As the first year of the Trump presidency comes to a close, it’s an opportune time to look back at his accomplishments in office.

One indication of the president’s effectiveness comes in the aftermath of one of the most radical regimes in American history: Undoing certain controversial policy initiatives undertaking during the Obama presidency.

While those years saw a ballooning of spending, an increase in the national debt, regulatory growth, and welfare entitlements, much of what Republicans and Trump supporters are looking for is an undoing of eight long years of federal government expansion.

The following are eight ways the Trump presidency has overturned Obama-era policies.

1. Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal scrapped

In his first week in office, President Trump wasted no time scrapping the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal favored by the Obama presidency. As reported by The Independent:

Mr Trump kicked off his first full week in office by issuing the major reversal of Barack Obama’s signature trade deal, pulling away from Asia.

The President strongly opposed the 12-country trade pact – a signature theme of his campaign – but the agreement had not yet received Senate approval, so the executive order was more of a formality.

2. Approved Keystone Pipeline XL

The Obama presidency fought hard against a pipeline expansion that would have created hundreds of jobs and stmulated economic growth. In March, President Trump put an end to the federal government’s opposition to the project. As the Hill noted:

The Trump administration gave the Keystone XL pipeline its key federal permit Friday, clearing a major hurdle for the project that former President Obama rejected in 2015.

3. Pulled out of Paris Climate Accord

One of the most controversial moves by the Trump administration is pulling out of Obama’s executive agreement on the Paris Accord, which was not formalized as a ratified treaty. The administration made this move in March.

The United States will withdraw from the Paris climate accord,” Trump announced at the White House Rose Garden.

4. Overturned Cuba policies

In a departure from Obama-era policy, the President in June reinstated some restrictions on travel to Cuba, as well as on U.S. business with entities connected to Cuban military and intelligence services.

5. Halted DACA executive action

In a move that still reverberates today, President Trump eliminated his predecessor’s executive action on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.

Referred to among Democrats as DREAMers, on behalf of the proposed DREAM Act that would legally recognize immigrants brought to the country in their youth, the proposal is a source of contention to this day. DACA is part of the cause of the current federal government shutdown.

6. Rolled back Clean Power Plan

7. Repealed Obamacare mandate

Once called the linchpin of the Affordable Care Act, the Obamacare mandate forces Americans to pay for health insurance or an escalating series of fines to the IRS. In December, the mandate was eliminated as part of the Republicans’ tax cut plan.

8. Expanded offshore drilling

In January 2018, President Trump kicked off the New Year by expanding offshore oil & gas drilling in accordance with his administration’s initiative to develop fossil fuel resources and to stimulate job growth.

“Responsibly developing our energy resources on the Outer Continental Shelf in a safe and well-regulated way is important to our economy and energy security, and it provides billions of dollars to fund the conservation of our coastlines, public lands and parks,” said Trump’s Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke.

Whether or not one agrees with these Trump policies, it’s undeniable that the administration represents a dramatic departure from the Obama presidency. It will be fascinating to see what the Trump presidency has in store for America in year two.

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Kyle Becker

Chief Editor at BizPacReview

Before becoming Chief Editor at BizPac Review, Kyle was the Sr. Managing Editor and Director of Viral Media at Top 25 News & Politics website IJReview. With distinctive headlines and unique storytelling, he amassed hundreds of millions of story pageviews and led a team that generated billions of pageviews. Kyle also speaks fluent Russian and worked as an editor in Moscow before getting his Master's degree in International Studies.

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