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act appears to have hit yet another brick wall, though the White House insists he has not given up. On March 24, Republicans pulled the bill since it lacked support, prompting House Speaker Paul Ryan to say Obamacare remains the law of the land. But then on May 4, a revised version of the bill was narrowly approved by the House. But then on July 28 the Senate rejected a variety of different repeal bills, thwarting the establishment of a conference committee and apparently killing the effort. A last-ditch effort to revive a repeal bill failed before Sept. 30, after which the Senate could no longer use a legislative procedure to pass a bill with just 51 votes.
Link to this card:
wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=37
Replace Obamacare with health savings accounts
Status:
Promise broken
Updated Oct. 11, 2017
Deadline: Apr. 29, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
Trump's efforts to replace Obamacare have failed.
health care
Link to this card:
wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=38
Allow the purchase of health insurance across state lines
Status:
Promise broken
Updated Jan. 14, 2020
Deadline: Apr. 29, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
On Oct. 12, 2017, Trump signed executive order 13813, which is intended to promote the sale of "health insurance association plans" across state lines. But he has not accomplished the goal articulated in his campaign pledge. State insurance regulators said the association health plan rule allows them to apply their own standards, effectively rendering the notion moot. The administration in 2019 also sought comment on "strategies that would allow enrollees to purchase health insurance across state lines," but appears to have taken no other action. So this is being labeled a promise broken.
health care
Link to this card:
wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=39
Let states manage Medicaid funds
Status:
Compromise
Updated Jan. 28, 2020
Deadline: Apr. 29, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
Trump first backed the House Republican plan which would convert Medicaid into a per-capita block grant. Various Obamacare repeal bills also would converted Medicaid to a block grant but they all failed. We had listed this as a promise broken but suddenly in January 2020, the Trump administration revived an idea to attempt this administratively. A letter to every state Medicaid director will offer the possibility of trading away an entitlement program that expands and contracts depending on how many poor people need the government health coverage. In exchange, for able-bodied adults in the program, states could apply to receive a fixed federal payment and freedom from many of the program’s rules. So this is labeled a compromise. (Biden said he would quickly reverse this policy, however.)
Link to this card:
wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=40
Cut red tape at the FDA to speed approval of new drugs
Status:
Promise kept
Updated Jul. 1, 2019
Deadline: Apr. 29, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
On April 12, 2017, Trump signed executive order 13789, which is intended to reduce regulatory burdens, including at the Food and Drug Administration. The administration says it has approved a record number of generic drugs.
economy
Link to this card:
wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=41
Allow Americans to deduct child care and elder care from their taxes
Status:
Promise broken
Updated Dec. 16, 2017
Deadline: Apr. 29, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
The GOP tax plan did not include this provision. The White House abandoned it in the face of opposition and instead pressed for a larger tax credit.
economy
Link to this card:
wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=42
Incentivize employers to provide on-site child-care services
Status:
Promise broken
Updated Dec. 16, 2017
Deadline: Apr. 29, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
The GOP tax plan did not include this provision.
economy
Link to this card:
wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=43
Create tax-free dependent care savings accounts for young and elderly dependents
Status:
Promise broken
Updated Dec. 16, 2017
Deadline: Apr. 29, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
The GOP tax plan did not include this provision.
economy
Link to this card:
wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=44
Provide matching contributions for low-income families to the dependent care savings accounts
Status:
Promise broken
Updated Dec. 16, 2017
Deadline: Apr. 29, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
The GOP tax plan did not include this provision.
immigration
Link to this card:
wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=45
Fund the construction of a wall on our southern border
Status:
Compromise
Updated Apr. 30, 2019
Deadline: Apr. 29, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
Trump has been building a border barrier, but it's not the same as the giant concrete wall he touted in the campaign. On Jan. 25, Trump signed an order to the Secretary of Homeland Security to begin planning and designing a southern border wall. But Congress then balked at providing any funding for the wall in the appropriations bill in the spring. The House and Senate, in omnibus legislation passed in 2018, only provided funding for fencing and repairs and specifically refused to allow the use of wall prototypes touted by Trump. Trump then seized money from other funding sources after Congress balked. We are labeling this a compromise because Trump was not able to convince Congress to fund the border barrier, but he found the money through other methods (still under legal challenge)>
Link to this card:
wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=46
Make Mexico reimburse the United States for the full cost of the wall
Status:
Promise broken
Updated Aug. 3, 2017
Deadline: Apr. 29, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
In a phone conversation with the Mexican president on Jan. 27, 2017, provided to The Washington Post and published Aug. 3, Trump indicated he would not fulfill this promise, but would not say so publicly because it would hurt him politically. He pressed the president to not raise the issue or indicate he would not pursue his promise. "You cannot say that to the press,” Trump said, according to the transcript. “The press is going to go with that, and I cannot live with that.” We are thus labeling this as a promise broken because since that conversation, Trump has rarely raised the issue and made no move to force compliance by Mexico. Instead, he has seized billions of dollars from previously-approved military construction projects and redirected the monies to fund his border barrier. At a campaign rallies Trump falsely assured audiences that "Mexico's paying for the wall, you know that, you will see that," but this remains one of his biggest broken promises.
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wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=47
Establish a two-year mandatory minimum federal prison sentence for illegally re-entering the U.S. after a previous deportation
Status:
Promise broken
Updated Jan. 1, 2018
Deadline: Apr. 29, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
The House of Representatives, largely along party lines. passed a bill on June 29, 2017 that would impose stricter penalties for deported immigrants convicted of crimes who re-enter the country. One of the provisions would allow up to two years in prison for any immigrant who returns to the country after previously he or she was denied admission or deported. But no action was been taken in the Senate.
immigration
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wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=48
Establish a five-year mandatory minimum federal prison sentence for illegally re-entering for those with felony convictions, multiple misdemeanor convictions or two or more prior deportations
Status:
Promise broken
Updated Jan. 1, 2018
Deadline: Apr. 29, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
The House of Representatives, largely along party lines. passed a bill on June 29, 2017 that would impose stricter penalties for deported immigrants convicted of crimes who re-enter the country. But no action was been taken in the Senate.
immigration
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wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=49
Reform visa rules to enhance penalties for overstaying
Status:
Promise kept
Updated Jan. 14, 2020
Deadline: Apr. 29, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
Trump, in a 2019 presidential memo, declared visa overstay rates “unacceptably high” and calling them a “widespread problem.” On the basis of a Homeland Security report, he instructed federal agencies to consider action against countries that have business and tourism travelers — using the popular B1 and B2 visas — who overstay at a rate higher than 10 percent. (Twenty countries have overstay rates higher than 10 percent, according to the Homeland Security report. Except for Syria and Nigeria, these countries accounted for fewer than 1,000 overstayers each.) Trump gave the State Department four months to consult with Homeland Security officials and the attorney general to recommend sanctions, which he said could include suspending or limiting visas for those countries.
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wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=50
Reform visa rules to ensure open jobs are offered to American workers first
Status:
Compromise
Updated Jan. 1, 2018
Deadline: Apr. 29, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
Trump signed an executive order on April 18, 2017 that encouraged "Buy American and Hire American." The order asked for suggested reforms to the H-1B program, which allows employers to temporarily hire foreign workers in specialty fields, such as computer-related. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has cracked down on companies petitioning for H-1B visas, leading to drastically heightened application-denial rates. USCIS also has proposed ending the H-4 EAD, which gives the spouses of H-1B holders the ability to work. USCIS termed ending the H-4 EAD an “economically significant” move that would ultimately benefit American workers, who would have “a better chance at obtaining jobs that some of the population of the H-4 workers currently hold." So to some extent Trump kept his promise so we are labeling this a compromise.
crime
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wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=51
Reduce surging crime, drugs and violence
Status:
Promise broken
Updated Jan. 18, 2021
Deadline: Apr. 29, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
During the campaign, Trump frequently hyped crime statistics. He has announced many new policies, but they do not appear to have much of impact. Crime and violence surged during Trump's last year as president.
crime
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wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=52
Create a task force on violent crime
Status:
Promise kept
Updated Feb. 9, 2018
Deadline: Apr. 29, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
On Feb. 9, Trump signed an executive order directing the Justice Department to form a task force on violent crime. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has from time to time announced that he is following recommendations from the task force, but DOJ has never released information on it or a list of members. But the task force was created, so we will consider this a promise kept.
crime
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wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=53
Increase funding for programs that train and assist local police
Status:
Promise broken
Updated Jan. 1, 2020
Deadline: Apr. 29, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
Trump has repeatedly tried to cut funding for the Department of Justice's Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), often over the objections of Congress.
crime
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wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=54
Increase resources for federal law enforcement agencies and federal prosecutors to dismantle criminal gangs and put violent offenders behind bars
Status:
Promise kept
Updated May. 1, 2019
Deadline: Apr. 29, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
In February, Trump signed three executive orders that called for action against transnational gangs. The Justice Department designated MS-13 as a priority for the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force. A six-week operation from March 26 to May 6 was the largest gang surge to date by Homeland Security Investigations, the investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security, and it netted 1,378 arrests across the country, according to ICE.
national security
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wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=55
Eliminate the defense sequester
Status:
Promise kept
Updated Sep. 16, 2019
Deadline: Apr. 29, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
The defense sequester was part of the 2011 Budget Control Act, a bill designed to force cuts if Congress did not pass budgets reducing the deficit. Trump and Congress originally suspended the sequester for 2018 and 2019 but technically kept it in place. But the threat of the sequester was finally eliminated in the the budget agreement in the summer of 2019 when the budget caps were lifted in fiscal year 2021, the final year they were in effect.
national security
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wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=56
Expand military investment
Status:
Promise kept
Updated Apr. 30, 2019
Deadline: Apr. 29, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
On Nov. 16, 2017, the Senate backed Trump’s expanded vision for the military when lawmakers sent him a defense policy bill, authorizing an increased military budget. The budget, which tops Trump’s initial proposal, includes funding for new equipment and strengthened nuclear defenses. The elimination of the defense sequester allowed for an increase in military funding in 2018 and 2019.
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wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=57
Provide veterans with the ability to receive public VA treatment or attend the private doctor of their choice
Status:
Promise kept
Updated Oct. 11, 2019
Deadline: Apr. 29, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
In 2018, Trump signed the bipartisan VA Mission Act, which expanded access for veterans to VA-funded care in the private sector. (This built on a law passed under Barack Obama.) Rules established under the law took effect in 2019, with the VA paying veterans to see non-VA doctors if they have to wait longer than 20 days or drive more than 30 minutes for primary or mental healthcare at a VA facility. For specialty care, they can see private doctors at VA expense if they have to wait longer than 28 days or drive more than an hour to see a VA provider. (Trump frequently and falsely claimed he had passed the VA Choice Act, the law signed by Obama.)
national security
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wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=58
Pass a law to protect our vital infrastructure from cyberattack
Status:
Promise broken
Updated Jan. 18, 2021
Deadline: Apr. 29, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
In Trump's presidency, no big, comprehensive law has been passed to protect critical infrastructure from cyberattacks and the Trump administration has not proposed any. In 2020, Russia managed to breach various government agencies in a massive cyber attack. Another big broken promise.
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wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=59
Establish new screening procedures for immigration to ensure those who are admitted to our country support our people and our values
Status:
Promise kept
Updated Jan. 1, 2020
Deadline: Apr. 29, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
The presidential executive order that resulted in the travel ban established new protocols for evaluating how robust the screening could be for every country in the world, and established new benchmarks that countries had to meet to avoid having their citizens denied access. The administration also has issued directives to include social media as part of vetting; the State Department in 2019 began requiring certain applicants for admission to disclose their social media accounts, though policy faces a legal challenge.
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wapo.st/trump-promises?promise=60
Enact new ethics reforms to reduce the corrupting influence of special interests
Status:
Promise broken
Updated Jan. 1, 2018
Deadline: Apr. 29, 2017
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Fact Checker analysis:
Trump has taken no action on this pledge so far in his administration. We are labeling this has "broken" because news reports have documented many instances of special interests have significant impact over regulations, tax policy and other issues during the Trump administration.
The Post and Partnership for Public Service, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, are tracking roughly 600 key executive branch nominations through the confirmation process.
